Wermelskirchen

Wermelskirchen (German pronunciation: [ˈvɛʁml̩sˌkɪʁçn̩] ; Ripuarian: Wärmelßkirrshe) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m).

Geography

The distance to Cologne is about 35 kilometers, to Düsseldorf about 45 kilometers. The neighboring municipalities are Remscheid, Hückeswagen, Wipperfürth, Kürten, Odenthal, Burscheid and Solingen. The townscape is characterized by Altberg slate and half-timbered houses.

The city area of Wermelskirchen (area: 74,74 km²) composed out of three district's: the initial Wermelskirchen and the incorporated, previously independent municipalities, Dhünn and Dabringhausen.

Coat of arms

The coat-of-arms of the city of Wermelskirchen looks like a silver shield split into thirds. In the left field is an oak tree. In the right field there is a Swan and pictured in the middle field there is a church.

History

From 1822 to 1945, Wermelskirchen was part of the Prussian Rhine Province.

Education

Wermelskirchen has an Evangelical, a Roman Catholic church and a Latin school.

Economy

The city has the head office of OBI and the origin of the caster manufacturer TENTE.

Twin towns – sister cities

Wermelskirchen is twinned with:

Forst, Germany since 1990
Loches, France since 1974

Notable people

Carl Leverkus (1804–1889), founder of a German chemical and pharmaceutical company and the namesake of the city of Leverkusen
Uwe Boll (born 1965), film director and writer, restaurateur and founder of Bauhaus Restaurant chains in Canada
Tim Schrick (born 1976), racecar driver, and television presenter
Thomas Kleine (born 1977), footballer
Christian Lindner (born 1979), politician and Federal Minister of Finance (2021–present)
Marike Steinacker (born 1992), athlete, who competed in the women's discus throw event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics, in which she placed 6th and 4th respectively