Recklinghausen (German pronunciation:[ˌʁɛklɪŋˈhaʊzn̩]ⓘ;Westphalian:Riäkelhusen) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and thecapital of theRecklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghausen is the 60th-largest city in Germany and the 22nd-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia.
First mentioned in 1017 asRicoldinchuson, in 1150 the city was the center of the surroundingVest Recklinghausen. In 1236, Recklinghausen receivedtown privileges. There is record ofJews in the city as early as 1305.[3] As part of theCounty of Vest, ownership of Recklinghausen changed several times in the 15th and 16th century, and in 1576, the entire county was pawned to theElector of Cologne. In 1582–83, again in 1586, and again in 1587, the city was plundered by partisan armies during theCologne War, a feud over religious parity inElectorate of Cologne and electoral influence in the Holy Roman Empire.
Seventeenth-century Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen was also the site of more than 100witchcraft trials (1514–1710).[citation needed] The trial activity reached a climax twice: In the time period of 1580/81 and again in 1588/89. The last person to be convicted ofwitchcraft was Anna Spickermann; after spending 16 months in prison, she was sentenced to death by sword and burned afterward.
DuringWorld War II, in December 1939, theStalag XX-Bprisoner-of-war camp was founded in the city, however, it was relocated after a few days,[4] and from 1941 to 1943, aforced labour camp was operated in the city.[5] As a target of theOil Campaign of World War II, oil production at Recklinghausen/Forstezung was bombed by the RAF on 15 January 1945; and South Recklinghausen (Recklinghausen Süd) was captured by the US137th Infantry on 1 April 1945.[6]
Icon museum of RecklinghausenOfficial logo of Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen is home to a museum oficons, which includes more than 1,000Orthodox works fromRussia,Greece and theBalkan countries, as well as earlyCopticChristian art fromEgypt. The icon museum – the largest outside the Orthodox world – was founded in 1956 and reopened after renovation in February 2006 for its 50th anniversary.
TheRuhrfestspielhaus (Ruhr Festival Theatre), whose remodeling in 2001 won the German Architecture Award is home of "Die Liegende Nr 5", a famous sculpture byHenry Moore. At the Lohtor in front of a memorial for the victims of World War I, there is a large sculpture made of more than 30,000 bricks byPer Kirkeby.
Recklinghausen hosts the annualRuhrfestspiele (Ruhr Festival), a cultural festival with an international reputation. Every year there is a cultural programme with many national and international theatrical productions starting on 1 May. In 2008 the programme included the playSpeed the Plow starringKevin Spacey andJeff Goldblum as one of the major productions. The main theatrical stage is theRuhrfestspielhaus but other theatres in and around Recklinghausen participate.
The two major motorways crossing the area of the city are theA2 and theA43. The city is connected to the larger waterways by theRhein-Herne-Kanal. Recklinghausen has two railway stations. TheCentral Station (Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof), which is served byIntercity andEuroCity services, and theSouth Station (Recklinghausen Südbahnhof).
There are twoRhine-Ruhr S-Bahn lines -S 2 to Dortmund via Herne - Castrop-Rauxel andS 9 to Hagen via Gladbeck - Bottrop - Essen - Velbert - Wuppertal.
The current mayor of Recklinghausen is Christoph Tesche of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU). The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
The Recklinghausen 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:
^Daniluk, Jan (2012). "Wykorzystanie siły roboczej jeńców wojennych w XX Okręgu Wojskowym w latach II wojny światowej (zarys problemu)".Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish).35. Opole: 21.
.JPG)
