Gevelsberg is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

, (Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

).

Geography

The city extends from the wooded mountainous south up, into the narrow valley of the Ennepe with Route 7

Bundesstraße 7

The Bundesstraße 7 in Germany is a federal highway that stretches from the Dutch border at Venlo in the West to Rochlitz by Chemnitz in the East. It is approximately 530 km long...

 up to the hilly northern part. The culture-geographical situation between Sauerland

Sauerland

The Sauerland is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited...

 in the south and the Ruhr Area

Ruhr Area

The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...

 in the north is proximity to the recreational areas and roads to the neighbouring large cities of Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

, Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

, Wuppertal

Wuppertal

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...

 and Hagen

Hagen

Hagen is the 39th-largest city in Germany, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne, Volme and Ennepe meet the river Ruhr...

. The landscape is mainly of green vegetation along the Flussaue of the Ennepe

Ennepe

The Ennepe is a river and a left tributary of the Volme in Northern Sauerland.-Riverflow:The Ennepe begins in the Märkischer Kreis southeast of Halver at 425 m above sea level and continues to Ennepetalsperre . The river flows through Gevelsberg and western Hagen-Haspe and then into Hagen into...

 and overall in the populated areas.

Elevation is about 200 meters, the lowest is the Ennepe bei Vogelsang (135 m) and highest is the Hageböllinger Kopf (336.4 m). Its east-to-west length is 7.1 km and the north to south length is 7.15 km.

History

The city has a history of nearly 780 years. The archbishop of cologne Engelbert II of Berg

Engelbert II of Berg

Count Engelbert II of Berg, also known as Saint Engelbert, Engelbert of Cologne, Engelbert I, Archbishop of Cologne or Engelbert I of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne was Archbishop of Cologne and a saint; he was the victim of a notorious murder by a member of his own family.-Early life:Engelbert was...

 was killed on November 7, 1225 by his cousin Frederick of Isenberg

Frederick of Isenberg

Count Frederick of Isenberg was a German noble, the younger son of Count Arnold of Altena...

 in Gievilberch.

When the small businesses boomed, especially the mills and iron-producing factory, they also caused a rise in population in the 19th century. Numerous houses, factory buildings and manufacturing plants developed during that time, which has shaped Gevelsberg especially today.

Coat of arms

Its historical coat of arms had lent to the city by the decree of the Prussian Department of the Interior on February 1, 1886.

From this original coat of arms, in the mid-1950s, was developed years the current coat of arms was developed, which is in use since that time. Attached at the top margin, a dreituermige, sandstone-grey mauerkrone with a closed town-gate under the tower and the badge of its municipal rights. It includes a wheel indicating its industry while the building on its coat of arms is colored red.

Economics

Small businesses shaped the municipality's industry. During the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, minor damages of the facility were reported.

There is also trend-setting innovations, the examples (in German) are at Sonne & Regen and Radtaxi.

Transportation

Gevelsberg is connected to the national road network by the A1 autobahn and the B 7

Bundesstraße 7

The Bundesstraße 7 in Germany is a federal highway that stretches from the Dutch border at Venlo in the West to Rochlitz by Chemnitz in the East. It is approximately 530 km long...

 and B 234 roads.

The municipality is served by several regional train lines of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr

Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr

The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr is the public transport association covering the area of the Rhine-Ruhr megalopolis in Germany...

, but contrary as to one would normally expect, Gevelsberg Hauptbahnhof

Gevelsberg Hauptbahnhof

is a railway station in the municipality of Gevelsberg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The station was opened along with a section of the Düsseldorf-Derendorf–Dortmund Süd railway, opened by the Rhenish Railway Company between Wuppertal-Wichlinghausen and Hagen RhE station on 15...

 it is only served twice an hour by the S 8 trains of the Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn

Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn

The Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn is a polycentric S-Bahn network covering the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This includes most of the Ruhr , the Berg cities of Wuppertal and Solingen and parts of the Rhineland...

. These trains also serve Gevelsberg-Knapp, Gevelsberg-Kipp

Gevelsberg-Kipp station

Gevelsberg-Kipp station is a through station in the town of Gevelsberg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The station was opened on 1 June 1980 on a section of the Düsseldorf-Derendorf–Dortmund Süd railway, opened by the Rhenish Railway Company between Wuppertal-Wichlinghausen and...

 and Gevelsberg West

Gevelsberg West station

Gevelsberg West station is a through station in the town of Gevelsberg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The station was opened with the Witten–Wengern Ost/Schwelm railway from Witten-Höhe to Schwelm that was opened by Deutsche Reichsbahn on 15 May 1934...

 stations. Three hourly Regional-Express services, the Wupper-Express (RE 4) between Dortmund

Dortmund Hauptbahnhof

is the central station for the city of Dortmund in Germany.The station's origins lie in a joint station of the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn and Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn which was built north of the city centre in 1847. That station was replaced by a new station, erected in 1910 at the current site....

 and Aachen

Aachen Hauptbahnhof

Aachen Central Station is the train station for the city of Aachen, in the far west of Germany near the Dutch and Belgian border. It is the largest of the four currently active Aachen stations, and is integrated into the long-distance network.- History :...

 via Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof

is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Düsseldorf in Germany, state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:The station was opened on 1 October 1891 opened as Düsseldorf Central Station...

, the Rhein-Münsterland-Express (RE 7) between Krefeld

Krefeld Hauptbahnhof

Krefeld Hauptbahnhof is the largest station of the city of Krefeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The double-track and electrified Duisburg-Ruhrort–Mönchengladbach railway and the Lower Left Rhine Railway cross at the station. A line to Rheydt formerly began at the station, but...

 and Münster via Cologne

Köln Hauptbahnhof

Köln Hauptbahnhof is the central railway station in Cologne, Germany.The station is an important local, national and international hub, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains calling there, as well as regional RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains...

 and Hamm and the Maas-Wupper-Express {RE 13) between Venlo

Venlo railway station

Venlo is the railway station for the city of Venlo in the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. It is situated on the Maastricht–Venlo railway, the Viersen–Venlo railway, the Venlo–Eindhoven railway and the Nijmegen–Venlo railway....

 (Netherlands) and Hamm via Mönchengladbach

Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof

is a railway station in the city of Mönchengladbach in western Germany.-Overview:The station is the largest railway station in the city and, along with Rheydt Hbf, one of the two Hauptbahnhof stations in Mönchengladbach...

, stop at Ennepetal (Gevelsberg) station

Ennepetal (Gevelsberg) station

Ennepetal station is a 160-year-old station on the Elberfeld–Dortmund railway built by the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company. It is in the city of Ennepetal in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The former station building is one of the oldest of its kind in North Rhine-Westphalia and...

 instead.

International relations

Gevelsberg is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Vendôme

Vendôme

Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Szprotawa

Szprotawa

Szprotawa is a town in Poland, in Lubusz Voivodeship, in Żagań County. It has 12,648 inhabitants .- History :The first information about the terrains of today's Szprotawa comes at 1000 from the chronicle of bishop Thietmar of Merseburg, who accompanied the emperor Otto III on pilgrimage to the...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, since May 17, 1996 Butera

Butera

Butera is an Italian town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta, in the southwestern part of the island of Sicily. It is bounded by the comuni of Gela, Licata, Mazzarino, Ravanusa and Riesi. It has population of 5,063 and is far from Caltanissetta, the province's capital....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, since May 8, 2004. Some 1,000 people from Butera and Caltanisetta (Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

) live in Gevelsberg.

Festivities

• Gevelsberg Kirmes - held every final weekend of June
• Quellenfest - every year on Ascension Thursday to Sunday