Bergkamen (; Westphalian: ''Biärgkoamen'') is a town in the district of Unna, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It is situated south of the river

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

, approx. north-east of

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

and south-west of

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

. Bergkamen, a fairly new town in the east part of the

Ruhr Area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

and south of the Münsterland, was founded in 1966 by the merging of at first five smaller communities. The town‘s history, however, reaches back to ancient Roman times - this can be experienced by visiting the Bergkamen Municipal Museum, which has a large Roman department, and the nearby archeological site, the “Roemerlager“.

Main sights

*''Westphalian Sports Boat Centre - Marina Ruenthe'' *The neighbouring national trust area, “Beversee“, and the wooded hill, “Grosses Holz“, a renaturalized former slag heap, provide an inviting atmosphere for relaxation.

Cultural events

*Harbour Festival ("Hafenfest") in June *Light Festival ("Lichtermarkt") in October. Bergkamen is home to theatre performances at the “studio theater bergkamen“ and numerous exhibitions in the town‘s own art gallery “sohle1“ or the “Stadtmuseum“

History

In February 1946, a coal mine in the city suffered a dust explosion that killed 418 miners. This was the worst mining accident in German history.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bergkamen is twinned with: * Hettstedt, Germany (1990) *

Silifke Silifke ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia'', la, Seleucia ad Calycadnum) is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova. Silifke is near the Mediterranean co ...

, Turkey (1994) * Gennevilliers, France (1995) * Wieliczka, Poland (1995)

Notable people

* Ernst von Bodelschwingh-Velmede (1794–1854), Prussian Minister of Interior and Cabinet * Carl von Bodelschwingh (1800–1873), Prussian Finance Minister *

Ernst von Bodelschwingh Ernst Albert Karl Wilhelm Ludwig von Bodelschwingh auf Velmede (26 November 179418 May 1854) was a Prussian politician. Von Bodelschwingh-Velmede was born in Velmede, near Hamm in the County of Mark as the son of Franz Christoph Gisbert Friedrich ...

(1906–1993), politician (Member of Bundestag, CDU) * Hans Sennholz (1922–2007), economist * Dietrich Schwanitz (1940–2004), best-selling author, grew up in Rünthe *

Eugen Drewermann Eugen Drewermann (born 20 June 1940) is a German church critic, theologian, peace activist and former Catholic priest. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Drewermann was born in Bergkamen near Dortmund. He is best know ...

(born 1940), theologian, church critic, best-seller author * Peer Steinbrück (born 1947), politician (SPD), Member of Landtag, for Bergkamen 2000–2005 *

Konrad Ott Konrad Ott (born May 20, 1959) is a German philosopher with a special interest in discourse ethics and environmental ethics. Biography Konrad Ott was born 1959 in Bergkamen, Germany. From 1981 to 1986, he studied philosophy, history and German ...

(born 1959), philosopher and ethicist * Heiko Antoniewicz (born 1965), cook *

Frauke Petry Frauke Petry (; ; born 1 June 1975) is a German politician who chaired the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from July 2015 to September 2017. A chemist by training and with a professional background as a businesswoman, some political scientist ...

(born 1975), politician ( AfD), lived in Bergkamen and went to school there

References

External links

*
Website of Roland Schäfer, the former mayor of Bergkamen
{{Authority control Unna (district)