Template:Infobox German location
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Bottrop ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives, chemicals, textiles, and machinery. Bottrop grew as a mining center beginning in the 1860s, was chartered as a city in 1921, and bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. In 1975, it unified with the neighbouring communities of Gladbeck and Kirchhellen, but Gladbeck left it in 1976, leading to Kirchhellen becoming a district of Bottrop as Bottrop-Kirchhellen. It is also twinned with Blackpool, England.
BoroughsEdit
The total area of the municipal territory is about Template:Convert. The longest north-south distance is Template:Convert, and from west to east Template:Convert. The highest peak within the city's territory is Template:Convert, the lowest one being Template:Convert above sea level.
Bottrop is divided into three boroughs: Bottrop-Mitte (Bottrop-Center), Bottrop-Süd (Bottrop South) and Bottrop-Kirchhellen, each having a borough representation and a borough ruler.
These boroughs are further subdivided into city parts, partly named after their traditional names, while the newly built parts are only recently named:
- Bottrop-Mitte: Eigen, Fuhlenbrock, Stadtmitte, and Marktviertel
- Bottrop-Süd: Batenbrock, Boy, Ebel, Lehmkuhle, Vonderort, Gartenstadt Welheim (Garden city Welheim), and Welheimer Mark
- Bottrop-Kirchhellen: Ekel, Feldhausen, Grafenwald, Hardinghausen, Holthausen, Im Loh, Kirchhellen, Kuhberg, and Overhagen
For statistical reasons, Bottrop is also divided into statistical boroughs. They are (with their official numbering):
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KirchhellenEdit
From 1919 until 1976, Kirchhellen was its own town. Following a communal reorganization reform in 1975, both Kirchhellen and Gladbeck joined the city of Bottrop. This resulted in the nickname "GlaBotKi". Gladbeck left the city in 1976, and became part of the district of Recklinghausen.
Most of Kirchhellen is Catholic (around 65%). It has three churches, including one Lutheran church.
PoliticsEdit
MayorEdit
The current mayor of Bottrop is Bernd Tischler of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2009. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
Template:Election table ! colspan=2| Candidate ! Party ! Votes ! % |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Bernd Tischler | align=left| Social Democratic Party | 31,795 | 73.1 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Andrea Swoboda | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens | 4,117 | 9.5 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Andreas Bucksteeg | align=left| Free Democratic Party | 3,023 | 7.0 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Michael Gerber | align=left| German Communist Party | 2,071 | 4.8 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Marianne Dominas | align=left| Ecological Democratic Party | 1,334 | 3.1 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Günter Blocks | align=left| The Left | 1,153 | 2.7 |- ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 43,493 ! 97.5 |- ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 1,114 ! 2.5 |- ! colspan=3| Total ! 44,607 ! 100.0 |- ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,241 ! 48.4 |- | colspan=5| Source: State Returning Officer |}
City councilEdit
The Bottrop 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:
Template:Election table ! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 17,668 | 40.2 | Template:Decrease 7.4 | 24 | Template:Decrease 2 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 10,513 | 23.9 | Template:Decrease 3.2 | 14 | Template:Decrease 1 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 5,639 | 12.8 | Template:Increase 7.4 | 8 | Template:Increase 5 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 3,076 | 7.0 | Template:Increase 5.2 | 4 | Template:Increase 3 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) | 1,856 | 4.2 | Template:Decrease 0.4 | 2 | Template:Decrease 1 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| German Communist Party (DKP) | 1,832 | 4.2 | Template:Increase 0.2 | 2 | ±0 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,821 | 4.1 | Template:Increase 1.5 | 2 | Template:Increase 1 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| The Left (Die Linke) | 1,507 | 3.4 | Template:Decrease 0.7 | 2 | ±0 |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 43,912 ! 98.5 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 672 ! 1.5 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ! 44,584 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! Template:Increase 4 |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,241 ! 48.3 ! Template:Decrease 0.2 ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer |}
Culture and attractionsEdit
Theaters, museums, and buildingsEdit
- Main Post Office, constructed 1921-1923
- The Quadrat is a museum housing permanent exhibitis on local history and displaying works by Josef Albers and many temporary exhibitions.
- City Hall (Neo-Renaissance 1910–1916) is regarded as the emblem of the city.
- Schloss Beck theme park and castle (late baroque period 1766–1777)
- Villa Dickmann, constructed 1901–1903 (art nouveau)
- Alte Apotheke (Old Pharmacy, Wilhelminian style 1895)
- Catholic churches
- Heilige Familie
- Heilig Kreuz, built 1955–57, windows by Georg Meistermann
- Herz Jesu, built 1929
- Liebfrauen
- St. Antonius
- St. Barbara
- St. Bonifatius
- St. Cyriakus, Propstei, built 1861/62 by Emil von Manger
- St. Elisabeth, built 1954
- St. Franziskus
- St. Johannes Baptist (BOT-Boy)
- St. Johannes der Täufer (BOT-Kirchhellen)
- St. Joseph
- St. Ludger
- St. Mariä Himmelfahrt
- St. Matthias
- St. Michael
- St. Paul
- St. Peter
- St. Pius
- St. Suitbert, built 1955
- Protestant churches<ref>Evangelische Kirchen in Bottrop: http://www.kirchenkreis.org/content/e559/e3019/e2909/index_ger.html</ref>
- Auferstehungskirche
- Friedenskirche
- Gnadenkirche
- Martin-Niemöller-Kirche
- Martinskirche, erbaut 1884
- Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche
- Pauluskirche
- Malakow-Turm (1872) of the coal mine Prosper II
- Coal Mining Tip Haniel with an open-air theater (Amphitheater) and the Stations of the Cross designed by Tisa von der Schulenburg and Adolf Radecki and opened in 1995.
- Saalbau, convention center
AttractionsEdit
- Alpincenter - the world's longest indoor ski slope
- Tetraeder is a 50-m-tall walkable steel tetrahedron, placed on a 90-m slag heap. It has been the town's landmark since its construction in 1995.
- Movie Park Germany - theme park (in Bottrop-Kirchhellen)
- Schloss Beck is a castle turned into an amusement park (in Bottrop-Kirchhellen).
- Indoor Skydiving Bottrop, a powerful vertical wind tunnel, attracts skydivers from all over Europe.
- Since September 12, 2005, so called Stolpersteine have been placed by artist Gunter Demnig all over the city in remembrance of the people deported and killed by the Nazis.
Periodic eventsEdit
- January: Festival Orgel PLUS (music festival started in 1989)
- February: Rose Monday Parade and Carnival
- May: Horse Market
- May: Asparagus - Farmers' Market in Kirchhellen
- Brezelfest (Pretzel Festival) in Kirchhellen
- May/June/July: Schützenfeste (marksmen festivals) of Bottrops marksmen companies (BSV Bottrop Batenbrock, BSV Bottrop Eigen, BSV Bottrop Fuhlenbrock, BSV Bottrop Vonderort, BSV Andreas Hofer, Alte Allgemeine Bürgerschützengesellschaft, BSV Bottrop Boy)<ref>Past Events of Alte Allgemeine Bürgerschützengesellschaft: http://www.alte-allgemeine.de/termine/eventlist/archive</ref><ref>Events BSV Bottrop Boy: {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- September: Michaelismarket
ReligionEdit
- Catholic: 50% (19 churches)
- Protestant (Lutheran): 20% (8 churches)
- Atheist/agnostic: 20%
- Muslim: 2%
Notable peopleEdit
- Josef Albers (1888–1976), painter, graphic artist, designer, art teacher
- August Everding (1928–1999), director of the Hamburgische Staatsoper 1973–77, general director of the Bavarian State Theater rector
- Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser (born 1965), archaeologist
- Andrea C. Hoffer (born 1964), painter
- Paul Holz (1952–2017), football player
- Martin Honert (born 1953), artist, professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts
- Da Hool (born 1968), DJ and music producer
- Theo Jörgensmann (born 1948), jazz musician and composer
- Gisela Kinzel (born 1961), athlete and Olympian
- Ulla Kock am Brink (born 1961), television presenter
- Bernhard Korte (1938–2025), mathematician and computer scientist
- Werner Münch (born 1940), politician (CDU), prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt (1991–1993)
- Christian Scheuß (born 1966), journalist and writer
- Claus Spahn (born 1940), journalist and author
Twin towns – sister citiesEdit
Template:See also Bottrop is twinned with:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Blackpool, England, United Kingdom (1980)
- Template:Flagicon Gliwice, Poland (2007)
- Template:Flagicon Merseburg, Germany (1989)
- Template:Flagicon Mitte (Berlin), Germany (1983)
- Template:Flagicon Tourcoing, France (1967)
- Template:Flagicon Veszprém, Hungary (1987)
- Template:Flagicon Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan