Location
City and district profiles
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Bergkamen
water, forests, high-tech
Bergkamen is situated in the Unna district on the north-eastern border of the Ruhr district and the Münsterland region between the cities of Dortmund and Hamm. Close to the A1 and A2 autobahn intersections, Bergkamen features an ideal infrastructure. The former mining town with Europe's largest pit is in the midst of a structural transformation. The chemical industry and small to medium-sized companies from the services and trades sectors have replaced mining to provide sound growth potential and future prospects. Bergkamen has seen exceptionally positive developments in the further education, qualification, leisure and tourism sectors.The Westphalian sports boat centre - Rünthe Marina in the former coal port - is a thriving example of successful structural change. The marina with its 270 moorings invites not only boat owners with its Mediterranean flair, creating a holiday atmosphere and developing a new economic sector for the town based on the settling of a large number of boat-related service businesses.
Bioindustry – strong in biotechnology
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Bergkamen, with its population of 52,000 and total area of 44.8 square kilometres, offers approximately 18 hectares of commercial and industrial property for new businesses or the expansion of existing ones. The BioChemArea commercial estate, the largest production site of the global chemicals group, Bayer Schering AG, offers 35 hectares of properties, which are immediately available, with an excellent infrastructure. The BioIndustry e.V. association acts as a coordination point, focussing the region's excellence in the biotechnology sector and making Bergkamen an attractive location for the chemical and biotechnology industries.
Despite its distinct industrial landscape, Bergkamen features extensive green areas. A number of nature reserves, the redesigned slagheap Großes Holz, the Lippe and Datteln-Hamm canals, and the Westphalian sporting boat centre at Rünthe Marina offer a wide range of recreation facilities.
Culture, sports, leisure
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Bergkamen has a reputation of knowing how to party. Whether it's the Hafenfest (port festival) or Lichtermarkt (lights market), events in Bergkamen are famous throughout the region for their unique atmosphere. Bergkamen is a town for sports enthusiasts, a quarter of the population being members of sports clubs, and the opportunities are almost limitless. Bergkamen's creative and unique cultural events are popular not only with grown-ups, but especially with children and adolescents.
In 12 B.C., Bergkamen made world history with its Roman camp, which provided shelter for 11,000 Roman soldiers. The town's museum and the archaeological excavation site invite visitors to view the finds.
Bergkamen's future
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While Bergkamen's population worked mainly in the mining or component supply industries during the 1990s, around 45 percent of the workforce are now working in the trade, catering, transport and services sectors. The processing industry is the strongest economic sector, providing jobs for 40 percent of Bergkamen's population (of which 75 percent are in the chemical industry).
This development - specifically the settling of new service-oriented companies - continues to be supported by Bergkamen's local authorities. The town's business development activities are directed in particular at the continued development of the chemical industry and its affiliated sectors in Bergkamen.
The Water Town Aden project will see an exciting development as a future-oriented location in coming years. The former mining site covers an area of 54 hectares, with direct access to the Datteln-Hamm canal, and is scheduled for combined use as a residential, commercial and leisure area project, which will have a decisive influence on Bergkamen's new townscape.