Kaarst

Kaarst is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Rhein-Kreis Neuss in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is 5 km west of Neuss and 12 km east of Mönchengladbach.

Kaarst
Saint Martin Church
Coat of arms
Location of Kaarst within Rhein-Kreis Neuss district
Kaarst
Kaarst
Coordinates: 51°13′N 06°37′E
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionDüsseldorf
DistrictRhein-Kreis Neuss
Subdivisions5
Government
 • MayorUrsula Baum (FDP)
Area
 • Total37.48 km2 (14.47 sq mi)
Highest elevation
45 m (148 ft)
Lowest elevation
35 m (115 ft)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total43,493
 • Density1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
41564
Dialling codes02131
Vehicle registrationNE
Websitewww.kaarst.de

Division of the town

Kaarst consists of 5 subdivisions

  • Kaarst (23,495 inhabitants)
  • Büttgen (6,415 inhabitants)
  • Driesch (645 inhabitants)
  • Holzbüttgen (5,967 inhabitants)
  • Vorst (5,671 inhabitants)

History

Before 100 BC Celts lived in the area. Later the Franks came into this area as graves from the 7th century prove. The first written document is the Life of the first bishop of Münster. It describes how bishop Ludger walked from Budica, now Büttgen, through the forest of Hamrithi. The earliest known written mention of Kaarst refers to it as 'Karlesforst' and dates back to 1218. Karl was a very common name for frankish nobles including king Charlemagne ('Karl der Große'), but a link between Charlemagne and Kaarst has not been proven.

Kaarst and Büttgen both have churches built in the 12th century. Both villages were destroyed by Charles the Bold duke of Burgundy (Karl der Kühne, 1474–1475), in the Cologne War (1585 to 1586) and in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). Jan von Werth, a celebrated general during the Thirty Years' War, was born near Büttgen in 1591.

During the Thirty Years' War, Kaarst was attacked several times by hostile armies, e.g. the one of Northern-Hesse (Northern-Hesse collaborated with Sweden and France, whereas the southern part of Hesse did not). Some time in 1642, a Hessian troop entered the city murdering the local preacher and destroying the vicarage. From 1794 till 1814 Kaarst was in the area occupied by France under Napoleon I. The French redrew district boundaries in 1798 and assigned Kaarst to Kanton Neuss. A relic of Napoleon I is the Nordkanal, a canal to connect the rivers Maas and Rhine.

In 1936 Büttgen had 4,400 inhabitants and Kaarst 2,000.

In 1975 Büttgen and villages around Kaarst were formally amalgamated into Kaarst to form administrative area with 33,500 inhabitants.

Politics

In the 2015 communal elections, Dr. Ulrike Nienhaus (CDU) was elected mayor of Kaarst with 55.8 percent of the valid votes. She is the first female mayor of Kaarst. She won the election in September 2015 against Christian Gaumitz.

In the 2020 communal elections, Ursula Baum (FDP) was elected mayor of Kaarst. She won the runoff election in September 2020 with 59.35 percent of the valid votes against Lars Christoph (CDU).[2]

Transport

Kaarster See station is the western terminus of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn line S 28. The town is also served by Kaarster Bahnhof, Kaarst Mitte/Holzbüttgen and Kaarst IKEA stations.

Kaarst is connected to the motorway system via the Bundesautobahn 52 and Bundesautobahn 57, which intersect here.

Notable residents
  • Alte Mühle, windmill in Kaarst
  • Braunsmühle in Kaarst-Büttgen

References
  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2019" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  2. "Bürgermeisterstichwahl - Kommunalwahlen 2020 in Kaarst - Gesamtergebnis" (in German). ITK Rheinland. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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