Hattingen is a German

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...

 town located in northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

.

History

Hattingen is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 1396, when the Duke of Mark granted permission to build a city wall. Today, Hattingen has a picturesque historic district with Fachwerk (timber-framed houses) built between the 14th and 16th centuries. The old city is still partly surrounded by the city walls today.

There are three castles remaining within the municipal area of Hattingen. Castle Isenburg was built in the 12th century in the hillsides above the Ruhr. The castle was destroyed in 1225, but prominent ruins remain. Blankenstein Castle

Burg Blankenstein

Burg Blankenstein is a castle located on the south side of the river Ruhr in Hattingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Beginning in 1227, the castle was built over the course of 200 years by the Counts of the Mark...

 was built in the 13th century above the Ruhr river and Haus Kemnade is a moated castle from the 16th century. All three castles are famous tourist landmarks and open to the public.

Hattingen became part of the Hanseatic League

Hanseatic League

The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...

 in 1554 and became an important trading town. In 1720, there were 52 operating coal mines within the municipal area and Hattingen became one of the first industrial cities of the Ruhr region. Steel production started in 1853, when the Henrichshütte was founded. The Henrichshütte became one of the most important employers of the whole region and dominated the town until it closed in 1987.

Today, Hattingen still faces problems concerning structural change of the economy, but is becoming a centre of tourism, especially its historical downtown.

Neighbouring cities

The cities bordering Hattingen are 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:...

, Essen, Sprockhövel

Sprockhövel

Sprockhövel is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Neighbouring places:* Hattingen* Witten* Wetter * Gevelsberg* Wuppertal* Schwelm-Divisions of the town:* Niedersprockhövel* Obersprockhövel...

, Velbert

Velbert

Velbert is a town in the district of Mettmann, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Langenberg, a district of Velbert, is well known as the location of the Sender Langenberg transmitter site.-Geography:...

, Witten and Wuppertal

Wuppertal

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...

.

Division of the town

Hattingen is divided into the districts of:

• Blankenstein with Burg Blankenstein
  Burg Blankenstein
  Burg Blankenstein is a castle located on the south side of the river Ruhr in Hattingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Beginning in 1227, the castle was built over the course of 200 years by the Counts of the Mark...
  
  
• Bredenscheid-Stüter
• Hattingen-Mitte
• Holthausen
• Niederbonsfeld
• Niederelfringhausen
• Niederwenigern
• Oberelfringhausen
• Oberstüter
• Welper
• Winz-Baak

Notable persons

• Mathilde Franziska Anneke
  Mathilde Franziska Anneke
  Mathilde Franziska Anneke was a German feminist, socialist, and newspaper editor, owner, and reporter. Born Mathilde Franziska Geisler, her first marriage to Alfred von Tabouillot, a rich wine merchant, ended in divorce...
  
  , feminist
• Erich Warsitz
  Erich Warsitz
  Erich Warsitz was a German test pilot of the 1930s. He held the rank of Flight-Captain in the Luftwaffe and was selected by the Reich Air Ministry as chief test pilot at Peenemünde West...
  
  , world's first jet pilot
• Harald Siepermann, Character Designer
• Marie-Luise Marjan
  Marie-Luise Marjan
  Marie-Luise Marjan is a German actress.Marie-Luise Marjan is best known for her role as Helga Beimer in the German Television Series Lindenstraße...
  
  , actress
• Jamiri
  Jamiri
  Jamiri is one of the most recognized comics artists in Germany....
  
   (Jan-Michael Richter), comic artist
• Andreas Bieber, singer and actor
• Mirjam Müntefering
  Mirjam Müntefering
  Mirjam Müntefering is a German author and a lesbian.She writes about LGBT themes, but also wrote a book on dog training. In 2000, she founded the dog obedience school "HUNDherum fit" in Hattingen...
  
  , author
• Caliban (band)
  Caliban (band)
  Caliban are a five-piece metalcore band from Germany. They have released seven studio albums to-date, and two split albums with the band Heaven Shall Burn.-History:...
  
  

Further reading

• Erich Warsizt, world's first jet pilot Official website. Includes rare videos and audio commentaries. (Some parts of site are in German,) Retrieved March 9, 2010

External links

• Town of Hattingen Official website