Iserlohn (; Westphalian: ''Iserlaun'') is a city in the

Märkischer Kreis The Märkischer Kreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Unna, Soest, Hochsauerland, Olpe, Oberbergischer Kreis, Ennepe-Ruhr, and the city of Hagen. History The district was creat ...

district, 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. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

region.

Geography

Iserlohn is located at the north end of the

near the

Ruhr 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 ...

river, in West-Central Germany.

History

The Pancratius church (also called Bauernkirche) is believed to have been founded in around 985, but the first written document mentioning ''lon'' dates only from 1150. In 1237 the

Count of the Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

gave Iserlohn municipal rights. In 1975 the city, which had been an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

before, incorporated the surrounding ex-municipalities of Letmathe, Hennen, Sümmern and Kesbern, and became part of the district "

". As a larger mid-sized city, Iserlohn, however, still has a special status compared to most other municipalities in the district. This means that the city takes on tasks more usually performed by the district, such as social and youth affairs, hence it is comparable to an urban district.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Iserlohn is Michael Joithe, a member of the voter group ''Die Iserlohner''. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Eva-Barbara Kirchhoff , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 13,275 , 39.8 , 11,912 , 49.8 , - , bgcolor=#648C5A, , align=left, Michael Joithe , align=left, Die Iserlohner , 5,273 , 15.8 , 12,007 , 50.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Luckert , 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 For ...

, 5,015 , 15.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Manuel Huff , align=left, The Left , 2,864 , 8.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Isbruch , 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 ...

, 2,692 , 8.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Daniel Bläsing , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. ...

, 1,608 , 4.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Claudio Vurro , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, 1,521 , 4.6 , - , , align=left, Hans Herbers , align=left, Independent Voters' Association , 592 , 1.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Radojcic , align=left,

, 233 , 0.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Robert Gustävel , align=left,

, 194 , 0.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Michael Klammt , align=left,

, 129 , 0.4 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 33,396 ! 99.2 ! 23,919 ! 98.3 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 279 ! 0.8 ! 419 ! 1.7 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 33,675 ! 100.0 ! 24,338 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 72,958 ! 46.2 ! 72,849 ! 33.4 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Iserlohn
1st round

City council

The Iserlohn 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) , 11,817 , 35.6 , 3.6 , 24 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 6,337 , 19.1 , 13.3 , 13 , 3 , - , bgcolor=#648C5A, , align=left, Die Iserlohner , 4,397 , 13.2 , New , 9 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 3,713 , 11.2 , 4.3 , 8 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 2,498 , 7.5 , 0.5 , 5 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 1,985 , 6.0 , 0.2 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 1,483 , 4.5 , 0.4 , 3 , 1 , - , , align=left, Independent Voters' Association (UWG) , 960 , 2.9 , 0.7 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independent Radojcic , 43 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 33,233 ! 98.8 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 420 ! 1.2 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 33,653 ! 100.0 ! ! 68 ! 18 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 72,958 ! 46.1 ! ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Iserlohn

Points of interest

The Dechenhöhle caves were discovered in 1868 during the construction of the railway line

Hagen Hagen () is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (me ...

-Iserlohn. 360 metres are accessible for visitors, and there are many

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble ...

s and

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typicall ...

s in the cave. The Danzturm, located on the southern hill overlooking the old city, is a landmark and featured on the logo of the local brewery (Iserlohner). The tower has views of the valley and surrounding hills and is open to the public with a small inn at the base. In the 18th century, the town became known for its Iserlohn boxes, a form of tobacco or snuff box with an engraved or embossed lid that often featured an image of former

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n King

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. Fleming, John &

Hugh Honour Hugh Honour FRSL (26 September 1927 – 19 May 2016) was a British art historian, known for his writing partnership with John Fleming. Their ''A World History of Art'' (a.k.a. ''The Visual Arts: A History''), is now in its seventh edition and H ...

. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London:

Allen Lane Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fict ...

, p. 399.

Sports

The city is home of the

Iserlohn Roosters The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as ' ...

, a

DEL Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes ...

(first-division) ice hockey team. The Roosters joined the DEL in 2000 and developed from a low-budget team to a solid one that regularly competes for a

Playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

-spot. The club plays its home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn, which holds 4,967 spectators. The original club, EC Deilinghofen, was founded in 1959 and went bankrupt in 1987. The second club, ECD Sauerland, existed from 1988 to 1994. In 1994, Iserlohner EC was founded.

Education

Iserlohn has 15 elementary schools and 12 secondary schools (3 Gymnasien, 1

Gesamtschule A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

, 3

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

n, 5

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

n). Two universities of applied sciences are also located in the city. The headquarters, together with a major branch, of the

South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences The South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences erman : Fachhochschule Südwestfalenis a high-ranked research institution located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 14,000 students, it is one of the largest of i ...

(also: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) offering engineering and informatics programmes is located in the city centre on Alexanderhöhe. The Business and Information Technology School (BiTS) is a private, state-approved business school with a campus near the Seilersee.

Schützenfest

The Schützenfest is famous festival which takes place every year, and is central to Iserlohner's cultural life - and the town's identity. It is held at the Parkhalle, Alexanderhöhe. At the same time as the Shooters festival (Schützenfest) the Iserlohn Peace committee (FriedensPlenum) has held a 3 day free benefit music festival around the farmers church (Bauernkirche) since 1991.

Coat of arms

Iserlohn's coat of arms features, in the middle, Saint Pancras (''St. Pancratius''), who is patron of the oldest church in Iserlohn. He is depicted between two towers of the historic

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. The checked

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shi ...

below the saint is derived from the arms of the

Counts of the Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Iserlohn is twinned with: *

Almelo Almelo () is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie, and Bornerbroek. Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle of the rolling countryside of Twente, ...

, Netherlands (1954) *

Biel/Bienne , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) ...

, Switzerland (1959) *

Hall in Tirol Hall in Tyrol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km (3 mi) east of the state's capital Innsbruck in the Inn valley, it has a population of about 13,000 (Jan 2013). Histo ...

, Austria (1967) * Auchel, France (1975) * Laventie, France (1975) *

Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in ...

, Hungary (1989) *

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as ...

, Russia (1990) *

Glauchau Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...

, Germany (1991) *

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; german: link=no, Königshütte ; szl, Chorzōw) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population ...

, Poland (2004)

Notable people

Johann Stephan Pütter Johann Stephan Pütter (25 June 1725, Iserlohn – 12 August 1807, Göttingen) was a German law lecturer and publicist. He was professor of law at the university of Göttingen from 1746 until his death. He exerted great influence on the law insti ...

(1725–1807), Reichspublizist and teacher of state law *

Friedrich Soennecken Friedrich Soennecken (20 September 1848 – 2 July 1919) was an entrepreneur and inventor. He was the founder of Soennecken, a German office supplier. Soennecken was born in Iserlohn-Dröschede, Sauerland in 1848, the son of a blacksmith. O ...

(1848–1919), businessman, entrepreneur, inventor and graphic artist *

Alexander Pfänder Alexander Pfänder (7 February 1870, in Iserlohn18 March 1941, in Munich) was a German philosopher who was a member of the Munich phenomenological school. Biography Pfänder was born in Iserlohn and spent his entire academic career in Munich ...

(1870–1941), philosopher *

Karl Rasche Karl Emil August Rasche (23 August 1892 – 13 September 1951) was an SS-Obersturmbannführer and a Ph.D. in law as well as a board member and banker, later spokesman, of the Dresdner Bank during the Third Reich. On 11 April 1949 he was sentenc ...

(1892–1951), SS honor and rank leader for special use with the rank of

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...

and board member and spokesman of the

Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novembe ...

* Wilhelm Wessel (1904–1971), painter *

Curt Rechel The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military of the Third Reich during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of ...

(1902–1973), Navy officer *

Walter Bosse Walter Bosse (November 13, 1904 – December 13, 1979) was a Viennese artist, designer, ceramist, potter, metalworker, and craftsman noted for his modernist bronze animal figurines and grotesques. Early life Walter Bosse, born November 13, ...

(1904-1979), artist, designer, and potter * Richard Friederich Arens (1919–2000), mathematician * Gerd Roellecke (1927–2011), jurist and legal philosopher * Aloys Kontarsky (1931–2017), pianist * Alfons Kontarsky (1932–2010), pianist *

Bernhard Kontarsky Bernhard Kontarsky (born 26 April 1937 in Iserlohn) is a German conductor, pianist, and teacher. Kontarsky studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. In 1964 he began his conducting career as Kapellmeister at the Staatstheater Stuttgart. From ...

(born 1937), conductor and pianist *

Jochen Busse Jochen Busse (born 28 January 1941 in Iserlohn) is a German television actor. He began work as a stage actor at the Kammerspiele in Munich in 1960 and made his TV debut the same year. He has made 80 appearances in television since 1960. Jochen ...

(born 1941), actor and cabaret artist * Helmut Neuhaus (born 1944), historian on Early modern period *

Harm Klueting Harm Klueting (born 23 March 1949 in Iserlohn, Germany) is a German historian, theologian, university professor and a Roman Catholic priest converted from Lutheranism. His research focuses on church history and general history of the early modern p ...

(born 1949), Roman Catholic clergyman, historian, theologian and university lecturer *

Volker Fischer Volker Fischer (born 15 August 1950) is a German fencer. He won a gold medal and two silvers at three Olympic Games. He keeps fencing in the Veterans category, with excellent results. For example, he won the World Veterans Championship at Debre ...

(born 1950), fencer *

Ulrich Walter Ulrich Hans Walter (born February 9, 1954) is a German physicist, engineer and a former DFVLR astronaut. Education Walter was born in Iserlohn. After finishing secondary school there and two years in the Bundeswehr, he studied physics at the U ...

(born 1954), astronaut *

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

(1958–2020), sculptor * Timothy Paul Evans (born 1962), British general lieutenant and commander of the ARRC * Matthias Mellinghaus (born 1965), rowing sportsman, film director and assistant director, Olympiasieger 1988 *

Marsha Wattanapanich Marion Ursula Marsha Vadhanapanich ( th, มาช่า วัฒนพานิช; ; born 24 August 1970) is a Thai pop singer, model and actress. Early life and education Vadhanapanich was born in West Germany to a Thai Chinese father and ...

(born 1970), Thai singer and actress * Markus Giesler (born 1976), consumer researcher *

Marc Mclellan Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

(born 1978), Author * (born Soner Duman) (born 1983), rapper *

Thore Schölermann Thore Schölermann (born 26 September 1984 in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German actor and television host. Career After graduation in 2004 he trained to be a professional actor at Palma de Mallorca, Spain. He then took part in a few ...

(born 1984), actor * Dieter Orendorz (born 1992), ice hockey player * David Beckmann (born 2000), car racing driver *

Monty Don Montagu Denis Wyatt Don (born George Montagu Don; 8 July 1955) is a British horticulturist, broadcaster, and writer who is best known as the lead presenter of the BBC gardening television series '' Gardeners' World''. Born in Germany and rais ...

(born 1955), gardener

References

External links

*
Newspaper ''Iserlohner Kreisanzeiger und Zeitung''
{{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Märkischer Kreis Members of the Hanseatic League