Castrop-Rauxel (ˈkastʁɔpˈʁaʊksəl) is a former mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area

Ruhr Area

The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...

.

Geography

Castrop-Rauxel is between Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

 to the east, Bochum

Bochum

Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...

 (south), Herne

Herne, Germany

Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...

 (west), and to the north, Recklinghausen

Recklinghausen

Recklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...

, Datteln

Datteln

Datteln is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on a crossroads of four canals , which makes it the biggest canal junction in Europe, approx...

 and Waltrop

Waltrop

Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approx. 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund.-Division of the town:...

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Urban Area

The urban area of Castrop-Rauxel has an total expanse of 51.66 km² (19.95 sq mi). The Halde Schwerin is marked as the highest point of the city with 147 m over NN, the lowest point is the Pöppinghauser street beside house number 264 with 50.2 m over NN.

The city is divided into 15 districts, listed in order from north to south: Becklem, Henrichenburg, Ickern, Habinghorst, Pöppinghausen, Deininghausen, Rauxel, Bladenhorst, Behringhausen, Castrop

Castrop

Castrop, since 1 April 1926, is part of Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The name comes from trop/torp for village and chasto/kast for shed. The oldest mention is from 834 as Villa Castrop....

, Dingen, Schwerin, Obercastrop, Frohlinde and Merklinde.

The total area of the city divided into different uses (31.12.2010):

Surface	in m²	in %
Buildings and open spaces	16.384.832	31,7%
Operating area	1.497.843	2,9%
Recreation area	2.835.924	5,5%
Traffic area	6.191.789	12,0%
Agricultural land	14.116.843	27,3%
Forest land	7.938.248	15,4%
Water surface	1.941.522	3,8%
Other uses	758.372	1,5%
Total area	51.665.373	100%

Population figures for the individual districts (Stand: 2005):

Districts	Population
Henrichenburg	5.333
Ickern	16.650
Habinghorst, Pöppinghausen	9.970
Deininghausen, Dingen, Rauxel	10.056
Bladenhorst, Rauxel-Nord	6.065
Schwerin	6.672
Behringhausen, Castrop, Obercastrop	16.743
Frohlinde	3.509
Merklinde	2.621

History

First mentioned in 834 as "Villa Castorpe", the city of Castrop was founded in 1902 by merging the municipalities Castrop, Obercastrop and Behringhausen. On April 1, 1926 Castrop-Rauxel was formed when Castrop merged with 10 other municipalities. During World War II, a plant at Castrop-Rauxel used the Bergius process

Bergius process

The Bergius Process is a method of production of liquid hydrocarbons for use as synthetic fuel by hydrogenation of high-volatile bituminous coal at high temperature and pressure...

 to produce synthetic oil products.

In 1975, the village of Henrichenburg was annexed and Castrop-Rauxel became part of the Recklinghausen (district)

Recklinghausen (district)

Recklinghausen is a Kreis in the middle of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Borken, Coesfeld, Unna,district-free cities Dortmund, Bochum, Herne, Essen, Gelsenkirchen and Bottrop, and the district Wesel.-History:...

. In 1984 the last of 7 coal mines at Castrop-Rauxel ("Erin") closed.

Transportation

Castrop-Rauxel has access to three major highways, the Emscherschnellweg A 42,the Sauerlandlinie A 45 and the A 2.

There are 3 railway stations within the city. The central station (Castrop-Rauxel Hauptbahnhof) on the Cologne-Minden Railway is located in the suburb of Rauxel. Connecting Castrop-Rauxel to the western Ruhr cities like Duisburg

Duisburg

- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...

, Oberhausen

Oberhausen

Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...

, Essen

Essen

- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...

, Gelsenkirchen

Gelsenkirchen

Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....

, Herne

Herne, Germany

Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...

 and in the east to Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

 and Hamm

Hamm

Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...

.
The unmanned stations of Castrop-Rauxel South (Castrop-Rauxel Sued) and Castrop-Rauxel Merklinde on the Emschertalbahn are offering hourly services with trains to Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

, Herne

Herne, Germany

Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...

 and Dorsten

Dorsten

Dorsten is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of just below 80,000.Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its historical old town lies on the south bank of the river Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln...

.
Located in the city centre is the central bus station Muensterplatz. From here passengers can travel to almost all suburbs and to neighboring cities like Herne

Herne, Germany

Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...

, Dortmund

Dortmund

Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....

 and Bochum

Bochum

Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...

.

The Rhine-Herne Canal

Rhine-Herne Canal

The Rhine–Herne Canal is a long transportation canal in the Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with five canal locks. The canal was built over a period of eight years and connects the harbour in Duisburg on the Rhine with the Dortmund-Ems Canal near Henrichenburg , following the...

 runs right through Castrop-Rauxel; Castrop-Rauxel also has a small Yacht club on this body of water.

International relations

Castrop-Rauxel is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with:

• Wakefield
  Wakefield
  Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
  
  , United Kingdom
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
  
• Vincennes
  Vincennes
  Vincennes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...
  
  , France
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
  
• Kuopio
  Kuopio
  Kuopio is a city and a municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water and half forest...
  
  , Finland
  Finland
  Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
  
  
• Delft
  Delft
  Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
  
  , Netherlands
  Netherlands
  The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
  
  
• Zehdenik, Germany
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
  

Economy

Castrop-Rauxel has been attempting to change from a former mining city to a city with a modern lifestyle, high recreational value, new economy companies, a 27 hole golf course, and various cultural events.

Culture

The WLT (Westphalian State Theater) is the oldest and most relevant source of theatrical entertainment in Castrop-Rauxel. There is one cinema with two screens in Castrop.
Castrop’s history is closely connected to horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

, the Reiterbrunnen in the very center of Castrop’s market square is a reminder of the race days on the Naturhindernisbahn, now part of the Goldschmieding Park.