Gremmendorf is a locale in the city of

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, 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 ...

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 ...

. The area lies south-eastern of the city-center, has a population of 11,000 (according to a December 31, 2009 census), and belongs to the south-eastern

municipal district A municipal district is an administrative entity comprising a clearly-defined territory and its population. It may be a city, a town, a village, a small grouping of them, or a rural area. Brazil In Brazil, municipal districts are, in general, su ...

. Additionally, the locale is divided into two subvisions of Gremmendorf-West and Gremmendorf-East, of which the Gremmendorf-West subdivision is more central, and clearly larger by area. The locale of Gremmendorf encompasses the area of the Dortmund-Ems Canal to the large capelin and high bank.

History

Gremmendorf is probably less than 200 years old and is therefore one of the youngest locales in

. On a contemporary map of Münster from the year 1763, Gremmendorf is nowhere to be found. The locale is the result of a small settlement around the farmyard of ''Gremme'' in the ''Delstrup'' peasantry. The ''Delstrup'', along with the ''Geist'' and ''Mecklenbeck'' peasantries belonged to the rural community of ''Lamberti'', and the authority of ''Mauritz''. ''Delstrup'' became incorporated into the urban area of Münster in 1903, due to the city's expansion. Due to this expansion on October 1, 1903, the ''Münster-Neubeckum'' route of the

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) 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 region is almost identical with the h ...

n state railway opened, with a stop at the ''Erbdrosten'' Way, which was later to be called Gremmendorf. In the years to come, the name ''Delstrup'' eventually faded out in favour of what it is known as today. The restaurant ''Waldesruh'', known today as ''Haus Heuckmann'', was first built in 1905 at ''Gremmendorfer'' Way, and in the same year was added to the then new train station as part of the same facility. In following years, barracks for Prussian military personnel were built around ''Gremmendorfer'' Way due to armed mobilization in preparation for the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. This effort was also supported by the transformation of the ''Loddenheide'' from an industrial area to a

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

, as well as the building of ''Luftnachrichtenkaserne 1936'' ( radio transmission outpost 1936), at ''Albersloher Way''. Ever since 1920, one differentiates ''Old-Gremmendorf'' (farmyards around ''Erbdrosten'' Way) and ''New-Gremmendorf'' in lieu of new settlement around ''Gremmendorfer'' Way. 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 ...

, the

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

originally intended for German soldiers were taken over and utilized by British occupational forces as part of Osnabrück Garrison. (Following the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, the country was divided into 4 separate sectors: American, French, British, and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

; the Soviet area would eventually be known as

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

). Due to this, the residential density of ''Old-Gremmendorf'' sharply rose, especially around ''Albersloher'' Way. In 1975, Gremmendorf was officially assigned as part of the south-eastern municipal district.

Culture

Culturally, Gremmendorf offers a community association, known as ''K.-G. Pängelanton''. Connected to the association are the Niederdeutsche Heimat-Bühne (a theatrical group performing plays in the

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

dialect), and a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

, SC Gremmendorf since 1946. Current notable figures include Heinrich Löwe, as founder, and Hermann Treff, as longtime chairman of the locale's prestigious gun club, Otto Hersing, a U-Boot captain of the

, as well as Franz and Josef Horstmann as co-founders of SC Gremmendorf since 1946. Gremmendorf's largest church community is the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

St. Ida Gemeinde, whose church is situated at ''Anton-Knubel'' Way.

Particularities

There isn't a single independent

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

in Gremmendorf. Almost all roads end in ''Way'', as likely observed in above paragraphs.

Sights

Next to the long shopping street in the locale-center, is Gremmendorf's main

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

. It is a classic

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

, called ''Pängelanton'', which is at the crossing of ''Albersloher'' and ''Erbdrosten'' Way. Gremmendorf is also known for the British ''York'' barracks, on ''Albersloher'' Way. The

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

at Gremmendorfer Way is a monument to the fallen soldiers of the

. Every year, members of Gremmendorf's community clubs, as well as members of the ''St. Ida Gemeinde'' gather for

Volkstrauertag ' (, ) is a commemoration day in Germany two Sundays before the first day of Advent. It commemorates members of the armed forces of all nations and civilians who died in armed conflicts, to include victims of violent oppression. It was first obs ...

References

{{Authority control Münster Villages in North Rhine-Westphalia