Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is the largest city in the district and the location of

Rheine Air Base Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (german: Heeresflugplatz Rheine-Bentlage) was an air base of the German Armed Forces and located near the village of Bentlage, 2 km northwest of the city of Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History In 1939 ...

Geography

Rheine is on the river Ems, approx. north of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state d ...

, approx. west of

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a populat ...

and east of

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. Pop ...

(

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Division of the city

There is no standard division of the city, different divisions are used for different purposes. The districts do not form administrative units. A detailed breakdown includes 21 districts. * Altenrheine * Baarentelgen * Bentlage * Catenhorn * Dorenkamp * Dutum * Elte * Eschendorf * Gellendorf * Hauenhorst * Hörstkamp * Innenstadt (city centre) * Kanalhafen * Mesum * Rodde * Schleupe * Schotthock * Stadtberg * Südesch * Wadelheim * Wietesch The city of Rheine has eleven district advisory councils. For statistical purposes there is a division into 18 statistical districts. Politically, the city is divided into 22 electoral districts. Eschendorf, Dorenkamp and Schotthock are the biggest districts by population, Catenhorn is the smallest.

Neighbouring municipalities

* Salzbergen * Spelle *

Hörstel is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the junction of the Mittellandkanal and the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approx. 10 km east of Rheine. Parts of Hörstel are Riesenbeck, Dreierwald ...

* Emsdetten * Neuenkirchen

History

Although the region around the city has been populated since prehistoric times, Rheine was first mentioned in a document signed by

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

in 838. On 15 August 1327 it received its town charter from

Louis II, Bishop of Münster Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also

Derived or associated te ...

. The settlement was near to the crossing of two old merchant roads and a ford over the river Ems. Frankish soldiers initially secured this strategic point by a barrack yard. Later a church and more buildings were added to this outpost. At the end of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

the city was burned down almost completely. Swedish and Hessian troops besieged imperial soldiers who had entrenched themselves in Rheine. On 20/21 September and 19 October 1647 glowing cannonballs set fire to the city and 365 houses were destroyed. During the

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econ ...

the textile industry prospered. It remained an important economic factor until the second half of the 20th century. Today engineering industries and services form the largest part of economy in Rheine. On 1 April 1927 about 10,000 inhabitants of the Office Rheine (Bentlage, Wadelheim, Dutum, etc.) were incorporated into the city, the population increased to 29,598, the city area was thus tripled. In

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Jewish citizens were also deported from Rheine. The allied war opponents bombarded the city repeatedly, especially the railway line and the Dortmund-Ems Canal, which represented tactical goals. The large-scale attacks on 5 October met in 1944, and 21 March 1945, each with more than 200 dead and Injured the city area. The conquest of Rheine took place on 2 April 1945 after some fierce fighting by units of the 157th British Infantry Brigade (5th Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers Regiment, 7th Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Regiment). Rheine was after the war in 1945 in the British occupation zone and 1946 was politically assigned to the newly founded Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1949 it joined with the other Lander in the Western Zone to form the Federal Republic of Germany. On 10 February 1946 Rheine was affected by the highest ever Emshochwasser. Large parts of the city were flooded. On 15 August 2002 the city celebrated the 675th anniversary of the granting of municipal law.

Politics

The current mayor of Rheine is Peter Lüttmann of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2015. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020. Lüttmann was the sole candidate and was re-elected with 90.6% of votes in favour and 9.4% against, on a turnout of 48.5%.

List of mayors

* 1946–1948: Georg Pelster (1897–1963) ( CDU) * 1948–1954: Albert Biermann (CDU) * 1954–1960: Balduin Echelmeyer (CDU) * 1960–1961: Franz Rudolf Kümpers (CDU) * 1961–1975: Albert Biermann (1903–1994) (CDU) * 1975–1994: Ludger Meier (CDU) * 1994–1999: Günter Thum ( SPD) * 1999–2004: Wilhelm Niemann (1949–2012) (CDU) * 2004–2015: Angelika Kordfelder (born 1955) ( SPD) * since 2015: Peter Lüttmann

City council

The Rheine 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: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 13,885 , 47.2 , 1.3 , 23 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SPD) , 6,444 , 21.9 , 8.1 , 10 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

(Grüne) , 4,196 , 14.3 , 4.5 , 7 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

(FDP) , 1,663 , 5.7 , 0.6 , 3 , 1 , - , , align=left, Independent Voters' Association Rheine (UWG) , 1,380 , 4.7 , 0.3 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 993 , 3.4 , 0.8 , 2 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Citizens for Rheine (BfR) , 873 , 3.0 , New , 1 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 29,434 ! 98.3 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 498 ! 1.7 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 29,932 ! 100.0 ! ! 48 ! 4 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 61,695 ! 48.5 ! 2.1 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Rheine

Transport

Rheine is the western terminus of the Münster-Rheine railway. *

Rheine railway station Rheine is a railway station located in Rheine, Germany. The station is located on the Löhne–Rheine, Emsland Railway (Rheine- Norddeich Mole) and the Münster–Rheine lines. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn The (; abbre ...

* Rheine-Mesum

Twin towns – sister cities

Rheine is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Borne, Netherlands (1983) *

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeburg ...

, Germany (1990) *

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

, Portugal (1996) *

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...

, Lithuania (1996)

Notable people

* Heinrich Meyring (1628-1723), German sculptor * Moritz Dobschütz (1831–1913), German-American merchant *

Carl Murdfield Carl Ludwig Alfred Franz Murdfield, also Karl Murdfield (9 June 1868 – 8 May 1944) was a German Portrait painting, portrait and Interior portrait, Interieurmaler of the Düsseldorf school of painting, director of the Alte Kunsthalle (Düsseldo ...

(1868-1944), painter *

Josef Winckler Josef Winckler (7 July 1881, Bentlage, Rheine – 29 January 1966, Bensberg, Bergisch Gladbach) was a German writer, best known for his 1923 comic novel '' The Mad Bomberg'', which was turned into films in 1932 and 1957. One of his other popular no ...

(1881–1966), author *

Carlo Mense Carlo Mense (May 13, 1886 – August 11, 1965) was a German artist, associated at various times with the Düsseldorf school of painting, Rhenish Expressionism and New Objectivity. Mense was born in Rheine. He studied with Peter Janssen at the ...

(1886–1965), painter *

Carl-Alfred Schumacher Carl-Alfred (August) Schumacher (19 February 1896 – 22 May 1967) was a German military officer and politician. During World War II, Schumacher served in the German Luftwaffe, commanding the ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (JG 1) fighter wing. After World ...

(1896-1967), military officer *

Georg Pelster Georg Pelster (January 1, 1897 – in Rheine; June 25, 1963 in Rheine) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag. Life From 1949 to 1961, he was a member of the German Bundes ...

(1897-1963), politician (CDU) * Gustav Niemann (1899–1982), mechanical engineering scholar *

Josef Pieper Josef Pieper (; 4 May 1904 – 6 November 1997) was a German Catholic philosopher and an important figure in the resurgence of interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in early-to-mid 20th-century philosophy. Among his most notable works are ''Th ...

(1904–1997), philosopher *

Rembert van Delden Rembert van Delden (April 3, 1917 – February 5, 1999) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is t ...

(1917-1999), politician (CDU) *

Josef Paul Kleihues Josef Paul Kleihues (11 June 1933, Rheine – 13 August 2004, Berlin) was a German architect, most notable for his decades long contributions to the "critical reconstruction" of Berlin. His design approach has been described as "poetic rationalist" ...

(1933-2004), architect * Harald Ibach (born 1941), physicist * Frank Ripploh (1949-2002), actor * Peter Funke (born 1950), historian *

Josef H. Neumann Josef H. Neumann (born May 27, 1953) is a German Art Photographer, media designer and art historian. He invented the chemogram, an experimental artform involving manipulating chemicals in film photography. Life Education From 1967 to 1970 ...

(born 1953), art historian and photographer *

Silvia Hildegard Haneklaus Silvia Hildegard Haneklaus (born 17 October 1959) is a German agricultural scientist and researcher specialised in Plant nutrition and Soil science. Education Haneklaus was born in Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia. She studied agriculture at Ch ...

(born 1959), agricultural scientist * Bettina Hoy (born 1962), equestrian *

Lisa Paus Elisabeth "Lisa" Paus (born 19 September 1968) is a German politician who has served as the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth since 25 April 2022. A member of Alliance 90/The Greens and an economist by trainin ...

(born 1968), politician * Michael Prus (born 1968), footballplayer * Oliver Krüger (born 1973), professor of religious studies *

Kerstin Stegemann Kerstin Stegemann (born 29 September 1977) is a German former footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. Career Born in Rheine- Mesum, she made her football debut at age 15 in 1993, playing for FFC Heike Rheine in the Frauen-Bundesli ...

(born 1977), footballer *

Jonas Reckermann Jonas Reckermann (born 26 May 1979 in Rheine) is a retired beach volleyball player from Germany. Together with his most recent partner Julius Brink, he won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which, along with Laura Ludwig an ...

(born 1979), beach volleyball player *

Julian Lüttmann Julian Lüttmann (born 19 April 1982) is a German former footballer who played as a striker. Career Lüttmann was born in Rheine. He made his debut on the professional league level in the 2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second di ...

(born 1982), footballplayer

In popular culture

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed ...

's alternate history novel trilogy '' The Hot War'', Rheine is the site of a 1951 battle between

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

armies during World War III.

References

External links

Official websiteAssociation for Rheine's twin towns
{{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Steinfurt (district)