Witten

Witten (German: [ˈvɪtn̩] ⓘ) is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

For other uses, see Witten (disambiguation).
Witten
Town
Town hall in Witten
Town hall in Witten
Flag of Witten
Flag
Coat of arms of Witten
Coat of arms
Location of Witten within Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district
Witten is located in Germany
Witten
Witten
Witten is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Witten
Witten
Coordinates: 51°26′N 7°20′E
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionArnsberg
DistrictEnnepe-Ruhr-Kreis
Subdivisions8 districts
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Lars König[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total72.40 km2 (27.95 sq mi)
Elevation
104 m (341 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
 • Total95,107
 • Density1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
58401 - 58456
Dialling codes02302, 02324 (Buchholz)
Vehicle registrationEN, WIT
Websitewitten.de

Geography

Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area.

Bordering municipalities

Boroughs

Witten is divided into eight boroughs and each borough is further divided into two or more city-districts. Every district has its own district-number:

  • Witten-Mitte: 11 Innenstadt, 12 Oberdorf-Helenenberg, 13 Industriegebiet-West, 14 Krone, 15 Crengeldanz, 16 Hauptfriedhof, 17 Stadion, 18 Industriegebiet-Nord, 19 Hohenstein
  • Düren: 21 Düren-Nord, 22 Düren-Sued
  • Stockum: 31 Stockum-Mitte, 32 Dorney, 33 Stockumer Bruch, 34 Wilhelmshöhe
  • Annen: 41 Tiefendorf, 42 Wullen, 43 Annen-Mitte-Nord, 44 Annen-Mitte-Süd, 45 Kohlensiepen, 46 Wartenberg, 47 Gedern
  • Rüdinghausen: 51 Industriegebiet-Ost, 52 Rüdinghausen-Mitte, 53 Buchholz, 54 Schnee
  • Bommern: 61 Steinhausen, 62 Bommerbank, 63 Bommerfeld, 64 Wettberg, 65 Buschey, 66 Bommeregge
  • Heven: 71 Papenholz, 72 Hellweg, 73 Wannen, 74 Heven-Dorf, 75 Lake
  • Herbede: 81 Herbede-Ort, 82 Vormholz, 83 Bommerholz-Muttental, 84 Durchholz, 85 Buchholz-Kaempen

Population 1739–2020
Year Inhabitants
1739566
1787690
18081,587
18302,210
1 December 18402,987
1 December 18555,112
3 December 18586,908
3 December 186410,500
3 December 186712,200
1 December 187115,161
1 December 187518,100
1 December 188021,600
1 December 188523,879
Year Inhabitants
1 December 189026,310
2 December 189528,769
1 December 190033,517
1 December 190535,841
1 December 191037,450
1 December 191634,864
5 December 191735,033
8 October 191937,441
16 June 192545,519
16 June 193372,580
17 May 193973,365
31 December 194570,276
29 October 194669,384
Year Inhabitants
13 September 195076,312
25 September 195691,706
6 June 196196,462
31 December 196598,506
27 May 197097,379
31 December 1975108,771
31 December 1980105,876
31 December 1985102,259
25 May 1987102,902
31 December 1990105,403
31 December 1995104,754
31 December 2000103,196
30 June 2005101,019
Year Inhabitants
31 December 201198,330
31 December 201596,700
31 December 201696,781
31 December 201996,459
31 December 202095,876

History
The Roburit Explosion in 1906

Witten was first mentioned in historic sources in 1214, however the borough Herbede (which was incorporated into the city in 1975) dates back to 851. The city was a mining town from 1578. In 1946, it was included in North Rhine-Westphalia on its establishment. In 1975 Witten was included in the administrative district Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis and it is now its biggest city. 1975 was also the year Witten was first counted to have more than 100,000 inhabitants, the threshold to be considered a large city ("Großstadt") in Germany.

Roburit Explosion

In the late 19th century Witten was known for the Roburit dynamite. This dynamite was once used by coal mines around the world. In 1906 an explosion occurred, resulting in the deaths of 41 people.

Politics
Townhall and Johannis-Church

In the local elections of 2004 the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was the largest party on the council with 24 seats. It was followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 18 and the Alliance 90/The Greens with 7, the WBG (a conservative lis) and Free Democrats with four each, FLW (also a conservative list) with three, National Democratic Party two, and the PDS/WAL (socialists) and AUF Witten (a left wing list) with one each.

From 2004 to 2020, for the first time in its history, the council was led by a female mayor: Sonja Leidemann (SPD). In the election of 2020 she lost her mandate to Lars König (CDU).

Mayor

The current mayor of Witten is Lars König of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes  % Votes  %
Sonja Leidemann Social Democratic Party 12,365 34.5 11,365 40.0
Lars König Christian Democratic Union 10,595 29.6 17,036 60.0
Stefan Borggraefe Pirate Party Germany 4,005 11.2
Martin Strautz Citizens' Forum 2,276 6.4
Ursula Weiß The Left 2,227 6.2
Richard Surrey Witten Citzen's Association/Free Voters 1,793 5.0
Michael Hasenkamp CityClimate Witten 1,110 3.1
Hans-Peter Skotarzik Witten.Direct 1,052 2.9
Norman Kerner Independent 397 1.1
Valid votes 35,820 98.1 28,401 98.7
Invalid votes 709 1.9 369 1.3
Total 36,529 100.0 28,770 100.0
Electorate/voter turnout 78,110 46.8 77,920 36.9
Source: City of Witten (1st round, 2nd round)

City council
Results of the 2020 city council election.

The Witten 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) 9,052 25.2 Decrease 10.0 16 Decrease 9
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 8,349 23.2 Decrease 0.3 15 Decrease 2
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 7,404 20.6 Increase 7.6 13 Increase 4
Citizens' Forum (BF) 2,182 6.1 Decrease 4.4 4 Decrease 3
Alternative for Germany (AfD) 1,681 4.7 New 3 New
Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) 1,536 4.3 Increase 2.2 3 Increase 1
The Left (Die Linke) 1,441 4.0 Decrease 2.0 3 Decrease 1
Witten Citzens' Association/Free Voters (WGB-FW) 1,120 3.1 Increase 0.9 2 ±0
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 838 2.3 Increase 0.1 2 ±0
Die PARTEI 739 2.1 New 1 New
CityClimate Witten (SKW) 631 1.8 New 1 New
Witten.Direct (W.D) 535 1.5 New 1 New
Alternative Independent Progressive Witten (AUF) 227 0.6 Decrease 0.6 0 Decrease 1
Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) 139 0.4 New 0 New
Grassroots Democratic List Witten (BLW) 87 0.2 New 0 New
Independent Norman Kerner 13 0.0 New 0 New
Valid votes 35,974 98.5
Invalid votes 547 1.5
Total 36,521 100.0 64 Decrease 8
Electorate/voter turnout 78,108 46.8 Decrease 0.4
Source: City of Witten

State Landtag

In the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, Witten is part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II constituency. Nadja Büteführ of the SPD was elected as representative in the 2017 state election. Verena Schäffer of the Greens also ran in the constituency and was elected to the Landtag on her party's state list.

Federal parliament

In the Bundestag, Witten is part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II constituency. Axel Echeverria of the SPD was elected as representative in the 2021 German federal election.

Transport
Tram in Witten-Heven

Witten is connected to the Autobahn network by the A 43 and A 44 motorways. It has a central station, connecting the city to the regional-train-network of Deutsche Bahn with direct connections to Hagen, Bochum, Essen, Siegen, Wuppertal, Düsseldorf, Aachen or Dortmund. Local service is carried out by the BOGESTRA, a joint venture between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen, to which most of the bus lines in Witten belong. There is a tram line connecting to Bochum. From mid-December on, there will be two tram lines, which will run in Witten (lines 309 and 310). When the new track to Langendreer is completed (September 2020), the tram lines will ride to the station of Bochum-Langendreer (309) or to Wattenscheid-Höntrop via Bochum main station (310). Public transport in the city is carried out according to the fare system of the VRR transport association.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Witten with its two lions once belong to the Everhards von Witten-Steinhausen and was first mentioned in 1283. The family of Witten-Steinhausen belongs to the founders of the town of Witten. Their slogan was: "Sigillum Hermanni de Wittene". Because of its long history this coat of arms was the only one in the Ruhr area, that was not forbidden by the Allies in May 1945, after the end of the Second World War.

Culture

Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Witten is twinned with:[3]

Religions
St. Maria Church

Roman Catholic

When Witten was first mentioned in historical documents, it was part of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Since 1821 it has been a part of the Diocese of Paderborn; however, the borough of Herbede belongs to the Diocese of Essen. In the 19th century the Ruhr area drew up to 500,000 Poles from East Prussia and Silesia, most of whom were Catholic. Hundreds settled in Witten, leading to a growth in the Catholic community. Today, between 30 and 40 per cent of the population is Catholic.

Protestant

In the 16th century Witten was influenced by Martin Luther's Reformation, and until the late 19th century, Witten was a predominantly Protestant town with just a few Catholic inhabitants. Between 30 and 40 per cent of the population is Protestant today.

Muslims

There are four mosques in Witten, Annen and Herbede today, founded by immigrants from Turkey who arrived in the 1970s and 1980s. Between five and eight per cent of the population is Muslim.

Jews
Memorial at the place of the former synagogue

In 1815 the first Jewish community was mentioned in Witten. In 1938 the synagogue was destroyed during the so-called "Reichspogromnacht" (also known as Kristallnacht) of 9–10 November 1938. Today, only about a dozen Jews live in Witten. They belong to the Jewish community in Dortmund.

Since 1994 the place of the former synagogue is marked with a memorial.

Notable people

References
  1. Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.
  2. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2021" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  3. "Städtepartnerschaften". win.witten.de (in German). Witten. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
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