Witten
249827
225003672
2008-07-11T12:17:02Z
Number 57
327289
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{{Infobox German Location
|image_photo = Rathaus-Witten-IMG 3580.jpg
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption = Town hall in Witten
|Art = Stadt
|Name = Witten
|Wappen = Wappen von Witten.png
|lat_deg = 51 |lat_min = 26 |lat_sec = 0
|lon_deg = 7 |lon_min = 20 |lon_sec = 0
|Lageplan =
|Bundesland = Nordrhein-Westfalen
|Regierungsbezirk = Arnsberg
|Kreis = Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis
|Höhe = 104
|Fläche = 72.40
|Einwohner = 99976
|Stand = 2006-08-31
|PLZ = 58401 - 58456
|Vorwahl = 02302<br>02324 (Buchholz)
|Kfz = EN
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 05 9 54 036
|Stadtgliederung = 8 districts
|Adresse = Marktstr. 16<br />58449 Witten
|Website = [http://www.witten.de/ witten.de]
|Bürgermeistertitel= Bürgermeisterin
|Bürgermeister = Sonja Leidemann
|Partei = SPD
}}
'''Witten''' is a university city in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[Germany]]. It is the home of the [[Witten/Herdecke University]], the first private university in Germany.
== Geography ==
Witten is situated in the in the [[Ruhr]] valley, in the southern [[Ruhr area]].
=== Bordering municipalities ===
* [[Bochum]]
* [[Dortmund]]
* [[Herdecke]]
* [[Wetter (Ruhr)]]
* [[Sprockhoevel]]
* [[Hattingen]]
=== Division of the town ===
Witten is divided into 8 boroughs and every of these boroughs is divided into city-districts. Every district has it 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 [[Witten-Hohenstein|Hohenstein]]
* Dueren: 21 Dueren-Nord, 22 Dueren-Sued
* [[Witten-Stockum|Stockum]]: 31 Stockum-Mitte, 32 Dorney, 33 Stockumer Bruch, 34 Wilhelmshoehe
* [[Witten-Annen|Annen]]: 41 Tiefendorf, 42 [[Witten-Wullen|Wullen]], 43 Annen-Mitte-Nord, 44 Annen-Mitte-Sued, 45 Kohlensiepen, 46 Wartenberg, 47 [[Witten-Gedern|Gedern]]
* [[Witten-Ruedinghausen|Ruedinghausen]]: 51 Industriegebiet-Ost, 52 Ruedinghausen-Mitte, 53 Buchholz, 54 Schnee
* [[Witten-Bommern|Bommern]]: 61 Steinhausen, 62 Bommerbank, 63 Bommerfeld, 64 Wettberg, 65 Buschey, 66 Bommeregge
* [[Witten-Heven|Heven]]: 71 [[Heven-Papenholz|Papenholz]], 72 Hellweg, 73 Wannen, 74 Heven-Dorf, 75 Lake
* [[Herbede]]: 81 Herbede-Ort, 82 Vormholz, 83 Bommerholz-Muttental, 84 Durchholz, 85 [[Witten-Buchholz-Kaempen|Buchholz-Kaempen]]
== Religions ==
[[Image:Witten Marienkirche.jpg|thumb|95px|Maria-Church]]
=== Roman Catholic===
When Witten was first mentioned in historical documents, it was part of the [[Archdiocese of Cologne]]. Since 1821 it is 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 percent of the population is Catholic.
=== Protestant ===
In 1582 Witten became a part of [[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 percent 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 percent of the population is Muslim.
=== Jews ===
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 [[Bochum]].
Since 1985 the place of the former synagogue is shown by a memorial for the victims of the holocaust.
== Population 1739 - 2005 ==
{|
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
! style="background:#efef;" | Year
! style="background:#efef;" | Inhabitants
|-----
| 1739 || align="right" | 566
|-----
| 1787 || align="right" | 690
|-----
| 1808 || align="right" | 1.587
|-----
| 1830 || align="right" | 2.210
|-----
| 1. December 1840 || align="right" | 2.987
|-----
| 1. December 1855 || align="right" | 5.112
|-----
| 3. December 1858 || align="right" | 6.908
|-----
| 3. December 1864 || align="right" | 10.500
|-----
| 3. December 1867 || align="right" | 12.200
|-----
| 1. December 1871 || align="right" | 15.161
|-----
| 1. December 1875 || align="right" | 18.100
|-----
| 1. December 1880 || align="right" | 21.600
|-----
| 1. December 1885 || align="right" | 23.879
|-----
|}
| valign = "top" |
{| class="wikitable"
! style="background:#efefef;" | Year
! style="background:#efefef;" | Inhabitants
|-----
| 1. December 1890 || align="right" | 26.310
|-----
| 2. December 1895 || align="right" | 28.769
|-----
| 1. December 1900 || align="right" | 33.517
|-----
| 1. December 1905 || align="right" | 35.841
|-----
| 1. December 1910 || align="right" | 37.450
|-----
| 1. December 1916 || align="right" | 34.864
|-----
| 5. December 1917 || align="right" | 35.033
|-----
| 8. October 1919 || align="right" | 37.441
|-----
| 16. June 1925 || align="right" | 45.519
|-----
| 16. June 1933 || align="right" | 72.580
|-----
| 17. May 1939 || align="right" | 73.365
|-----
| 31. December 1945 || align="right" | 70.276
|-----
| 29. October 1946 || align="right" | 69.384
|-----
|}
| valign = "top" |
{| class="wikitable"
! style="background:#efefef;" | Year
! style="background:#efefef;" | Inhabitants
|-----
| 13. September 1950 || align="right" | 76.312
|-----
| 25. September 1956 || align="right" | 91.706
|-----
| 6. June 1961 || align="right" | 96.462
|-----
| 31. December 1965 || align="right" | 98.506
|-----
| 27. May 1970 || align="right" | 97.379
|-----
| 31. December 1975 || align="right" | 108.771
|-----
| 31. December 1980 || align="right" | 105.876
|-----
| 31. December 1985 || align="right" | 102.259
|-----
| 25. May 1987 || align="right" | 102.902
|-----
| 31. December 1990 || align="right" | 105.403
|-----
| 31. December 1995 || align="right" | 104.754
|-----
| 31. December 2000 || align="right" | 103.196
|-----
| 30. June 2005 || align="right" | 101.019
|}
|}
== History ==
[[Image:Explosion in Witten 1906.jpg|thumb|210px|The Roburit Explosion in 1906]]
It was first mentioned in historic sources in 1214, however the [[borough]] Herbede (which was incorporated into the city in 1975) even dates back to 851. The city was a mining town from 1578. 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 a tragedy happened, when an explosion destroyed the factory. 41 men died.
== Politics ==
[[Image:Witten Johanniskirche Rathausturm.jpg|thumb|210px|Townhall and Johannis-Church]]
=== The Council of Witten ===
64 councillors form the council of Witten. In the local elections of 2004 the German Labour Party, [[SPD]], gained 24 councillors in the borough and form the largest party represented on the council, followed by the Christian Democratic Party, [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|CDU]] with 18 and the [[Alliance '90/The Greens|Greens]] with 7. They are followed by the WBG (a conservative list) with 4, [[Freie Demokratische Partei|FDP]] 4, FLW (also a conservative list) 3, [[NPD]] 2, [[The Left Party.PDS|PDS]]/WAL (socialists) 1 and AUF Witten (a left wing list) also 1.
Since 2004 for the first time in its history the council is led by a female mayor: Sonja Leidemann, [[SPD]].
=== Members of Parliament ===
==== [[Landtag]] ====
* 2005 - today: [[Thomas Stotko]], MdL (SPD)
====German [[Bundestag]]====
*1998 - today: Dr. [[Ralf Brauksiepe]], MdB (CDU)
*1998 - today: [[Christel Humme]], MdB (SPD)
*2005 - today: [[Irmingard Schewe-Gerigk]], (B´ 90/Die Grünen)
*2005 - today: [[Konrad Schily]], (FDP)
== Transportation ==
[[Image:Witten-Heven-Dorf Strassenbahn3.jpg|210px|thumb|Tram in Witten-Heven]]
Witten is connected to the [[Autobahn]] network by the [[Bundesautobahn 43|A 43]] and [[Bundesautobahn 44|A 44]] motorways. It has a central station, connecting the city to the regional-train-network of [[Deutsche Bahn]].
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]]. Public transport in the city is carried out according to the fare system of the [[Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr|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 of World War II|Allies]] in May 1945, after the End of the [[Second World War]].
== Twin towns ==
* {{flagicon|France}} - [[Beauvais]] ([[France]]), since 1975
* {{flagicon|UK}} - [[London Borough of Barking and Dagenham]], ([[United Kingdom]]), since 1979
* {{flagicon|Austria}} - [[Mallnitz]] ([[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]], [[Austria]]), since 1979
* {{flagicon|Israel}} - district [[Lev HaSharon Regional Council|Lev HaSharon]] ([[Israel]]), since 1979
* {{flagicon|Germany}} - [[Wolfen]] ([[Saxony-Anhalt]], [[Germany]]), since 1990
* {{flagicon|Russia}} - [[Kursk]] ([[Russia]]), since 1990
* {{flagicon|Poland}} - [[Tczew]] ([[Poland]]), since 1990
* {{flagicon|Nicaragua}} - [[San Carlos, Río San Juan|San Carlos]] ([[Nicaragua]]), since 1990 (friendship contract)
== More photos ==
<gallery>
Image:Bergerdenkmal Witten Aussicht.jpg|The Ruhr near Witten
Image:Witten Haus Witten.jpg|Castle Haus Witten in Witten, seen from the "Ruhrstrasse"
Image:Witten-Heven Ehrenmal-2.jpg|Veteran Monument in Witten-Heven
Image:Witten-hbf.jpg|Railroadstation in Witten
Image:Witten-Mitte Villa Lohmann.jpg|House Lohmann
</gallery>
{{Commons|Witten}}
{{Cities and towns in Ennepe-Ruhr (district)}}
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