Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia

Borken is a town and the capital of the district of the same name, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Borken
Coat of arms
Location of Borken within Borken district
HeidenBocholtBorkenHeekGronau
Borken
Borken
Coordinates: 51°50′N 6°52′E
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionMünster
DistrictBorken
Subdivisions12
Government
 • MayorMechtild Schulze-Hessing (CDU)
Area
 • Total152.6 km2 (58.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total42,629
 • Density280/km2 (720/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
46325
Dialling codes02861
Vehicle registrationBOR

Geography

Borken is situated 10 km east of the Dutch border. Borken station is the northern terminus on the remaining section of the Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck–Winterswijk railway.

Neighbouring places

Division of the town

Borken consists of 12 districts:

  • Borken
  • Borkenwirthe/Burlo
  • Gemen
  • Grütlohn
  • Gemenwirthe
  • Gemenkrückling
  • Hoxfeld
  • Hovesath
  • Marbeck
  • Rhedebrügge
  • Weseke
  • Westenborken

The 10 largest groups of foreign residents by 31.12.2018 :

 Poland627
 Syria408
 Netherlands262
 Romania154
 Turkey145
 Portugal121
 Serbia118
 Iraq110
 Croatia85
 Kosovo79

History

The name comes from the German word "Burg" or "Burk" and gradually changed to "Burke", then "Burken" and finally to "Borken". Around the year 800 the village was being used by Charles The Great (Charlemagne) as a stopover place on his travels. In 1226 City rights were granted by Bishop Dietrich II of Isenberg-Limburg. Fortification of the city with walls and towers was first noted in 1391.

In the last years of the Holy Roman Empire (1803–06) it was the capital of the short-lived principality of Salm. From 1810 to 1814 it was part of the French Empire. In 1815 Borken came under the jurisdiction of the Prussian Province of Westphalia. At the same time it became the seat of government for the newly formed district or county of Borken (Kreis Borken). Between 1880 and 1905 the area experienced the building of railroad connections: (1880 Wanne-Borken-Winterswijk line, 1901 Empel-Bocholt-Borken and Borken-Burgsteinfurt, 1905 Borken-Coesfeld-Münster).

Near the end of World War Two the historic center of the city was heavily destroyed. After the war, community rearrangements followed in 1969, including annexation of Gemen and other towns in the vicinity. Between 1975 and 1978 came the cleaning up and rebuilding of the southern part of the old city. There, buildings which had outlasted the destruction of the Second World War were finally demolished. In 2001 Borken celebrated its 775th anniversary.

  • Borken, church: Propsteipfarre Sankt Remigius
  • Borken, tower: der Kuhmturm
  • Borken, sculpture at den Markt
  • Weseke, catholic church: Pfarrkirche Sankt Ludgerus
  • Weseke, windmill: die Bockwindmühle
  • Gemen, church: die Johannes Kirche
  • Burlo, monastery: Kloster Mariengarden
  • Borkenwirthe, panorama near Weddingesch-Baulo

Twin towns - sister cities

Borken is twinned with:[2]

Notable people

Born in Borken

Connected with Borken
Leonide Massine in 1914

References
  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2019" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  2. "Partnerstädte". borken.de (in German). Borken. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
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