Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

on the western bank of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, close to

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

. Moers belongs to the district of

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...

History

Known earliest from 1186, the county of Moers was an independent principality within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. During the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

it was alternately captured by Spanish and Dutch troops, as it bordered the Upper Quarter of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

. During the war it finally fell to Maurice of Orange. As it was separated from the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

by Spanish

Upper Guelders {{unreferenced, date=November 2011 Upper Guelders or Spanish Guelders was one of the four quarters in the Imperial Guelders, Duchy of Guelders. In the Dutch Revolt, it was the only quarter that did not secede from the Habsburg monarchy to become pa ...

it did not become an integral part of the Republic, though Dutch troops were stationed there. After the death of

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

in 1702, Moers was inherited by the king of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. All Dutch troops and civil servants were expelled. In 1795 it was annexed by France. At the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, in 1815 it was returned to Prussia and in 1871 it became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. A target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the ''Steinkohlenbergwerke'' () ''Rheinpreussen'' synthetic oil plant in Moers, was partially dismantled

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

Mayors

* 1815–1820: Wilhelm Urbach * 1822–1830: von Nievenheim * 1830–1850: Friedrich Adolf Vinmann * 1850–1859: Karl von Strampff * 1860–1864: Gottlieb Meumann * 1864–1897: Gustav Kautz * 1898–1910: August Craemer * 1910–1915: Richard Glum * 1917–1937: Fritz Eckert * 1937–1941: Fritz Grüttgen * 1943–1945: Peter Linden * 1945–1946: Otto Maiweg * 1946: Karl Peschken * 1946–1952: Wilhelm Müller * 1952–1977: Albin Neuse ( SPD) * 1977–1999: Wilhelm Brunswick ( SPD) * 1999–2004: Rafael Hofmann ( CDU) * 2004–2014: Norbert Ballhaus ( SPD) * 2014–: Christoph Fleischhauer ( CDU)

Sports

In 1985, the Moers Sports Club (volleyball) was formed, winning the 1989

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

championship.

Notable people

* Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769), lay preacher, mystic and poet. * Georg Perthes (1869–1927), surgeon and radiologist ( Perthes disease) * Anna Erler-Schnaudt (1878–1963), contralto * Hans Dammers (1913–1944), Luftwaffe ace * Walter Niephaus (1923–1992), chess master * Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1925–2005), comedian, writer * Hubert Hahne (1935–2019), racing driver * Helmut Kelleners (born 1939), racing driver * Herman Weigel (born 1950), film producer and screenwriter * Armin Hahne (born 1955), racing driver * Jürgen Renn (born 1956), physicist and historian of science * Helga Trüpel (born 1958), politician (Alliance 90/The Greens) * Jörg van Ommen (born 1962), racing driver * Katja Nass (born 1968), fencer * Stephan Paßlack (born 1970), footballer *

Christian Ehrhoff Christian Ehrhoff (born 6 July 1982) is a German professional ice hockey defenceman for Krefeld Pinguine of the German DEL2. In 2018, he won silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. He played more than 800 games in the National Hocke ...

(born 1982), ice hockey player * Timo Weß (born 1982), field hockey player * Benjamin Weß (born 1985), field hockey player * Regina Abelt (born 1954), first First Lady of Ethiopia (1995–2001)

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Moers is Christoph Fleischhauer of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). 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 , Christoph Fleischhauer , align=left , Christian Democratic Union , 15,313 , 38.4 , 17,457 , 57.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Ibrahim Yetim , align=left , Social Democratic Party , 12,208 , 30.6 , 12,679 , 42.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Diana Finkele , align=left , Alliance 90/The Greens , 4,534 , 11.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Torsten Gerlach , 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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, 4,350 , 10.9 , - , , align=left , Claus Küster , align=left , Die Grafschafter , 1,518 , 3.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Dino Maas , align=left , Free Democratic Party , 1,238 , 3.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Markus Helmich , align=left ,

, 706 , 1.8 , - ! colspan=3 , Valid votes ! 39,867 ! 98.6 ! 30,136 ! 99.3 , - ! colspan=3 , Invalid votes ! 553 ! 1.4 ! 214 ! 0.7 , - ! colspan=3 , Total ! 40,420 ! 100.0 ! 30,350 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3 , Electorate/voter turnout ! 80,950 ! 49.9 ! 80,906 ! 37.5 , - , colspan=7 , Source: City of Moers
1st round

City council

The Moers 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) , 12,431 , 31.3 , 3.2 , 17 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 11,593 , 29.2 , 8.5 , 16 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 6,563 , 16.5 , 7.5 , 9 , 4 , - , 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) , 2,548 , 6.4 , New , 3 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 1,860 , 4.7 , 0.3 , 2 , 1 , - , , align=left , Die Grafschafter (Graf) , 1,544 , 3.9 , 2.9 , 2 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left ,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazine ...

, 1,302 , 3.3 , New , 2 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , The Left (Die Linke) , 1,125 , 2.8 , 3.5 , 2 , 1 , - , , align=left , Free Citizens' List Moers (FBM) , 733 , 1.9 , New , 1 , New , - ! colspan=2 , Valid votes ! 39,699 ! 98.2 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2 , Invalid votes ! 710 ! 1.8 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2 , Total ! 40,409 ! 100.0 ! ! 54 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2 , Electorate/voter turnout ! 80,950 ! 49.9 ! ! ! , - , colspan=7 , Source
City of Moers

Twin towns – sister cities

Moers is twinned with: * Maisons-Alfort, France (1966) * Bapaume, France (1974) * Knowsley, England, United Kingdom (1980) * Ramla, Israel (1987) * La Trinidad, Nicaragua (1989) * Seelow, Germany (1990) * Stazzema, Italy (2019)

References

External links

*
Tourism and culture. Personal guide to the city of Moers
{{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Districts of the Rhine Province Oil campaign of World War II Populated places on the Rhine Wesel (district)