Hamm (,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Hammona'') is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located in the northeastern part of the

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railway station is an important hub for rail transport and renowned for its distinctive station building.

History

Coat of arms

The coat of arms has been in use in its present form for about 750 years. It shows the markish chessboard ("märkischen Schachbalken") in red and silver on a golden field. Originally it was the founders' coat of arms, i. e. the Counts of Mark. The chessboard and the colours are often displayed in the coats of arms of further towns founded by that family line. Similarly, the colours of the city are red and white.

Overview

The name ''Ham'' means "corner" in the old

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name ''thom Hamme'' would be used, which evolved slowly into its modern form ''Hamm''. The name derives from the description of the Hamm's location in the corner of the Lippe river and the narrow Ahse affluent, where it was founded on Ash Wednesday in March 1226 by Count Adolf I of the

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

*1350 The

Black death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

killed nearly all of the citizens. Only seven families survived. *1469 Hamm became a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. It was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the today's Ruhr area still were only tiny villages. *1614 The Treaty of Xanten ends the conflict about the heritage of Cleve-Mark, the

Electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...

Brandenburg (later

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

) inherited the Ducal Cleve and the counties Ravensburg and Mark (with Hamm) *1618-1648

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, Hamm was taken several times by different armed forces and had to endure changing garrisons. Almost all buildings were destroyed, except for the main church St. Georg (today: Pauluskirche) and St. Agnes church. *1657 Establishment of the Gymnasium illustre (later named Gymnasium Hammonense) with three faculties (

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

). *1753 Establishment of the regional court (Landgericht) *1767 "Märkische Kammerdeputation" established *1769 Brewery Isenbeck founded *1787 Changing of the "Märkische Kammerdeputation" into the "Märkische Kriegs- und Domänenkammer" by the Prussian "Generaldirektorium". *1818 Hamm has 4,688 inhabitants. *1820 The regional appeal court moves from Cleve to Hamm. *1847 First train stops at the main station Hamm *1853 Westfälische Union (later Thyssen Draht AG) was founded *1856 Westfälische Draht Industrie was founded (later Klöckner Draht GmbH, today Westfälische Draht Industrie (WDI)) *1901 30,000 inhabitants, the district Hamm is split up into the urban district of Hamm (City) and the district of Unna. *1901 Coal-mine de Wendel in Herringen starts mining (later Heinrich-Robert, now Bergwerk Ost) (first coal output 1904) *1902 Coal-mine Maximilian in Werries/Ostwennemar starts mining (first coal output 1907) *1905 Coal-mine Radbod in Bockum-Hövel starts mining (first coal output 1905) *1912 Coal-mine Sachsen in Heessen starts mining (first coal output 1914) *1914 Datteln-Hamm-Canal is completed including the new city port *1938 The A2 (motorway) reaches Hamm *1939-1945 55 air raids destroy nearly 60% of the old city and leave only a few historical buildings. *1944 Coal-mine Maximillian closes after several problems with water drainage of the hole mine (completely flooded in 1914). *1945 First meeting of the city council after the war *1946 Establishment of the industrial court and the industrial court of appeal by the Allied Control Council. *1953 Windsor Boys' School opens for the children on British Service personnel *1956 Sport airfield founded in the Lippe meadows. *1965 A1 (motorway) reaches Hamm. *1976 Coal-mine Sachsen closes *1983 Windsor Boys' School closes –
View the Virtual Tour of the Windsor School / Windsor Boys School Hamm, Germany
Hamm Sri Kamadchi Ampal-Tempel

*1984 First ''Landesgartenschau'' (horticultural show of the federal state) of North Rhine-Westphalia is held in Hamm. The old area of the coal-mine Maximillian was used for this purpose. The world largest glass elephant (Glaselefant) is built as the main attraction and until today is one of the major landmarks of the city. *1990 Coal-mine Radbod closes. *2002 Consecration of the Sri Kamadchi Ampal-Temple *2005 Establishment of the university of applied sciences "SRH Fachhochschule Hamm"

Population development

Until 1833 any population is an approximation, in later times the population was counted or updated by the local government or other institutions of the government. ¹ "Volkszählungsergebnis" counted population

Politics and structure

Mayor

The current Lord Mayor ('' Oberbürgermeister'') of Hamm is Marc Herter of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) since 2020. The Mayor is directly elected for a five-year term. Prior to the 1999 local administration reform in North Rhine-Westphalia, the ''Oberstadtdirektor'' was the chief executive of the city, and was chosen by the city council. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marc Herter , align=left,

, 28,775 , 40.7 , 42,190 , 63.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 26,464 , 37.4 , 24,177 , 36.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Arnela Sačić , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, 5,086 , 7.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Pierre Jung , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, 3,137 , 4.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ingo Müller , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 2,476 , 3.5 , - , , align=left, Cevdet Gürle , align=left, Pro Hamm , 1,829 , 2.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Gerd Heistermann , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, 1,190 , 1.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sandra Riveiro Vega , align=left, The Left , 1,111 , 1.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Peter Kessler , align=left,

, 496 , 0.7 , - , bgcolor=#553A26, , align=left, Christian Worch , align=left, The Right , 173 , 0.2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 70,737 ! 99.0 ! 66,367 ! 99.3 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 729 ! 1.0 ! 491 ! 0.7 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 71,466 ! 100.0 ! 66,858 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 136,561 ! 52.3 ! 136,467 ! 49.0 , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Hamm city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 25,992 , 37.1 , 2.0 , 22 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 23,385 , 33.4 , 9.2 , 19 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 8,925 , 12.7 , 5.5 , 7 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 3,575 , 5.1 , 1.0 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 3,274 , 4.7 , 4.0 , 3 , 3 , - , , align=left, Pro Hamm (WG Pro) , 2,555 , 3.6 , 0.8 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 2,068 , 2.9 , 1.4 , 2 , 1 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=#553A26, , align=left, The Right (Die Rechte) , 213 , 0.3 , 0.6 , 0 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

(FW) , 122 , 0.2 , 0.2 , 0 , ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 70,109 ! 98.4 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,163 ! 1.6 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 71,272 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 136,561 ! 52.2 ! 0.7 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Incorporations

In 1939, 1968 and 1975 Hamm incorporated several towns and municipalities: in 1939 the village Mark (which the Counts and the county took the name of) and in 1968 the villages of Berge and Westtünnen. In the reorganisation of 1975, the following towns and municipalities were incorporated into the City of Hamm: #The town of Bockum-Hövel, Lüdinghausen district #The town of Heessen, Beckum district #The municipality of Uentrop, Unna district, formed in 1968, including the municipalities of Braam-Ostwennemar, Frielinghausen, Haaren, Norddinker, Schmehausen, Uentrop, Vöckinghausen and Werries #The municipality of Rhynern, (Unna district, without Hilbeck incorporated by Werl), formed in 1968, including the municipalities of Allen, Freiske, Hilbeck, Osterflierich, Osttünnen, Rhynern, Süddinker and Wambeln # The municipality of Pelkum, (Unna district), formed in 1968, including the municipalities of Herringen, Lerche, Pelkum, Sandbochum, Weetfeld and parts of Wiescherhöfen. The number of citizens more than doubles from 83.000 in 1974 to 173.000 in 1975.

City structure

Hamm has seven quarters ('), each divided into residential areas like City, which actually means the center of the city around the Pauluschurch or like Hövel-Radbod near the former entrance to the coalmine Radbod in the quarter Bockum-Hövel. The following table shows the situation in 2006. Every quarter is named with the prefix Hamm, like Hamm-Bockum-Hövel or Hamm-Mitte. The former town Bockum-Hövel today forms the quarter with the largest number of inhabitants, closely followed by the centre of the city ''Hamm-Mitte''. The latter is the smallest quarter by metric size.

Twin towns – sister cities

Hamm is twinned with: * Neufchâteau, France (1967) *

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, United States (1969) *

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, England, UK (1976) *

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, United States (1977) *

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...

, Mexico (1978) *

Toul Toul () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, Fra ...

, France (1987) *

Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is on the banks of the River Havel, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg consists of ni ...

, Germany (1990) *

Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...

, Poland (1991) *

Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...

, Turkey (2006)

Miscellaneous

In 2006 Hamm was the first city to accomplish a "Ratsbürgerentscheid" (literally: "council's citizens decision"). Subject of the plebiscite was a plan to build a 43 ha city lake (2007–2010) near the city centre. 136,521 citizens were entitled to vote, 57,563 used that possibility and 56.9% refused their approbation for the project. As minimal vote 20% (of the total 136,521 voters) had to decide between one of the possibilities (20% for Yes or 20% for NO). The city council accepted the voting and stopped the plans. This procedure is planned for future projects in NRW. Also in Hamm established was the "Baugerichtstag e. V." a society organizing a congress about the German building law. The congress is held in a two years term.

Health

The largest health facility is the Marien Hospital with its two separate buildings, Marien Hospital I the old building within the centre of the city and Marien Hospital II together 587 beds. Then there is the (EVK Hamm) Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hamm (Protestant Hospital) combined with the children's hospital south of the centre together 493 beds, the St. Barbara Klinik (Clinic) in Heessen with 422 beds and the Malteser Krankenhaus (Hospital) St. Josef in Bockum-Hövel with 260 beds. Additional there are the Klinik für manuelle Therapie (Clinic for manual therapy) within the quarter (138 beds), the

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

district. The Westfälisches Institut Hamm für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und psychotherapie (Westphalian Institute Hamm for Children's- and Youth psychiatry and psychotherapy) as an Institute of the federal state (158 beds) and the private Klinik (clinic) am Bärenbrunnen. (All

Hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s together have 2058 beds.) Former Hospitals are: * The BWK

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

krankenhaus Hamm (Hospital of the Federal Defence Forces) closed in 2007 after a reform of the German forces * Knappschaftskrankenhaus (Hospital operated by the health fund for miners ( Bundesknappschaft) now Marien Hospital II) * Märkische Kinderklinik (Children's Hospital combined with the Elisabeth Kinderklinik and now part of the EVK Hamm as "Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin") * St. Elisabeth Kinderklinik (Children's Hospital combined with the Märkische Kinderklinik and now part of the EVK Hamm as "Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin")

Education

Hamm has six Gymnasien (grammar schools), two comprehensive schools and several

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

n and Grundschulen (

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s). The oldest Gymnasium in Hamm is the Gymnasium Hammonense which was established as academic school (small university) with three faculties in 1657. The school declined in its importance and in 1781 merged with the local Latin school and got reformed by Prussia. The new combined school was humanist Gymnasium. In 1867 the "Märkisches Gymnasium" followed as the second Gymnasium of Hamm, in 1902 the " Freiherr vom Stein Gymnasium", in 1924 the "Beisenkamp Gymnasium" – first as "Oberlyceum" (Gymnasium for girls) – and in 1968 the " Galilei-Gymnasium" was established as an offspring of the Gymnasium Hammonense. Additionally in Schloss Heessen there is a private school including the Gymnasium. Both comprehensive schools in Hamm are younger foundations by the city during school reforms of NRW. Hamm is also well known for its many

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

s: * "Eduard Spranger Berufskolleg für Technik" a vocational school for mostly industrial jobs * "Elisabeth Lüders Berufskolleg für Sozialwesen, Gesundheit, Hauswirtschaft und Kinderpflege" a vocational school for social welfare, health, home economics and child care, and several other schools. * "Friederich List Berufskolleg für Wirtschaft" a trade and economical school In 2005 a small private university of applied sciences was established, the "SRH Fachhoschule Hamm". The private university of applied sciences started with two study programs ending with degrees of Bachelor and Master of Science for logistic engineering. The "Klinik für Psychatrie und Psychotherapie of the Marienhospital" cooperates with Witten/Herdecke University in education and science. During the summer 2009 another university of applied sciences was founded by the federal state NRW, named Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences. The university is divided in two departments, each with its own small Campus area, one in Hamm and another in

Lippstadt Lippstadt () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest. Lippstadt is situated about 60 kilometres east of Dortmund, 40 kilometres south of Bielefeld and 30 kilometres west of Paderborn. Geo ...

Industry and economy

Major industrial branches are the

coal-mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

industry,

steel industry Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high elastic modulus, yield strength, fracture strength and low raw material cost, steel is one of the ...

chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...

and the car component supplier industry. In the last century there were four coal-mines within the urban district. Today the Bergwerk Ost in Herringen is the last operating coal mine with about 3,000 employees. Mannesmann Hoesch Präzisrohr, Westfälische Draht Industrie (WDI) and Böhler Thyssen Welding are the major representatives of the steel industry, the chemical industry is represented by

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

in Uentrop and the car supplier industry by Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. factory 4 in Bockum-Hövel with about 1000 employees. The

energy industry The energy industry refers to all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, oil refinery, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy in ...

is represented by a RWE coal power plant and a further power plant (Trianel) in Uentrop. A new coal power plant is currently under construction. The

THTR-300 The THTR-300 was a thorium cycle high-temperature nuclear reactor rated at 300 MW electric (THTR-300) in Hamm-Uentrop, Germany. It started operating in 1983, synchronized with the grid in 1985, operated at full power in February 1987 and was s ...

, also in Uentrop-Schmehhausen, was decommissioned in 1989. Alongside the A2, in the southern part of the urban district, a new business park inhabits the growing

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

business. Hamm is also known as "City of Law" (Stadt des Rechts) because of the greatest German regional appeal court (Oberlandesgericht), the local court (Amtsgericht), the industrial court (Arbeitgericht) and the industrial appeal court (Landesarbeitsgericht). The Chamber of Notaries and bar association of the regional appeal court Hamm and the courts are of greater influence on the appearance of the city. Several hospitals in the urban district are also important employers, for example the EVK Hamm has about 1000 employees.

Media

The only daily newspaper of Hamm printed there, is the ''Westfälischer Anzeiger''. At first, a weekly newspaper in Hamm was the ''Kreis Hammsches Wochenblatt'' founded by Heinich Jakob Grote in 1822. Its name was changed in 1848 to ''Westfälischer Anzeiger''. A second newspaper appeared, founded by the Thiemann family, the ''Westfälische Kurier''. Both co-existed until the end of the Second World War. After the War both newspapers were combined and named ''Westfälischer Anzeiger und Kurier''. In the 1960s another name-change made the ''Westfälischer Anzeiger''. This newspaper is the mantle of several smaller regional newspapers; together, they had a total 153,428 copies in 2004. In the 1970s the ''Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung'' unsuccessfully tried to establish its own daily newspaper. Two weekly newspapers appear in Hamm: the ''Stadtanzeiger'' from the ''Westfälischer Anzeiger'' with a total of 384.000 copies, and the ''Sonntags-Rundblick'' by a medium-sized local company. Since 1990 the local radio station "Radio Lippewelle Hamm" is on air and number one radio station of the local radios in NRW. On 3 October 1993 the "Offener Kanal Hamm" started broadcasting; it is a small TV project by people for the people, started through the federal state.

Culture

The

Waldbühne The Waldbühne (''Woodland Stage'' or ''Forest Stage'') is an amphitheatre at Olympiapark Berlin in Berlin, Germany. It was designed by German architect Werner March in emulation of a Greek theatre and built between 1934 and 1936 as the Dietrich ...

Hamm-Heessen is one of the most active open-air theatres in Germany. The Alfred Fischer Hall is a multi-purpose event location in Heessen in a former machinery hall built by Alfred Fischer in 1912. The Städtische Musikschule Hamm is one of the oldest music schools in Germany. Hamm also has several active choirs and a jazz club and has been the home of many bands.

Transport

Roads

Hamm is linked to three

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s: the

Bundesautobahn 1 is an autobahn in Germany. It runs from Heiligenhafen in Schleswig-Holstein to Saarbrücken, a distance of , but is incomplete between Cologne and Trier. B 207 continues north from Heiligenhafen to Puttgarden, at the end of the island of Fe ...

(BAB 1 or A1, Puttgarden-Saarbrücken) named Hansaline with two connections (81 and 82), the (BAB 2 or A2, Oberhausen-Berlin) with three connections (17, 18 and 19) and the A445 (Hamm-Arnsberg) which is connected by the B63 until the planned construction between Hamm and

Werl The pilgrimage town Werl (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Wiärl'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia and belongs to the Soest, Germany, Soest district in the Arnsberg administrative district. The official name of pilgrimage town has been ...

is completed. The Kamener Kreuz is situated in the southwest of Hamm. Two federal routes (Bundesstrassen) the B61 and B63 intersect in the city centre. Several state roads (Landesstrassen) connect Hamm with its neighbouring towns and municipalities.

Railways

Hamm has three stations, the main railway station Hamm (Westfalen) and two minor stations, one in Bockum-Hövel and the other one in Heessen. The main station is one of the biggest railway hubs in Germany, and connected with one of the largest

marshalling yard A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...

s in Europe, the latter now only partly operating. Notable is the railway station for its

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

inspired building styles. Hamm has been connected to the rail since 2 May 1847. Its huge

railroad yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or ...

—Europe's biggest at the time—was bombed repeatedly during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as was the city itself (in December 1944 it was hit by eleven raids on one day).

Buses

The

city bus A transit bus (also big bus, commuter bus, city bus, town bus, urban bus, stage bus, public bus, public transit bus, or simply bus) is a type of bus used in public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including low-fl ...

network in Hamm is served by the Stadtwerke Hamm, with 65 buses, and the Verkehrsgesellschaft Breitenbach. A regional bus service is served by different companies and both nets serve the central

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

, which is situated in front of the main railway station in the centre of Hamm. Hamm is part of the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Ruhr-Lippe. About 12 million people use the bus network every year, transported on 50 bus lines with 500 bus stops within the city.

Canal network

Hamm is the end of the Datteln-Hamm-Kanal; three ports are situated in the urban district: the city port, the canal end port of Uentrop, and the port of Gersteinwerk. The ports of Hamm are the second biggest canal port by freight transact, 1.4 million tons a year by

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

s and 0.5 million tons by train. The city

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

allows for ships up to 110 metres length 11.45 meters width and 2.7 metres draft. It is linked with the railway by a track to the near main railway station and the marshaling yard. Hamm Flughafen

Airports

Near the city centre, in the meadows by the River Lippe, the Hamm sport airfield is situated. Its runway is 900 m long and 30 m wide. The

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

is operated by the Luftsportclub Hamm e.V. Hamm is situated in the middle of a triangle of three smaller international

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

s, in the north the

Münster Osnabrück Airport Münster Osnabrück Airport , formerly ''Münster/Osnabrück International Airport'' and ''Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück'' in German, is a minor international airport in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located near Grev ...

(FMO), in the south-west Dortmund Airport and in the east

Paderborn Lippstadt Airport Paderborn Lippstadt Airport (German: ''Flughafen Paderborn Lippstadt'') is a minor international airport in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe area in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Despite its name, the airport is actually located nea ...

. The nearest large

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

Düsseldorf Airport Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düsse ...

Notable people

* Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt (1747–1797), painter. * Karl von Bodelschwingh-Velmede (1800–1873), a Prussian politician. * Fred. "Fritz" Schmitz (1820–1905), farmer, musician and member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

Friedrich Kapp Friedrich Kapp (13 April 1824 – 27 October 1884) was a German-American lawyer, writer, and politician. He was an outspoken opponent of Germany's colonization fervor during his time as a National Liberal Reichstag deputy. This was exemplified i ...

(1824–1884), German-American attorney, author and politician * Karl Hopf (1832–1873), German historian and Byzantinist * Harro Magnussen (1861–1908), sculptor * Wilhelmine Lohmann (1872-?), teacher, social worker, and temperance leader * Hans Siemsen (1891–1969), journalist and author * Hubertus Strughold (1898–1986), physiologist, war criminal and prominent medical researcher * Gerd Bucerius (1906–1995), publisher of

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

from 1959. * Ludwig Biermann (1907–1986), astronomer *

Jean Berger Jean Berger (; September 27, 1909 – May 28, 2002) was a German-born American pianist, composer, and music educator. He composed extensively for choral ensemble and solo voice. Early years Berger was born Arthur Schloßberg into a Jewish famil ...

(1909–2002), pianist and composer *

Heinz Wallberg Heinz Wallberg (16 March 192329 September 2004) was a German conductor. Wallberg was born in Herringen, Westphalia. He studied trumpet, violin and piano. He helped to support his family with his musical training after his father became unabl ...

(1923–2004),

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Hanns Joachim Friedrichs Hanns Joachim "Hajo" Friedrichs (15 March 1927 – 28 March 1995) was a German journalist. Life Friedrichs was born in Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamm. From 1971 to 1981, he was a sports journalist for the German magazine ''Sportstudio''. 1 ...

(1927–1995), TV-Journalist and moderator *

Friedrich Hirzebruch Friedrich Ernst Peter Hirzebruch ForMemRS (17 October 1927 – 27 May 2012) was a German mathematician, working in the fields of topology, complex manifolds and algebraic geometry, and a leading figure in his generation. He has been described as ...

(1927–2012), mathematician, founder and first director of the

Max Planck Institute for Mathematics The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (, MPIM) is a research institute located in Bonn, Germany. It is named in honor of the German physicist Max Planck and forms part of the Max Planck Society (''Max-Planck-Gesellschaft''), an association o ...

in Bonn *

Almuth Lütkenhaus Almuth Lütkenhaus (née Wirsing; 8 March 1930 in Hamm, Westphalia – 1996 in Ottawa, Ontario) was a sculptor, also known as Almuth Lütkenhaus-Lackey. From 1948 until 1952 she studied art at schools in Dortmund and Münster. She married Erich Lü ...

(1930–1996), sculptor and visual artist * Werner Brinkmann (born 1946), jurist, director of

Stiftung Warentest Stiftung Warentest is a German consumer organisation and foundation involved in investigating and comparing goods and services in an unbiased way. It was founded on 4 December 1964 by the Federal Republic of Germany as an independent foundat ...

between 1995 – 2011 * Klaus J. Behrendt (born in 1960), actor starred in ''"

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

"'' * Ursula Neugebauer (born 1960), artist * Uwe Kröger (born 1964), musical actor * Richard Klophaus (born 1965), economist * İsmail YK (born 1978), musician and singer *

Selma Ergeç Selma Sabina Ergeç (; born 1 November 1978) is a Turkish-German actress, beauty pageant titleholder, Model (person), model, designer, philologist, psychologist and physician, doctor. She is known for her performance in :tr:Kırımlı (film), K� ...

(born 1978), Turkish-German actress and model * Giant Rooks, (founded 2014) a German indie rock band from Hamm.

Sport

Bernard Dietz Bernard Dietz (born 22 March 1948) is a German former football player and manager. A former defender, he captained the West Germany national team to victory in the UEFA Euro 1980. Club career A defender in his professional career, Bernard D ...

(born 1948), footballer, captain of the West

Germany national football team The Germany national football team () represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund''), founded ...

Horst Hrubesch Horst Hrubesch (; born 17 April 1951) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed the Germany women's national team. As a player, Hrubesch won three West German championships with his club side, Hamburger SV, as ...

(born 1951), retired footballer * Josef Kaczor (born 1953), footballer, nicknamed „Jupp" * Jutta Weber (born 1954), swimmer, bronze and silver medallist at the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

* Michael Lusch (born 1964), footballer and football coach * Christian Vinck (born 1975), former tennis player * Anna Bornhoff (born 1981), footballer *

Mike Hanke Mike Hanke (; born 5 November 1983) is a German former professional footballer who played the position of forward. He has been described as a player who "gives it his all in attack and is always dangerous in the opponent's penalty area." He ear ...

(born 1983), retired footballer who last played for Guizhou Renhe * Gina-Maria Adenauer (born 1985), racing driver *

Kevin Mirocha Kevin Mirocha (born 7 October 1991 in Hamm, Germany) is a Polish-German racing driver. Early life During childhood, Mirocha raced karts in Koszalin, Poland. Career Formula BMW Despite beginning his karting career in 2001, 2007 saw his debut ...

(born 1991), Polish-German racing driver * Sjoeke Nüsken (born 2001), footballer for the Germany national team

Freemen

The city of Hamm has made since 1945 the following people freemen: * 1946: Josef Schlichter * 1953: Hugo Bröcker * 1954: Josef Weidekamp * 1959: Peter Röttgen * 1959: Ferdinand Poggel * 1965: Heinrich Luhmann * 1971: Gerhard Krampe * 1990: Werner Figgen * 1990: Günter Rinsche * 1994: Felix Ziethmann

References

External links

City Wiki for Hamm, in German

The official site for Hamm, in German
*
Virtual Tour of the Windsor School / Windsor Boys School Hamm, Germany
{{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Urban districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Arnsberg (region) 1226 establishments in Europe Members of the Hanseatic League