Bergkamen

Bergkamen is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the river Lippe, approx. 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Dortmund and 15 km (9 mi) south-west of Hamm.

Bergkamen
Bergkamen city hall
Coat of arms
Location of Bergkamen within Unna district
Unna (district)North Rhine-WestphaliaEnnepe-Ruhr-KreisHagenDortmundRecklinghausen (district)Coesfeld (district)Warendorf (district)HammSoest (district)HochsauerlandkreisMärkischer KreisSchwerteHolzwickedeFröndenbergUnnaLünenBergkamenKamenBönenWerneSelm
Bergkamen
Bergkamen
Coordinates: 51°37′N 7°38′E
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionArnsberg
DistrictUnna
Government
 • MayorRoland Schäfer (SPD)
Area
 • Total44.8 km2 (17.3 sq mi)
Elevation
68 m (223 ft)
Population
 (2018-12-31)[1]
 • Total48,725
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Time zoneCET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes
59192
Dialling codes02307, 02389, 02306
Vehicle registrationUN
Websitewww.bergkamen.de

Bergkamen, a fairly new town in the east part of the Ruhr Area and south of the Münsterland, was founded in 1966 by the merging of at first five smaller communities. The town‘s history, however, reaches back to ancient Roman times - this can be experienced by visiting the Bergkamen Municipal Museum, which has a large Roman department, and the nearby archeological site, the “Roemerlager“.

Main sights
  • Westphalian Sports Boat Centre - Marina Ruenthe
  • The neighbouring national trust area, “Beversee“, and the wooded hill, “Grosses Holz“, a renaturalized former slag heap, provide an inviting atmosphere for relaxation.

Cultural events
  • Harbour Festival ("Hafenfest") in June
  • Light Festival ("Lichtermarkt") in October.

Bergkamen is home to theatre performances at the “studio theater bergkamen“ and numerous exhibitions in the town‘s own art gallery “sohle1“ or the “Stadtmuseum“

History
Memorial to the victims of the mining disaster on Grimberg 1946

In February 1946, a coal mine in the city suffered a dust explosion that killed 418 miners. This was the worst mining accident in German history.[2]

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Twin towns – sister cities

Bergkamen is twinned with:[3]

Sons and daughters of the city
Ernst von Bodelschwingh
  • Heiko Antoniewicz, (born 1965), German cook
  • Carl von Bodelschwingh, (1800-1873), Prussian Finance Minister
  • Ernst von Bodelschwingh-Velmede, (1794-1854), Prussian Minister of Interior and Cabinet
  • Ernst von Bodelschwingh, (1906-1993), German politician (Member of Bundestag, CDU)
  • Eugen Drewermann, (born 1940) theologian, church critic, best-seller author
  • Konrad Ott (born 1959), philosopher and ethicist
  • Frauke Petry (born 1975), German politician (AfD), lived in Bergkamen and went to school there
  • Dietrich Schwanitz (1940-2004), best-selling author, grew up in Rünthe
  • Hans F. Sennholz (1922-2007), economist
  • Peer Steinbrück (born 1947), German politician (SPD), Member of Landtag, for Bergkamen 2000-2005

See also

References
Notes
  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2018" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  2. Exorcising Hitler; The Occupation and Denazification of Germany, Frederick Taylor, Bloomsbury Press
  3. "Städtepartnerschaften". bergkamen.de (in German). Bergkamen. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
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