The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the center of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is part of the southern Ruhr urban area and has ca. 324,000 inhabitants (2012). The district's

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

(

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

) is

Schwelm Schwelm () is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis in the administrative region of Arnsberg within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Geography Schwelm is situated in the southeast of the "''Ruhrgebiet''", the Ruhr d ...

; the largest of its nine towns is

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum ...

Geography

The name of the district describes its geographical location – it is located in the valleys of the rivers

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , 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 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

and

Ennepe The Ennepe () is a river, and a left tributary of the Volme in Northern Sauerland, Germany. It gave its name to the town Ennepetal, and the district Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Course of River The Ennepe begins in the Märkischer Kreis southeast of Ha ...

. Geologically it is part of the north-eastern

Rhenish Massif The Rhenish Massif, Rhine Massif or Rhenish Uplands (, : 'Rhenish Slate Uplands') is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France. It is drained centrally, south to north by the river Rhine and a few ...

, a ''

Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (; German: ''Mittel'', "middle or mid"; ''Gebirge'', "mountains or mountainous area") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germ ...

'' landscape; only small parts of Witten belong to the flat

Westphalian Lowland The Westphalian Lowland, also known as the Westphalian Basin is a flat landscape that mainly lies within the German region of Westphalia, although small areas also fall within North Rhine (in the extreme southwest) and in Lower Saxony (on the no ...

. File:Gevelsberg - Rocholzallee - Ennepe 05 ies.jpg,

in Gevelsberg File:Bergerdenkmal Witten Aussicht.jpg,

valley in Witten File:Ennepetal.Milspe.jpg, wooded hills in

Ennepetal Ennepetal (, ; ) 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 municipa ...

Municipalities

The district consists of nine

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, all entitled "Stadt" (town or city).

Adjacent cities and districts

The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the district-free cities of

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

and

Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...

, the districts of

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 wa ...

(with

Schalksmühle Schalksmühle is a municipality in district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the town with the highest rate of millionaires relating to the population in North Rhine-Westphalia (2004). Geography Schalksmühle is locat ...

and

Halver Halver () is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Around 950 the ''Oberhof Halvara'' was first mentioned in the ''Werdener Probsteiregister''. For more than 500 years Halver was the seat of a Leagu ...

) and

Oberbergischer Kreis The Oberbergischer Kreis (, ) is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ennepe-Ruhr, Märkischer Kreis, Olpe (district), Olpe, Altenkirchen (district), Altenkirchen, ...

(with

Radevormwald Radevormwald () is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the oldest towns in the Bergischen Land, formerly the County and Duchy of Berg. Geography Radevormwald is located about 50 km e ...

), the city of

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

, the district of

Mettmann Mettmann () is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Mettmann (district), district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies ...

(with

Velbert Velbert (, Low Rhenish: ''Vèlbed'') is a town in the district of Mettmann (district), Mettmann, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings. Geography Velbert is located ...

) and the city of

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

. Largest groups of foreigners :

History

The district was created in 1929 by merging the former district of Schwelm with parts of the former districts of Hattingen and Hagen. In 1970 and 1975 it was modified a bit during the reorganization of the districts in

; most notable was the inclusion of the previously

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

of Witten in 1975.

Politics

2020 Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district administrator election

Since 2015, the district administrator of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis has been Olaf Schade of the

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 Form ...

(SPD). In the most recent election on 13 September 2020, Schade was re-elected with the support of the SPD and

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

, winning 61.6% of votes against Oliver Flüshöh, who was nominated by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP).

District council

2020 Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district election

The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis council governs the district alongside the administrator. The most recent district council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 42,403 , 31.3 , 8.1 , 19 , 7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 36,275 , 26.8 , 1.9 , 16 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

(Grüne) , 28,175 , 20.8 , 7.8 , 13 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 7,864 , 5.8 , 1.3 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) , 7,250 , 5.4 , 1.8 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 5,174 , 3.8 , 1.6 , 2 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Pirate Party Germany The Pirate Party Germany (), commonly known as Pirates (), is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the information society; it is part of the i ...

(Piraten) , 3,326 , 2.5 , 0.2 , 1 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

(FW-EN) , 2,893 , 2.1 , 0.6 , 1 , 1 , - , , align=left, Citizens' Forum (BF) , 2,224 , 1.6 , New , 1 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 135,584 ! 98.4 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 2,199 ! 1.6 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 137,783 ! 100.0 ! ! 60 ! 6 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 267,170 ! 51.6 ! ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
District Ennepe-Ruhr

State Landtag

In the

Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf, in the eastern part of the district of Düsseldorf-Hafen, Hafen ...

, the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is divided between three constituencies: 104 Hagen II – Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis III (containing Breckerfeld, Ennepetal, and Gevelsberg), 105 Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I (Hattingen, Schwelm, Sprockhövel, and Wetter), and 106 Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II (Herdecke and Witten). In the 2017–22 parliamentary term, all three constituencies were held by the SPD. Hagen II – Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis III was represented by Falk Heinrichs, Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I by Rainer Bovermann, and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II by Nadja Büteführ.

Federal parliament

In the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

, the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is divided between two constituencies: 138

Hagen – Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I Hagen – Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituenc ...

(Breckerfeld, Gevelsberg, Schwelm, and Ennepetal) and 139

Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 138. It ...

(Hattingen, Herdecke, Sprockhövel, Wetter, and Witten). In the

20th Bundestag This is a list of members of the 20th Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. The 20th Bundestag was elected in the 2021 German federal election, 26 September 2021 federal election, and was constituted in its first session on 26 October 20 ...

, both are held by the SPD. Hagen – Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I is represented by Timo Schisanowski, and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II by Axel Echeverria.

Coat of arms

In the middle of the coat of arms there is the checked red-white bar of the

County of Mark The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a county and Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe (river), Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme a ...

, which owned the area in medieval times. The two wavy lines above and below depict the two rivers which gave the district its name, the Ruhr and the Ennepe.

References

External links

Official Webpage
(German) {{Authority control Arnsberg (region)