Velbert ( Low Rhenish: ''Vèlbed'') is a town in 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 district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf ...

, in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings.

Geography

Velbert is located on the hills of 'Niederberg' (meaning ''Lower Mountain''), part of the Berg region, approx. 20 kilometres north-east of the capital of North Rhine Westphalia,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

, and 12 kilometers north-west of

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "'' Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...

on the south side of the Ruhr river. Velbert stands on the highest part of the Niederberg region and also in its centre. Its average elevation is around 230 metres above sea level; its highest point, at 303 metres, is the ''Hordt-Berg'', and its lowest, at around 70.6 metres, is in Nierenhof am Deilbach. The highest point in Velbert itself is 263 metres above sea level, at the corner of Friedrichstraße and Langenberger Straße.

Incorporation

As part of the reform of local government districts in North Rhine-Westphalia that came into effect on 1 January 1975, the formerly independent cities of Velbert, Neviges and Langenberg were merged to form the present city of Velbert.

History

Velbert was first mentioned in AD 875 as Feldbrahti and was ruled by the abbey at Werden.

Administration

Velbert is divided into three administrative areas, reflecting the three former cities: Velbert-Mitte (''Central Velbert''), Neviges and Langenberg. There are also numerous suburbs, including Tönisheide, Losenburg, Nordpark, Langenhorst, Birth, Röttgen and Hefel.

Politics

The current mayor of Velbert is Dirk Lukrafka of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2014. 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, Dirk Lukrafka , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 12,730 , 40.9 , 12,352 , 50.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Esther Kanschat , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

, 6,686 , 21.5 , 12,132 , 49.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Rainer Hübinger , align=left,

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 Fo ...

, 5,148 , 16.5 , - , , align=left, August-Friedrich Tonscheid , align=left, Velbert Differently , 1,915 , 6.2 , - , , align=left, Cem Demircan , align=left, Independent Velbert Citizens , 1,862 , 6.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Helmut Stiegelmeier , align=left,

Pirate Party Germany The Pirate Party Germany (german: Piratenpartei Deutschland), 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 infor ...

, 1,262 , 4.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Birgit Onori , align=left, The Left , 1,009 , 3.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marcel Stubbe , 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 the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, 521 , 1.7 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 31,133 ! 98.3 ! 24,484 ! 99.4 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 540 ! 1.7 ! 137 ! 0.6 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 31,673 ! 100.0 ! 24,621 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 65,876 ! 48.1 ! 65,837 ! 37.4 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Velbert
1st round

City council

The Velbert 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) , 9,471 , 30.4 , 4.2 , 21 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 6,543 , 21.0 , 10.2 , 15 , 8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 5,435 , 17.4 , 9.7 , 12 , 5 , - , , align=left, Independent Velbert Citizens (UVB) , 2,343 , 7.5 , 2.2 , 5 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany ...

(AfD) , 1,998 , 6.4 , New , 4 , New , - , , align=left, Velbert Differently (Anders) , 1,643 , 5.3 , 1.3 , 4 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

(FDP) , 1,392 , 4.5 , 0.4 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 1,174 , 3.8 , 1.6 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Piraten) , 1,177 , 3.8 , 1.3 , 3 , 1 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independent , 18 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 31,194 ! 98.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 471 ! 1.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 31,665 ! 100.0 ! ! 70 ! 8 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 65,875 ! 48.1 ! 1.1 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Velbert

Coat of arms

The first coat of arms was created in 1882 and abolished in local government reform of 1975. It showed the lion of the Counts, later Dukes, of Berg (originally the symbol of Limburg) and keys referring to locksmithing, a traditional industry in Velbert. After 1975 a new coat of arms was created that included heraldic symbols for all three formerly independent towns. The key, referring to Velbert's main traditional industry, was retained with a simpler design. Langenberg is represented by an oak leaf, referring to the oak in the old arms of Langenberg. The chevrons in the bit of the key refer to the coat of arms of the lords of Hardenberg, from the coat of arms of Neviges.

Economics

The main traditional industry of Velbert is small scale manufacturing, mostly metal based, typical products include locks, hinges, small tools, hoseclamps. Most companies are small to medium scale and many evolved from backyard forges. There are also companies producing parts for the automotive industry, for example the suppliers of vehicle access systems

Witte Automotive Headquarters in Velbert Witte Automotive develops and produces locking-, handle- and hinge systems for car doors, hatches and seats. Headquartered in Germany, Witte Automotive (former known as Witte-Velbert GmbH & Co. KG) is the European part of ...

and Huf. As well as this Stein & Co Gmbh, the makers of

Sebo SEBO is the brand name of vacuum cleaners made by Stein & Co GmbH, a company based in the German town of Velbert. They produce a range of upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners for domestic and commercial use. Sebo vacuum cleaners are endorsed ...

vacuum cleaners, are based in the city.

Transportation

Velbert's

S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...

service runs every 30 minutes line S9, from Recklinghausen / Haltern am See–- Gladbeck to Bottrop–

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') 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 ...

- Nierenhof - Langenberg- Neviges - Rosenhügel-

Hagen Hagen () is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (met by t ...

, which is an attractive line to commuters. The old town of Velbert has no railway connection left. In 2011 most of the former railway line within the city was converted to a cyclepath. The former station buildings at Velbert-West and Velbert-Central are now restaurants, and the station at Velbert-Tönisheide is disused. All three were on the discontinued Niederberg Railway ( Wülfrath-Velbert- Heiligenhaus– Kettwig). The operational stations serving the city are Langenberg, Neviges, Nierenhof and Rosenhügel. Velbert also used to have a tram service, and was the meeting point of tramlines from Heidhausen, Neviges, Wülfrath and Hösel with Heiligenhaus. Nowadays a number of bus routes connect Velbert to the surrounding cities. The city belongs to the ''

Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (), abbreviated VRR, is a public transport association ( Verkehrsverbund) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It covers most of the Ruhr area, as well as neighbouring parts of the Lower Rhine region, inclu ...

''.

Twin towns – sister cities

Velbert is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the ...

, France (1965) * Corby, England, United Kingdom (1966) *

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa ( el, Ηγουμενίτσα, ) is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece ...

, Greece (2012) *

Podujeva Podujevo ( sr-Cyrl, Подујево), Podujeva, or Besiana ( sq-definite, Podujevë or ''Besianë''), is a city and municipality in Kosovo's Pristina District. According to the 2011 census, the city of Podujeva has 23,453 inhabitants, whil ...

, Kosovo (2019)

Friendly cities

Velbert also has friendly relations with: *

Hacıbektaş Hacıbektaş, formerly Karahöyük, is a town and district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 11,929 of which 5,169 live in the town of Hacıbektaş. Located in C ...

, Turkey (2000) * Morąg, Poland (2016)

Sites of interest

Theatres

* The central theatre of the town is in Forum Niederberg.

Museums

The town's museum is also located in Forum Niederberg. It is the ''German museum for locks and metal fittings''. The museum exhibits a broad variety of keys and locks.

Buildings

Maria, Königin des Friedens Maria, Königin des Friedens (Mary, Queen of Peace) is a pilgrimage church and parish in Neviges, part of Velbert, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The pilgrimage dates back to 1676. Neviges was the home of a Franciscan monastery from 1675 until ...

, or Nevigeser Wallfahrtsdom, also known as Mariendom, in Neviges which was designed by the famous architect

Gottfried Böhm Gottfried Böhm (; 23 January 1920 – 9 June 2021) was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne ...

* Hardenberg Castle in Neviges * Historical town centres in Neviges and Langenberg * Event Church in Langenberg * Bürgerhaus (Citizen's house) in Langenberg * Transmission towers in Langenberg for MW, FM and TV (303.7 m and 170m high) * City hall incl. Thomas-Carré in Velbert-Mitte * The Art Nouveau church called Christuskirche (Christ Church) in Velbert-Mitte

Notable people

* Lüder Lüers (1926–2022), German horticultural architect, engaged in founding Kindernothilfe *

Alexander Mies Alexander Mies (born 25 June 1992) is a German racing driver currently competing in the TCR International Series, TCR Thailand Touring Car Championship and the VLN. Having previously competed in the BMW M235i Racing Cup Belgium and German Sla ...

(born 1992), German racing driver

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Mettmann (district)