Gevelsberg (German pronunciation: [ˈɡeːfl̩sˌbɛʁk] ; Westphalian: Gievelsbiärg) is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Gevelsberg
Gevelsberg in summer
Gevelsberg in summer
Flag of Gevelsberg
Coat of arms of Gevelsberg
Location of Gevelsberg within Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district
BochumDortmundEssenGelsenkirchenHagenHerneMettmann (district)Unna (district)Märkischer KreisOberbergischer KreisRemscheidWuppertalBreckerfeldEnnepetalGevelsbergHattingenHerdeckeSchwelmSprockhövelWetter (Ruhr)Witten
Gevelsberg is located in Germany
Gevelsberg
Gevelsberg
Gevelsberg is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Gevelsberg
Gevelsberg
Coordinates: 51°19′N 7°20′E / 51.317°N 7.333°E / 51.317; 7.333
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionArnsberg
DistrictEnnepe-Ruhr-Kreis
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Claus Jacobi[1] (SPD)
Area
 • Total26.27 km2 (10.14 sq mi)
Elevation
160 m (520 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
 • Total30,669
 • Density1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
58285
Dialling codes0 23 32
Vehicle registrationEN
Websitewww.gevelsberg.de

Geography edit

 
Mittelstraße

The town lies in the valley of the river Ennepe in the Süder Uplands, which is part of the Rhenish Massif. Gevelsberg lies about halfway between Wuppertal and Hagen, and is part of the industrial Ruhr Region. The lowest elevation is the Ennepe river at Vogelsang (132 m or 433 ft) and highest is the Hageböllinger Kopf (336 m or 1,102 ft). Its east-to-west length is 7.1 kilometres (4+38 miles) and the north to south length is 7.15 km (4+716 mi).

Division of the town edit

  • Asbeck
  • Berge
  • Gevelsberg
  • Silschede

History edit

 
Church of St. Engelbert

The town has a history of nearly 785 years. The archbishop of Cologne Engelbert II of Berg was killed on November 7, 1225 by his cousin Frederick of Isenberg in Gievilberch. As a consequence, a monastery of atonement (German: Sühnekloster) was established at the place of Engelbert's death and became the origin of the settlement resulting in today's Gevelsberg.[3]

The population grew strongly in the 19th century, when many small industries related to iron processing were developed.

Coat of arms edit

Gevelsberg received its coat of arms (a brick gable on a green hill, and a cogwheel indicating its industry) by decree of the Prussian Department of the Interior in 1903. In the mid-1950s a city wall was added to the coat of arms.

Politics edit

The current mayor of Gevelsberg is Claus Jacobi of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2004. In the most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, Jacobi was re-elected with 87.1% of votes, defeating Felix Keßler, who was endorsed by the CDU, Free Voters, The Greens, and FDP.[4]

City council edit

 
Results of the 2020 city council election.

The Gevelsberg 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) 8,675 62.9   0.6 27   1
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 2,022 14.7   4.1 6   2
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 1,730 12.5   6.3 5   2
Alternative for Germany (AfD) 685 5.0 New 2 New
The Left (Die Linke) 339 2.5   1.9 1   1
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 334 2.4 New 1 New
Valid votes 13,785 98.2
Invalid votes 246 1.8
Total 14,031 100.0 42 ±0
Electorate/voter turnout 25,727 54.5
Source: City of Gevelsberg

Transport edit

 
Ennepe Bridge

Gevelsberg is connected to the national road network by the A1 autobahn and the B 7 and B 234 roads.

The municipality is served by several regional train lines of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr. There are four stations on the local line from Hagen to Wuppertal (Gevelsberg-Knapp, Gevelsberg Hauptbahnhof, Gevelsberg-Kipp and Gevelsberg West) served by the S 8 trains of the Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn. Three hourly Regional-Express services, the Wupper-Express (RE 4) between Dortmund and Aachen via Düsseldorf, the Rhein-Münsterland-Express (RE 7) between Krefeld and Münster via Cologne and Hamm and the Maas-Wupper-Express (RE 13) between Venlo (Netherlands) and Hamm via Mönchengladbach, stop at Ennepetal (Gevelsberg) station.

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Gevelsberg is twinned with:[5]

Festivities edit

  • Gevelsberg Kirmes – held every last weekend of June[6]
  • Quellenfest – every year on Ascension Thursday to Sunday

Notable people edit

External links edit

References edit

  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. ^ Gevelsberg, Stadt. "Dorf und Stadtzeichen / Stadt Gevelsberg". Stadt Gevelsberg (in German). Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  4. ^ "Mayoral election" (in German). City of Gevelsberg. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Partnerstädte". gevelsberg.de (in German). Gevelsberg. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  6. ^ Gevelsberg, Stadt. "Kirmes / Stadt Gevelsberg". Stadt Gevelsberg (in German). Retrieved 2021-05-15.