Schwelm

Schwelm
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Schwelm within Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district
Schwelm Schwelm
Coordinates: 51°16′N 7°16′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Gabriele Grollmann
Area
• Total	20.5 km2 (7.9 sq mi)
Elevation	213 m (699 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	28,723
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	58332
Dialling codes	02336
Vehicle registration	EN
Website	www.schwelm.de

Schwelm is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr Rural District the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Geography

Schwelm is in the southeast of the "Ruhrgebiet", the Ruhr Area of Germany, between Westphalia and the "Bergisches Land". Schwelm is commonly known as the "Pforte Westfalens" ("Gate to Westphalia").

History

The history of Schwelm goes back to the ninth century, where it is first mentioned as "Suelmiu". The city of Schwelm was officially established in 1496 and became seat of the Ennepe-Ruhr district in 1929. According to its area, Schwelm is the smallest town in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Points of interest

Schwelm is home to the "Brauerei Schwelm", the Schwelm Brewery, one of the few remaining private breweries in Germany. It was started in 1830 by Haarmann & Kathagen, the brewery was one of the first worldwide to switch from wooden to metal barrels. The original office building of the brewery, the "Rietz'sche Haus" built in 1701, is still in use today.

The oldest piano manufacturer in the world is in Schwelm. Since 1794, "Rud. Ibach Sohn" has been building pianos and, until 1904, organs in Schwelm.

Notable citizens

• Friedrich Christoph Müller (1751 in Allendorf (Lumba) - 1808): theologian and map maker (in Schwelm between 1785 and 1808)
• Gustav Heinemann (July 23, 1899 - July 7, 1976): third president of the Federal Republic of Germany (from 1969 to 1974)
• Johannes Joachim Degenhardt (January 31, 1926 - July 25, 2002): Cardinal and Archbishop of Paderborn
• Franz Josef Degenhardt (March 12, 1931): political singer/songwriter
• Friedrich Niewöhner (September 7, 1941 - November 1, 2005): philosophy historian
• Martin Grötschel (October 9, 1948): mathematician and laureate of the Leibniz price
• Rolf Rüssmann (October 13, 1950): footballer and football manager
• Judith Kuckart (June 17, 1959): tripper, choreographer, stage director and author
• Thorsten Schmidt (February 18, 1972): racing cyclist and participant of the Tour de France
• Olivia Luczak (November 24, 1981): Polish-German amateur boxer

Other websites

Media related to Schwelm at Wikimedia Commons

• www.schwelm.de (in German)
• Ibach Pianos Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
• Schwelmer Brauerei Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine