Rummenohl, now officially Hagen-Rummenohl, is a locality within the

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 ...

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 ...

in the eastern part of the

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 ...

region, in

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 lies in the valley of the river Volme, about 13 km upstream (south) of the city centre of Hagen.

History

The former independent settlement of Dahl, consisting of Dahl, Priorei and Rummenohl, was incorporated in 1970 into the town of Breckerfeld in the district ('' Kreis'') of Ennepe-Ruhr. In 1975, the Parliament of the state 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 ...

decided to transfer it to the metropolitan district of

Industrial history

Rummenohl has for centuries been a centre of ironworking, using the power of the river Volme to process

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

from the

Siegerland The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen (now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoin ...

. The opening on 16 March 1874 of the single-track Volmetalbahn, which made a connection for goods traffic to Brügge (

Lüdenscheid Lüdenscheid () is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Sauerland region. Geography Lüdenscheid is located on the saddle of the watershed between the Lenne and Volme rivers whic ...

) and beyond that to Meinerzhagen, improved its integration into the developing

. Goods traffic to Lüdenscheid via Brügge was discontinued in early 1996. In the early 1870s,

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...

founded a factory in Rummenohl to manufacture

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

. On 5 June 1910 it was struck by lightning and exploded. Beginning in 1908,

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

was manufactured in the valley of the Sterbecke, which flows into the Volme in Rummenohl. In peacetime, 100 people worked there; during

World War I 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 ...

, the number rose to over 2,000. In wartime, the factory primarily produced

landmine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...

s, cartridges and charges for

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s; after the war, it once more produced explosives for road construction and mining. A spur railway connected the distant factory on the heights near Selkinghausen to the Volmetal-Bahn railway line, negotiating the difference in height by means of several switchbacks. Beginning in 1926, the factory was gradually closed down. After

World War II 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 buildings served as accommodations for bombing victims and refugees. The building was torn down in the 1960s in the course of construction of the A45 Autobahn. In 1918, a new church was built. The grain mill and former smithy at Krummewiese, on the northern edge of Rummenohl, which had been in operation since 1824, was shut down in 1952. {{Authority control Hagen