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Schwelm | |
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 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Schwelm within Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district  | |
 Location of Schwelm | |
  Schwelm  Schwelm | |
| Coordinates:51°16′N7°16′E / 51.267°N 7.267°E /51.267; 7.267 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Arnsberg |
| District | Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–25) | Stephan Langhard[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 20.5 km2 (7.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 213 m (699 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 28,711 |
| • Density | 1,400/km2 (3,630/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 58332 |
| Dialling codes | 02336 |
| Vehicle registration | EN |
| Website | www.schwelm.de |
Schwelm (German pronunciation:[ʃvɛlm]ⓘ) is a town in the district ofEnnepe-Ruhr-Kreis in the administrative region ofArnsberg within the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany.
Schwelm is situated in the southeast of the "Ruhrgebiet", theRuhr district ofGermany, betweenWestphalia and the "Bergisches Land". Schwelm is commonly known as the "Pforte Westfalens" ("Gate toWestphalia").
According to its area, Schwelm is the smallest town inNorth Rhine-Westphalia.
Surrounding towns includeEnnepetal,Gevelsberg,Sprockhövel andWuppertal.
Schwelm is called the "town of neighbourhoods". It is made up of the following 13 neighbourhoods:[3]
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The history of Schwelm can be traced back to the ninth century, where it is first mentioned as "Suelmiu". The town of Schwelm was officially established in 1496 and became seat of theEnnepe-Ruhrdistrict in 1929.
DuringWorld War II,forced laborers of the 3rdSS construction brigade were dispatched in the town by the Nazis in 1943.[4]
A Westphalian variety of high German is spoken in Schwelm (Westphalian: from old SaxonWestfal = "western land"). The Westphalian dialect belongs to the low Saxon dialects, which is a part of the family of low German dialects. Compared to other German regions (e.g.,Bavaria orSwabia) the dialect does not have a strong influence on the everyday speech. Especially the elderly population is still able to speak Schwelm's original Westphalian tongue, calledSchwelmer Platt, which is quite different from standard high German and bears a certain resemblance to Dutch.
The current mayor of Schwelm is Stephan Langhard of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD) since 2020. In the most recent mayoral election on 13 and 27 September 2020, Langhard advanced to the runoff with 41.85% of votes against Philipp Beckmann of theFree Democratic Party (FDP), who won 30.4%. Heinz-Jürgen Lenz, with the endorsement of theCDU andThe Greens, placed third with 27.8%.[5] In the runoff, Langhard won with 52.4% of votes.[6]
The Schwelm 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:
| Party | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 3,302 | 29.5 |  1.8 | 14 |  2 | |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 2,998 | 26.8 | 2.7 | 13 | 2 | |
| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 1,794 | 16.1 | 7.1 | 8 | 5 | |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,532 | 13.7 | 6.9 | 7 | 3 | |
| Schwelmer Voters' Association/Citizens for Schwelm (SWG/BfS) | 484 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 2 | 1 | |
| The Left (Die Linke) | 484 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Education, Innovation, Future (BIZ) | 441 | 3.9 | New | 2 | New | |
| All for Schwelm (AFS) | 145 | 1.3 | New | 0 | New | |
| Valid votes | 11,180 | 98.5 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 172 | 1.5 | ||||
| Total | 11,352 | 100.0 | 48 | 10 | ||
| Electorate/voter turnout | 22,534 | 50.4 | ||||
| Source:City of Schwelm | ||||||
Schwelm has got a historical town center with many old houses, some of which date back to the 18th century. TheAltmarkt is a historical market place lying in front of the tallChristuskirche, the town's principal Protestant church. From theAltmarkt, the decorative streetKölner Strasse leads uphill and is part of the former road to Cologne.
Until 2011, Schwelm was home to theBrauerei Schwelm, the "Schwelm Brewery", one of few remaining private breweries in North Rhine-Westphalia. Established in 1830 by Haarmann & Kathagen, the brewery was one of the first worldwide to switch from wooden to metal storage containers. The original administration building, theRietz'sche Haus built in 1701, is an appealing house in the town center. Most of the brewery's historic production site, however, was torn down in 2012.
The oldest piano manufacturer in the world is located in Schwelm. Since 1794,Rud. Ibach Sohn has been building pianos and, until 1904, organs in Schwelm.
Europe's biggest fair-trade organisation "GEPA" was founded in Schwelm in the 1970s, but is now located inWuppertal.
A historical Jewish cemetery, dating from the late 18th century is located in the countryside about 1.3 km south of the town's center. It is maintained by the municipality and volunteers.[7]
Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France (formerlyFourqueux)
(in German)Towns and municipalities inEnnepe-Ruhr | ||
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