Gescher () is a town in the district of Borken, in

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 located near the border with the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It is most often known for its bell work, and it includes a Museum of Bells.

Geography

Gescher is surrounded by farming communities and can be seen as more of a rural town.

Farming Communities and Suburbs

Farming Communities and suburbs belonging to Gescher include: * Harwick * Estern * Büren * Tungerloh-Capellen * Tungerloh-Pröbsting * Hochmoor

Location

Gescher is located in the western half of the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'', Münsterland. It finds itself within the District of Borken, just to the south of

Stadtlohn Stadtlohn (; ) is a city in western Münsterland in the northwest of North Rhine-Westphalia, and is a district town of the Borken administrative district. The city had a population of 20,746 inhabitants as of 2020.Coesfeld Coesfeld (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Koosfeld'') is the capital of the Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first ...

, and the Dutch border can be found to the west. The river, Berkel runs through Gescher and used to be used extensively to deliver goods between Dutch towns and Münster.

History

The early history of Gescher starts as a connecting stop on a postal route running from Muenster to the Netherlands. In 1570, Gescher suffered an enormous village-wide fire that destroyed the entire town. During the time of reconstruction, many looters came over from the Netherlands to take advantage of the unfortunate situation. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Gescher was under the control of Mr. Ball and the British sovereignty in Germany. Gescher was under the authority of Kreis Coesfeld up until 1975 when Gescher was pulled into Kreis Borken.

Population Changes over the Years

Local council (Rat)

Elections in 2014: Vote share and seats *CDU 41.7% = 14 seats *SPD 24.2% = 8 seats *UWG 14.6% = 5 seats *The Greens 13.1% = 5 seats *FDP 6.3% = 2 seats *Total 34 seats

Infrastructure

Transportation

Private

The

Bundesautobahn 31 is a German Autobahn that connects the coast of the North Sea near Emden to the Ruhr area. It is also known as Emsland-Autobahn or East Frisian Skewer. It was completed in December 2004. Construction was in part made possible by a unique metho ...

connects Gescher with the

Ruhr Region 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 populatio ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. The Bundesstrasse 525 connects Gescher with the Dutch border and Nottuln/ Bundesautobahn 43.

Public

=Bus

= Westfalenbus operates a few scheduled bus services through Gescher:

=Rail

= Up until 1985, Gescher was on the railroad offering services between Empel and Muenster. The old train station building can still be seen on the southside of Gescher.

=Air

= The closest general aviation airport is Stadtlohn-Vreden Airport, located about 15 kilometers from Gescher. The closest airport with scheduled commercial traffic is Münster Osnabrück Airport, which is located about 50 kilometers away from Gescher. A way bigger alternative is the Düsseldorf Airport, which is located about 85 kilometers from Gescher.

Sons and daughters of the city

* Heinrich Hörnemann (1906-1977), farmer and German politician (CDU), Member of Bundestag 1961-1969 * Peter Schmidt (born 1944), German writer, multiple recipient (first and second place) of the Deutscher Krimi Preis * August Wessing (1880-1945), Catholic clergyman and NS victim, died in Dachau concentration camp * G. Mescher (2000), Naamgenoot van de stad

Photos

Image:Gescher, Brauchtum verbindet met die Katholische Pfarrkirche Sankt Pankratius Dm1 foto10 2016-04-02 10.54.jpg, Gescher - Connecting Cultures File:Before bell founding.jpg, Gescher, bell molds in the bell museum (Glockenmuseum Gescher) File:Glockenmuseum Gescher.jpg, Bell museum File:Tungerloh-Capellen, veldkapel foto8 2016-04-02 11.31.jpg, Tungerloh-Capellen, chapelle

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Borken (district)