Location
City and district profiles
Show Profiles- Alpen
- Bergkamen
- Bochum
- Bottrop
- Bönen
- Breckerfeld
- Datteln
- Dinslaken
- Dortmund
- Duisburg
- Ennepetal
- Essen
- Gelsenkirchen
- Fröndenberg
- Gladbeck
- Hagen
- Haltern am See
- Hamm
- Hamminkeln
- Hattingen
- Herdecke
- Herne
- Herten
- Kamen
- Hünxe
- Kamen
- Kamp-Lintfort
- Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis
- Kreis Recklinghausen
- Kreis Unna
- Kreis Wesel
- Lünen
- Marl
- Moers
- Mülheim an der Ruhr
- Neukirchen-Vluyn
- Oberhausen
- Recklinghausen
- Rheinberg
- Schermbeck
- Schwelm
- Schwerte
- Selm
- Sonsbeck
- Sprockhövel
- Essen
- Voerde
- Waltrop
- Werne
- Wesel
- Witten
- Xanten
Hamminkeln
"Seven under one roof"
The municipality of Hamminkeln was founded in 1975 through a fusion of six formerly independent municipalities and a district of another municipality as part of a municipal restructuring process in North Rhine-Westphalia. Due to its constantly rising number of citizens, Hamminkeln was awarded town ordinances and privileges in 1995, making it the youngest town in the Wesel district.Town with lower-Rhine charm
At the same time, Hamminkeln is also the largest municipality of the Wesel district, covering an area of more than 164 square kilometres, which makes it larger by four square kilometres than the Principality of Liechtenstein.
For its population of almost 28,000 and many visitors, this young future-oriented town, conveniently situated between Wesel and Bocholt on the A3 autobahn and the 420 and 421 railway lines has a lot to offer. The Brünen (incl. Marienthal), Dingden, Hamminkeln, Loikum, Mehrhoog, Ringenberg and Wertherbruch districts have maintained their village character and are situated in the typically austere but beautiful lower Rhine countryside. Every district has maintained its own identity, blending together so well at the same time that it is pleasant to live "under one roof". The constantly high number of new citizens moving to the town reflects the high quality of life and ideal residential conditions in Hamminkeln, which is dominated by detached, semi-detached and terraced houses. The district centres feature a number of larger apartment, office and commercial buildings with a wide range of retail, services and trade businesses, as well as state-of-the-art medical and social facilities.
Nature and leisure
For all those who enjoy nature and life in the country, the town on the river Issel and a backwater of the river Rhine has its very special appeal. Two thirds of the municipal area belong to the Hohe Mark nature park and are a recreation area. The Dingdener Heide nature reserve is one of North Rhine-Westphalia's largest existing marsh area biotopes. When it comes to leisure activities, the hiking paths in the Hohe Mark nature park, the Nordic walking park with about 100 kilometres of marked routes, 1001 opportunities for cycle touring or a foray into history, visiting historic sites, deserve a mention. There are 160 kilometres of marked hiking routes and 230 kilometres of marked cycle touring paths in the municipal area, which have been complemented by three Nordic walking routes. The National Equestrian Federation nominated the town of Hamminkeln as a horse-friendly municipality.
Culture and leisure
The Derik Baegert Society operates an artists' and studio centre at Ringenberg castle, scheduled to be expanded into a European-standard institution. The town's registry office is also located at the castle, providing a truly impressive setting for weddings. The minster is a centre of contemporary sacral art from the Rhine expressionist era and renowned beyond the region's borders, with the ‘Marienthaler Abende’, a popular and acclaimed open-air cultural event, taking place in the monastery forecourt during the summer months and at the romantic Haus Elmer hotel in winter. Trade shows, fun fairs and a large number of traditional and cultural events provide plenty of diversion and entertainment and are listed in the town's events calendar. Hamminkeln features a number of historic sites: the Ringenberg chateau (built around 1220 as a castle and rebuilt around 1650 as a chateau in the style of the Dutch baroque era); the Marienthal minster, built in the 13th century, one of Germany's oldest Augustinian hermit monasteries; two tower windmills; Gut Venninghausen, a gothic 13th century Hallenhaus (a longhouse-type farmhouse); Gut Rodehorst, built in the 17th century; and the Küningsmühle water mill, first mentioned in records as early as 1350. The history and structure of the Ringenberg district have been closely linked to the castle and later the chateau. Most village churches have a long history, among them the protestant church in Hamminkeln with its St. Christopher fresco which dates back to around 1450 and is one of the largest frescoes of the Lower Rhine region, not to mention the protestant church in Wertherbruch which features Romanic frescoes from 1220, or the catholic church in Ringenberg, one of the most beautiful modern village churches designed by Prof. Dominikus Böhm.
Agriculture
The town and villages have an agrarian structure, the distribution of residential and commercial areas in pleasant proportion to the agricultural and nature areas. A large number of farms continue the region's agricultural tradition, concentrating on dairy farming and pig breeding. During the asparagus season, this popular vegetable can be bought fresh from the asparagus farms. The weekly farmers' market in Loikum takes place every Friday from 14:00 hrs and is popular beyond the region's borders.
Commerce and trade
Commerce, trade and services make Hamminkeln an attractive residential area. Convenient shopping facilities with highly qualified staff and first-rate service can be found in the larger villages - but not only there. Despite a healthy local economic structure, a considerable number of commuters travel from Hamminkeln to other towns to work, although almost half of Hamminkeln's almost 6,000 employees paying national insurance travel into the town to work. A total of almost 9,600 people work in Hamminkeln, with the Dingden district concentrating on textile processing.
A number of renowned companies are based in Hamminkeln:
- bonita Modehandels GmbH
- biberna H. + W. Schmänk GmbH & Co. KG (the inventors of beaverteen
bedlinen)
- Gerhard van Clewe GmbH & Co. KG
- SETEX-Textil GmbH
- Maibom Textilvertrieb GmbH
- Glastechnik-Hüttentechnik Olbricht GmbH
- System Print GmbH
- GTA Maschinensysteme GmbH
- Max Bögl Fertigteilwerke Nord-West GmbH
- Beton- und Verbundsteinwerke GmbH
- Johann Borgers GmbH & Co. KG
- Elektrotechnik Eimers GmbH
- RST Regel- und Steuerungsanlagen GmbH
- Electron Hoch- und Mittelspannungstechnik GmbH
- WAT GmbH, GfW GmbH
- Dirk Brauner Röhrengerätemanufaktur
- Feldschlößchen Brauerei GmbH
- Obstkelterei van Nahmen KG
- Bovenkerck Wein- und Spirituosen GmbH
- Thunderbike Andreas Bergerforth
Training and education
The Klausendorf Academy, a major institution of further education sponsored by the Catholic Church, is an outstanding facility which provides around 270 jobs and has concentrated on retraining, qualification, vocational preparation, school leaving certificate and further education programmes, such as data processing courses.