Wermelskirchen
Wermelskirchen (German pronunciation: [ˈvɛʁml̩sˌkɪʁçn̩] ⓘ; Ripuarian: Wärmelßkirrshe) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m).
Wermelskirchen | |
|---|---|
Church of Saint Michael | |
Location of Wermelskirchen within Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis district | |
| Coordinates: 51°09′N 7°13′E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Köln |
| District | Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–25) | Marion Lück[1] (Ind.) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 74.66 km2 (28.83 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 345 m (1,132 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 34,739 |
| • Density | 470/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 42929 |
| Dialling codes | 02196 02193 (Dabringhausen) 02174 (Bechhausen) |
| Vehicle registration | GL |
| Website | www.wermelskirchen.de |
The distance to Cologne is about 35 kilometers, to Düsseldorf about 45 kilometers. The neighboring municipalities are Remscheid, Hückeswagen, Wipperfürth, Kürten, Odenthal, Burscheid and Solingen. The townscape is characterized by Altberg slate and half-timbered houses.
The coat-of-arms of the city of Wermelskirchen looks like a silver shield split into thirds. In the left field is an oak tree. In the right field there is a Swan and pictured in the middle field there is a church.
From 1822 to 1945, Wermelskirchen was part of the Prussian Rhine Province.
Wermelskirchen has an Evangelical, a Roman Catholic church and a Latin school.
The city has the head office of OBI[3] and the origin of the caster manufacturer TENTE.
- Carl Leverkus (1804–1889), founder of a German chemical and pharmaceutical company and the namesake of the city of Leverkusen
- Uwe Boll (born 1965), film director and writer, restaurateur and founder of Bauhaus Restaurant chains in Canada
- Thomas Kleine (born 1977), footballer
- Christian Lindner (born 1979), politician and Federal Minister of Finance (2021–present)
Honorary citizens
- 1876: Ludwig von Bohlen
- 1884: Carl Leverkus
- 1895: Otto von Bismarck
- 1933: Paul von Hindenburg
- Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 29 June 2021.
- "Städtepartnerschaften & Patenschaften". wermelskirchen.de (in German). Wermelskirchen. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wermelskirchen" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 523.
- Official website (in German)
- Website of the borough Dabringhausen (in German)
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