Ennepetal (German pronunciation: [ˈɛnəpəˌtaːl] ; Westphalian: Iämpedal) is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was created in 1949 out of the former municipalities Milspe and Voerde. It was named after the river Ennepe, which flows through the municipality.
Ennepetal | |
|---|---|
 Ennepetal-Voerde in summer | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Ennepetal within Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district  | |
  Ennepetal  Ennepetal | |
| Coordinates: 51°17′N 7°20′E / 51.283°N 7.333°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Arnsberg |
| District | Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–25) | Imke Heymann[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 57.42 km2 (22.17 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 390 m (1,280 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 170 m (560 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 30,502 |
| • Density | 530/km2 (1,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 58256 |
| Dialling codes | 02333 |
| Vehicle registration | EN |
| Website | www.ennepetal.de |
The town was featured in the headlines when on April 12, 2005, a hostage taker snatched several school children from a school bus, and took them as hostages, see Ennepetal hostage taking.
Division of the town
editEnnepetal is divided into nine quarters (Ortsteile), which resemble former towns and villages. The population is shown as of 10 June 2015:[3]
- Altenvoerde (3663)
- Bülbringen/Oberbauer (1470)
- Büttenberg (3689)
- Hasperbach (1208)
- Königsfeld (1090)
- Milspe (9776)
- Oelkinghausen (573)
- Rüggeberg (1482)
- Voerde (7438)
Politics
editThe current mayor of Ennepetal is independent politician Imke Heymann. She was first elected in 2015 with the endorsement of the CDU, The Greens, Free Voters, and FDP. In the most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, Heymann was re-elected with 70.3% of votes with the backing of the SPD and CDU. She was opposed by Sotirios Kostas (18.2%) and Cornelia Born-Maijer (11.5%), who both ran as independents.[4]
Local council
edit
The Ennepetal municipal council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
| Party | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 3,792 | 31.5 |  7.1
|
11 | 5
| |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 3,556 | 29.5 |  3.3
|
11 | ±0 | |
| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 2,252 | 18.7 | 8.9
|
7 | 3
| |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,089 | 9.0 | 2.9
|
3 | 1
| |
| Free Voters Ennepetal (FWE) | 780 | 6.5 | 2.3
|
2 | 2
| |
| The Left (Die Linke) | 572 | 4.8 | 0.8
|
2 | ±0 | |
| Valid votes | 12,041 | 98.0 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 248 | 2.0 | ||||
| Total | 12,289 | 100.0 | 36 | 6
| ||
| Electorate/voter turnout | 24,726 | 49.7 | ||||
| Source: City of Ennepetal | ||||||
Twin towns – sister cities
edit
Vilvoorde, Belgium
Transport
editThe Ennepetal (Gevelsberg) station on the Wuppertal–Dortmund railway is served by regional trains.
The town also had a station named "Voerde" on the Kleinbahn Haspe-Voerde-Breckerfeld, which in former times was the longest streetcar in Germany. Today, the former track is being used as a walk and bicycle way, connecting the Ruhr area to the nearby Sauerland.
Notable places
editThe Klutert Cave is one of the largest natural caves of Germany with a length of over 5 km.
Economy
editNotable people
editSons and daughters of the town
edit- Karl-Heinz Peters (1903–1990), film actor
People who are connected to Ennepetal
edit- Dirk Rauin (born 1957), handball player and coach
- Ralf Waldmann (born 1966), motorcycle racing driver
References
edit- ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
- ^ The Quarters of Ennepetal Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, ennepetal.de
- ^ "Mayoral election" (in German). City of Ennepetal. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". ennepetal.de (in German). Ennepetal. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
External links
edit
- Official website
(in German) - Kluterthöhle (in German)
