Schwelm

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

The history of Schwelm can be traced 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.

Additional information on the history of Schwelm is available on the City of Schwelm website.

A Westphalian variety of high German is spoken in Schwelm (Westphalian: from old Saxon Westfal = "western land"). The Westphalian dialect belongs to the low Saxon dialects, which is a part of the family of low German dialects. Compared to other German regions (e.g., Bavaria or Swabia) the dialect does not have a strong influence on the everyday speech. Especially the elderly population is still able to speak Schwelm's original Westphalian tongue, called Schwelmer Platt, which is quite different from standard high German and bears a certain resemblance to Dutch.

Schwelm has got a historical town center with many old houses, some of which date back to the 18th century. The Altmarkt is a historical market place lying in front of the tall Christuskirche, the town's principal Protestant church. From the Altmarkt, the decorative street Kölner Strasse leads uphill and is part of the former road to Cologne.

Until 2011, Schwelm was home to the Brauerei Schwelm, the "Schwelm Brewery", one of few remaining private breweries in North Rhine-Westphalia. Established in 1830 by Haarmann & Kathagen, the brewery was one of the first worldwide to switch from wooden to metal storage containers. The original administration building, the Rietz'sche Haus built in 1701, is an appealing house in the town center. Most of the brewery's historic production site, however, was torn down in 2012.

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

Europe's biggest fair-trade organisation "GEPA" was founded in Schwelm in the 1970s, but is now located in Wuppertal.

A historical Jewish cemetery, dating from the late 18th century is located in the countryside about 1.3 km south of the town's center. It is maintained by the municipality and volunteers.[3]

Gustav Heinemann in 1969

• Friedrich Christoph Müller (1751 in Allendorf (Lumda) - 1808): theologian and cartographer (in Schwelm between 1785 and 1808)
• Friedrich Springorum (1858-1938), engineer and entrepreneur
• Wilhelm Göcke (1898–1944), Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
• Gustav Heinemann (1899-1976): third president of the Federal Republic of Germany (from 1969 to 1974)
• Johannes Joachim Degenhardt (1926-2002): Cardinal and archbishop of Paderborn
• Franz Josef Degenhardt (1931-2011): political singer/songwriter
• Martin Grötschel (born 1948): mathematician and laureate of the Leibniz price
• Rolf Rüssmann (1950-2009): footballer and football manager
• Torsten Schmidt (born 1972): racing cyclist and participant of the Tour de France
• Olivia Spiker (born 1981): Polish-German amateur boxer
• Dr. Kurt Israel Herz (born 1879): German-Jewish doctor and philanthropist.[4]

Schwelm is twinned with the small French borough of Fourqueux, situated in the Paris agglomeration adjacent to Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

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  View of the Lindeberg-high ridges of the inner city
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  Schwelmequelle
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  Grade II listed building No. 12
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  The boating lake excursion restaurant/mill c.1900
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  View from the Old Market of the Church
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  Formerly-moated house Martfeld
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  Old high-school in the Märkischer
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  Schwelm train station
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  Factory building of piano manufacturer Rud. Ibach

• Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schwelm.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Schwelm.

• Official website (in German)