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coat of arms Germany map
Coat of arms of the city of Willich
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Map of Germany, position of the city of Willich highlighted

Coordinates: 51 ° 16 '  N , 6 ° 33'  E

Basic data
State : North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region : Dusseldorf
Circle : Viersen
Height : 40 m above sea level NHN
Area : 67.8 km 2
Residents: 50,391 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density : 743 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code : 47877
Primaries : 02154, 02156, 02159
License plate : VIE, KK
Community key : 05 1 66 036
LOCODE : DE WLC
City structure: 4 districts

City administration address : 		Main street 6
47877 Willich
Website : www.stadt-willich.de
Mayor : Josef Heyes ( CDU )
Location of the city of Willich in the district of Viersen
Kreis Viersen Nordrhein-Westfalen Kreis Kleve Kreis Wesel Duisburg Krefeld Rhein-Kreis Neuss Mönchengladbach Kreis Heinsberg Niederlande Nettetal Tönisvorst Grefrath Niederkrüchten Brüggen Viersen Willich Kempen Schwalmtalmap
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Willich Anrath Neersen SchiefbahnLocation of the districts of Willich
About this picture

The city of Willich is located on the Lower Rhine in the west of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is a central city in the Viersen district . It has the status of a medium-sized center and is located on the outskirts of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area in the city triangle Düsseldorf - Mönchengladbach - Krefeld .

In the cultural field, the city is known nationwide , primarily because of the Neersen Castle Festival . The Münchheide industrial park is of particular economic importance.

geography

Geographical location

The Willich urban area is, typically for the Lower Rhine , characterized by large, flat agricultural areas. South of Schiefbahn there is a forest area with the Schiefbahner Bruch. This area is around 36  m above sea level. NN to the lower areas of the city. Overall, the differences in height, which result mainly from a slight gradient from east to west, are very small with a maximum of just under 7 meters. In the southwest the river Niers marks the border of the urban area.

Of the total area of ​​around 6,776 hectares, 4,169 hectares were used for agriculture in 2005. There were 369 hectares of forest and 131 hectares of water in the city, 202 hectares were designated as recreational areas. A total of 1270 hectares consisted of building and open space, 601 hectares were used as traffic area.

Telecommunications tower in the wrong track

Tallest building in town is the widely visible as " TV tower known" 123 meters high obliquity Bahner telecommunications tower in Schiefbahn.

Neighboring cities

Large cities in the immediate vicinity of Willich are Mönchengladbach , Krefeld (adjacent), Düsseldorf (approx. 20 km), Neuss (approx. 15 km) and in the Netherlands Venlo (approx. 30 km). Adjacent cities clockwise (starting in the north): Krefeld, Meerbusch , Kaarst , Korschenbroich , Mönchengladbach, Viersen , Tönisvorst .

Urban area

The city consists of the four districts Willich, Schiefbahn , Anrath and Neersen .

The following smaller districts are located in the urban area:

  • Wekel, Münchheide, Hardt, Willicher Heide, Dickerheide (historically part of Willich)
  • Niederheide, Knickelsdorf, Klein-Jerusalem, Bertz (historically part of Schiefbahn)
  • Donk (historically part of Anrath)
  • Vennheide , Grenzweg, Hagwinkel, Unterbruch (historically part of Neersen)
  • Clörath (historically part of Neersen, today also part of Viersen and Tönisvorst)

history

Events 1137–1793

  • Willich was first mentioned in 1137 as "Wylike", but the first church was probably built around the year 800. Anrath appeared in documents as early as 1010, the history of Neersen and Schiefbahn can be traced back to 1262 and 1420 respectively. The settlement of Unterbroich, today a district of Schiefbahn, was first mentioned around 1300.
  • The Willich Bailiwick was first mentioned in 1245, and the history of the Hülsdonk house can be traced back to 1272 .
  • In 1298 Willich was sold to the Duchy of Kleve . In 1392 the office of Linn and thus also Willich fell to the Electorate of Cologne , to which the other three current districts already belonged.
  • The Bourgerhof is first mentioned in 1394.
  • King Sigismund granted Anrath market rights in 1414 , which allowed Anrath to be fortified as a patch with walls and ditches.
  • In the Truchsessian War , which lasted from 1583 to 1589 , today's districts were looted and in part devastated and burned. The citizens of Willich sought refuge in the fortified aristocratic seats of Hülsdonk and Kollenburg, which, however, were also taken in 1591. In 1590, the inclined track was raised to a patch and was allowed to be fortified.
  • Large parts of the village of Willich were destroyed in a major fire in 1675. The church also burned to the ground.

Events 1794–1905

  • Until 1794 Neersen formed its own glory , Anrath belonged to Neersen, Willich (previously own glory) belonged to the Linn office, Schiefbahn to the Liedberg office . In addition to Clörath, the municipality of Kempen also included the small farmers of Kleinkempen. Kleinkempen was an area that ran as a narrow strip from what is now the east end of Anrath north past Neersen to between Willich and Schiefbahn. These farmers, which no longer exist as a field name today, had no center of their own, but enclosed Anrath on all sides. In memory of the farmers, part of the old “Wekel” path in the new development area of ​​the same name was renamed “Klein Kempen”.
  • From 1794 to 1815 the entire left Lower Rhine was occupied by the French. This ended the rule of the Electorate of Cologne over the region. With an administrative reform in 1800, the Mairien Neersen (with Anrath and Clörath), Willich, Schiefbahn and (a little later) Kleinkempen were formed. They now belonged to the Arrondissement de Crévelt in the newly founded Département de la Roer , which became French territory from 1801. Neersen became the seat of a canton that comprised 17 communities, including all of today's Willich districts.
  • In 1815 the Rhineland and thus the places of today's city fell to Prussia . As a result, the rural districts were introduced in the region in 1816 . The French Mairien became Prussian mayorships . The mayor's offices Willich and Neersen came to the Krefeld district , Schiefbahn and Kleinkempen to the Gladbach district . In 1819 Neersen moved to the district of Gladbach and Kleinkempen to the district of Krefeld, while Anrath was detached from the Neersen mayor and added to the mayor of Kleinkempen. In 1840 the mayor's office in Kleinkempen was renamed after the main town of Anrath.
  • In 1849, Anrath was the first town in today's Willich to have a train station. Willich followed in 1870, Schiefbahn and Neersen in 1877.
  • In 1872 the Willich Katharinen Hospital was inaugurated on Bahnstrasse. A year later, the hospital donated by Lorenz Schmitz was opened on Viersener Straße in Anrath, which was replaced in 1906 by a new building on Neersener Straße. In 1970 the Anrath Hospital was closed. The Willich Hospital, on the other hand, was replaced by a larger new building in 1963 and offered basic services for the population until it was closed for economic reasons in summer 2014.
  • In 1891 large parts of Anrath were destroyed by a tornado . The community, which was already badly financially troubled by the decline of the previously dominant house weaving mill, was dependent on government grants. The Anrath municipal administration even considered dissolving the municipality. To improve the economic situation, a royal prison was built at Anrath train station, which was completed in 1905.

Events 1908-1945

  • The Becker steelworks was built in Willich in 1908 and offered thousands of jobs until it closed in 1932. From 1934 to 1945, a new owner manufactured goods essential for the war effort there. After the Second World War, a British Army pioneer unit was established in the former steelworks.
  • During the municipal reorganization in 1929, the four old municipalities were added to the newly founded district of Kempen-Krefeld .
  • The communities survived the Second World War with moderate damage. Around a dozen houses were destroyed in bomb attacks. The worst attack on October 22, 1944 in Willich claimed eleven lives. On March 1, 1945, the only notable fighting broke out in Schiefbahn. A German tank unit advanced into the place already occupied by the Americans. The fight claimed numerous casualties on both sides, and American troops were able to finally occupy the place on the following day.
  • Of the 40 Jews deported from the four locations, only two survived the Holocaust .

Events since 1946

  • In the 1960s, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia decided to reorganize the municipality . The impending loss of independence met with resistance in the affected communities. Anrath and Neersen tried to form a common community to prevent a merger with Willich and Schiefbahn. Among other things, at the suggestion of the then regional president, an agreement was finally reached on the merger of the communities of Willich, Anrath, Schiefbahn and Neersen. After many more or less successful suggestions for naming the new town, such as "Schwanstadt", "Mittelstadt" or "Schanwin", the name of the then largest municipality in the Kempen-Krefeld district was finally agreed . With the law on the reorganization of the Kempen-Krefeld district and the independent city of Viersen, which came into force on January 1, 1970, the four municipalities were merged to form the town of Willich.
  • Willich received an indoor swimming pool in 1965. The building on Schiefbahner Strasse was expanded to include an outdoor pool in 1974. In 1990 the pool burned down, whereupon the city decided to replace it with a family-oriented sports and leisure pool, which was named “De Bütt”. Since the Bütt opened in June 1994, it has been one of the most popular municipal baths in Germany with more than 500,000 visitors a year.
  • In the 1980s, the Münchheide industrial park was built in the west of Willich.
  • Since 1994 a new residential area called Wekel has been built between Alt-Willich and Schiefbahn. It is planned as an almost self-sufficient residential area and will be inhabited by around 6,000 people one day. In 2003, 3409 people lived there, by June 2004 the number had increased to 4140.
  • In 2012 Willich took part in the nationwide Mission Olympic city ​​competition to promote popular sports and was recognized as the winner in the medium-sized city category.

Surname

There are various theses about the origin of the name Willich. According to the main thesis, the name comes from the designation villa (“estate, farm”) and vilici (“court dwellers ”), which is quite obvious, since the area was inhabited by isolated farms.

It is also possible that villa refers to a specific courtyard, namely the Fronhof or Domhof, which has been on Grunewall since around the year 800.

Another thesis leads the name Willich back to the pre-Germanic word wil ("swamp water"). This approach is also possible because the Lower Rhine is very swampy and only the Donken , which protruded from it like islands, made settlement possible.

Population development

Population development of Willich.svg Population development of Willich - from 1871
Desc-i.svg
Population development of Willich according to the adjacent table. Above from 1600 to 2017. Below a section from 1871
year I want to Anrath Inclined path Neersen City of Willich
around 1600 ~ 1,200
1631 > 655¹
1660 ~ 800
1760 ~ 1,250
1764 > 1,800¹
1794 2.121
1798 ~ 1,500
1800 1,375
1815 2,253
1820 1.910 1,863 1,556
1826 2,200 2,043
1828 2,393 1,553
1838 2,552
1840 2,586 2,216
1848 3,167
1849 2,273
1852 3,172
1861 3,790 3,604 2,547 2,450
1871 4,507 3,827 2,789 2,583
1880 5,273 4.174 2,791 2,602
1890 5,485 3,690 2,823 2,526
1900 5,427 3,566 3,274 2,616
Dec. 1, 1910 6,485 4,970 3,805 2,616
1933 7,622 5,543 4,495 2,833
1939 8,161 5,704 4,707 3,144
1950 10,869 7,326 6,190 4.177
1961 11,776 8,116 7.114 4,642
Dec. 31, 1969 14,874 9.448³ 10,041 5,286³
1970 38,733
1975 38,969
1980 39,115
1985 39,896
Dec. 31, 1989 15,035 10.158 10,556 5,885 41,634
Feb. 29, 1996 16.401 10,852 11,988 6,650 45,891
Dec 31, 2001 20,400² 12,152 12,059 6,493 51,104
Jun 30, 2005 21,718 11,616 12,260 7.014 52,608
30th Mar 2006 21,877 11,655 12,230 6,990 52,752
31. May. 2007 22,062 11,645 12,228 6,953 52,888
Apr 30, 2011 22,343 11,460 12,120 6,836 52,759
Feb. 2012 22,346 11,441 12,107 6,844 52,738
Oct. 2014 22,501 11.305 11,894 6,927 52,627
December 31, 2016 50,932
December 31, 2017 51.179
Jan. 2019 22,111 11,421 11,411 6,259 51.202

¹ People over 12 years
² of which Wekel: 3,116
³ June 30th


From around 1800, reasonably reliable population figures are determined for the region. Up until the Second World War, there was a steady increase in the number of inhabitants, which is typical for all of Central Europe. Only Anrath lost inhabitants around 1890 due to an economic crisis. After the Second World War, the settlement of refugees from the former German eastern regions led to a population surge. In the 1960s, Schiefbahn became increasingly attractive as a dormitory for commuters to Düsseldorf. When the city was founded in 1970, the area was redesigned. As a result, the number of inhabitants of the city decreased slightly compared to the sum of the numbers of the old communities. The population hardly changed from 1970 to the mid-1980s. Then, however, due to the Münchheide industrial park and the urban flight from the surrounding cities, there was a significant increase in population. From 1988 to 1998 the city grew by around 8,000 people, or almost 20 percent. A particular increase was recorded in the Willich district from 1994 onwards, primarily due to the new development area Wekel. Since 2000 the population increase has been more moderate.

According to a forecast by the city of Willich on population growth from 2003, the city should reach the 60,000-inhabitant limit by 2015.

Area development

year I want to Anrath Inclined path Neersen
around 1850 1858 36.9 km² 1858 7.3 km² 13.0 km² 13.3 km²
1880 35.93 km² 7.54 km² 12.42 km² 11.89 km²
1928 36.93 km² 8.10 km² 17.21 km² 11.63 km²
1967 36.78 km² 8.30 km² 12.65 km² 14.38 km²
2003 34.88 km² 7.60 km² 13.90 km² 11.88 km²

Before it was founded in 1969, the individual communities of today's city of Willich had a total area of ​​72.11 km². By redesigning the area, the area of ​​the new city was reduced to 67.8 km². In 2000 the last major change in the urban area resulted from an area swap with Krefeld. The A 44 becomes the border between the cities, Willich loses around 6 hectares of predominantly agricultural area that Krefeld wants to use to expand an industrial area. At the end of 2004 Willich had an area of ​​67.76 km².

Religions

Catholic Church of St. Katharina, Alt-Willich

As part of the Electorate of Cologne, the Willich region was traditionally Catholic. Anrath's first Jewish life can be traced back to around 1650, the first Jew is mentioned in Neersen in 1749 and in Schiefbahn in 1782.

Population statistics from 1832 only list two Protestants for the four old communities: one in Willich and one in Neersen. The number of Jewish residents was slightly higher: 87 Jews lived in Anrath, 57 in Schiefbahn, 25 in Neersen and three in Willich. Thus in 1832 almost 98 percent of the population at that time was Catholic.

From around 1800 the first Jewish prayer houses were built in Anrath and Schiefbahn. In 1890 a synagogue was built on the Tömp in Schiefbahn . It was burned down during the " Reichspogromnacht " in 1938. The synagogue, built in Anrath in 1878, was taken over by the Anrath community in 1938 and demolished in 1961.

In the middle of the 19th century, the centuries-old parish churches in the old communities of Willich, Anrath and Schiefbahn became too small. The parishes decide to demolish the old churches and new buildings in the same place. The Schiefbahn church was torn down as early as 1853. The new church is consecrated in 1860 and extensive renovations are carried out in the 1960s. In Anrath and Willich, the Düsseldorf architect Josef Kleesattel was commissioned to plan the new buildings in the neo-Gothic style. In 1898 the Anrath and in 1901 the Willich parish church was consecrated. The Neersen church is not replaced by a new building until 1960.

Ev. Resurrection Church, Alt-Willich

In 1910 the first Protestant church in the city was inaugurated on Anrather Gietherstrasse, followed by another in Willich on Krusestrasse in 1931. The simple wooden structure was replaced by a modern church in 1962. The Protestant church in Schiefbahn was built in 1956, the Neersener nine years later.

A mosque with an attached community center of the Islamic organization Millî Görüş is located in a residential building on Willicher Bahnstrasse .

In 2011, 49.1% of the population in Willich were Catholic and 21.2% Protestant. 29.5% did not belong to any denomination or were not statistically recorded, such as Muslims.

politics

mayor

Until the mid-1990s, Willich had a full-time city ​​director who was in charge of the city administration, and the honorary mayor who chaired the council.

mayor City Director
Hans Lamers (CDU, 1970–1979) Bernhard Hüsers (1970–1979)
Käthe Franke (CDU, 1979–1994) Hans Lamers (1979–1991)
Josef Heyes (CDU, 1994–1995) Dieter Hehnen (1991–1995)

On July 1, 1995, the two offices were merged. Since then the city of Willich has had the following (full-time) mayors:

Full-time mayor
Lukas Siebenkotten ( SPD ) (1995–1999)
Josef Heyes ( CDU ) (since 1999)

Parties

Local election in Willich 2014
 %
50
40
30th
20th
10
0
47.9%
26.3%
13.3%
12.5%
Gains and losses
compared to 2009
 % p
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
  -8th
-10
-12
-10.4  % p
+ 7.6  % p
+ 2.7  % p.p.
+ 0.1  % p
    
A total of 48 seats

In Willich, the CDU is traditionally the strongest party. In all local elections since the city was founded, it only narrowly missed an absolute majority in 1994 and 2014. Over the years, a total of six parties made it to the city council. CDU, SPD and FDP were permanently represented, the Greens since 1984 and the Christian Voting Association until 1975. The Willich Independent Voting Association was represented on the city council from 1997 to 2004 with initially two and later one seat. The last local election on May 25, 2014 came to the following result (the 2009 figures in brackets):

Political party Seats %
CDU 23 (28) 47.88 (58.30)
SPD 13 (9) 26.31 (18.70)
Green 6 (5) 13.27 (10.60)
FDP 6 (6) 12.54 (12.40)

Coat of arms, seal and flag

  • City arms

  • Flag of the city of Willich

  • Coat of arms of the former municipality of Willich

  • Coat of arms of the former municipality of Anrath

  • Coat of arms of the former municipality of Neersen

  • Coat of arms of the former community of Schiefbahn

The city of Willich was granted the right to use a coat of arms and an official seal with a certificate from the District President in Düsseldorf dated October 30, 1971.

The coat of arms is described in § 2 paragraph 1 of the main statute of the city of Willich as follows:

A yellow (gold) square in blue, which is entwined on each side by the letter W in yellow (gold) so that its lower tips are directed towards the center of the square and form a cross with equal arms.

The coat of arms of the city of Willich was completely redesigned independently of the coats of arms of the old communities. The design comes from Strümper Walter Breker . The four letters "W" symbolize the four old communities that form the town of Willich as a unit. The cross in the middle reminds of the electoral Cologne period of the parishes.

The description of the seal in the same paragraph of the main statute reads:

Inscription: Stadt Willich - Kreis Viersen
Seal image: The coat of arms image, but without a shield, which has been omitted for artistic reasons.

The city of Willich was also granted the right to carry a banner and a flag with a certificate from the District President in Düsseldorf dated June 14, 1972. § 2 Article 2 of the main statute stipulates:

Description of the banner: In blue the city arms without a shield in the middle of the upper half.
Description of the flag: In blue the city arms without a shield in the middle.

Town twinning

  • FranceFrance Linselles ( France ): The partnership was established on September 11, 1966 with the community of Schiefbahn and continued in 1970 by the city of Willich.
  • Burkina FasoBurkina Faso Zogoré ( Burkina Faso ): The city of Willich has been sponsoring the community of Zogoré since 1985, which was expanded into a joint partnership with Linselles in 1991.

Willich maintains friendly contacts with the cities:

Culture and sights

Attractions

Neersen Castle with festival stage

Willich is a rather functional city without a large number of sights.

  • The best known is Neersen Castle with its park and the Castle Festival in Neersen (photo), which today serves as the town hall of Willich.
  • In addition to the Neersener Schlosspark in Anrath with the Theodor-Heuss-Park and in Willich with the Konrad-Adenauer-Park and the sports and leisure center, there are larger parks .
  • The Little Jerusalem Chapel in Neersen is also known beyond the city limits . It was built in 1660, making it the oldest church building in the city. The three Catholic churches in the districts of Willich, Schiefbahn and Anrath each mark the center of the village. They were built at the end of the 19th century and are typical church buildings of their time.
  • Also worth mentioning is the Broich House between Anrath and Willich, a former manor that was used by a religious community as a spiritual center until 2006. The inner cities are characterized by functional buildings from the 20th century. There are also some older houses, such as the half-timbered houses on Willicher Hülsdonkstraße, near the church. The penal institution Willich I and II in Anrath, which was built around 1900, can usually only be viewed from the outside, but the Anrath Prison Museum is located in the old director's house , which is operated by the Royal Potthusars, a rifle group consisting of prison staff.
Old boiler house in the Becker steelworks
  • When the Becker steelworks in Willich was transformed into an industrial area, some listed steelworks buildings were left standing and now offer space for service and commercial operations alongside newly built, modern real estate. A generously laid out water axis should also invite you to linger. However, since the sale of the commercial properties is slow, the sight of the site is restricted by large, fallow areas filled with rubble.
    In order to present the steelworks as an interesting place at night, a lighting system was installed around the striking water tower, which illuminates it at night.
  • There are no mills in the Willich urban area. In the small settlement of Clörath, which extends over the urban areas of Willich, Viersen and Tönisvorst, there is, however, the Clörath mill in the Viersen area , where art exhibitions take place in the summer months.
  • In the Alt-Willich district (especially on Bahnstrasse) there are still a number of well-preserved and partially listed patrician houses .
Transporter bridge over the Niers
  • In Neersen and Schiefbahn, part of the Fietsallee runs along the Nordkanal , an approximately 100 kilometer long cycle path on the Nordkanal in the Dutch-German border region. It connects the two rivers Rhine and Maas and is based on the historical course of the North Canal.
  • There is the Hagelkreuz at listed crosses in the city , erected in 1905 to protect against storms in Niederheide, the infirmary cross from 1731 on Heiligenweg, created at the infirmary that existed at the time, the peace cross from 1946 at the intersection of Martin-Rieffert-Straße, Neusser Straße and Ritterstraße and the cemetery cross from 1865 in Neersen.

Architectural monuments

Regular events

  • In the summer months, the Neersen Castle Festival takes place in the open air at Neersen Castle. There is usually a children's play and two or three other pieces on the large open-air stage. There are also studio productions and guest performances. In the environment of the festival Willich called for some time festival town of Willich .
  • Eight rifle festivals are celebrated in the city from spring to autumn . The largest are those in Willich and Schiefbahn. The Willich Schützenfest is the second largest on the left Lower Rhine after the Neusser. Other shooting clubs are in Neersen, Anrath, Klein-Jerusalem, Niederheide, Clörath-Vennheide and on Grenzweg.
  • The carnival is also celebrated in Willich. The largest carnival parade is the Anrath Tulip Sunday Parade. The children's procession traditionally takes place in Neersen on Rose Monday.
  • In Willich there is also a city festival twice a year, at which Willich shops and companies advertise or inform customers through stands, a stage is set up for musicians and singers, at which parties also provide information about their election program or barkers offer their goods.

Museums

  • The temporary gallery of the city of Willich is housed in Neersen Castle. It shows performing arts by changing artists.
  • The Willich Commercial Vehicle Museum is located in the Willich industrial area Stahlwerk Becker . Old trucks, tractors and other commercial vehicles are exhibited here.
  • The local history museum Schiefbahn in the St.-Bernhard-Gymnasium provides information twice a month and by appointment about the history of Schiefbahn.

Libraries

The church libraries located in the center of the four districts, together with the city library, provide literature in the Willich city area. A uniform user ID applies to all four libraries and the city library; borrowing is free of charge in all libraries.

  • Catholic Public Library Willich
  • Catholic Public Library Anrath
  • Public Evangelical Library Schiefbahn
  • Catholic Public Library Neersen
  • Willich City Library

Sports

The greatest sporting success that came from the soil of the city of Willich was Norbert Koof's victory in the world championship in show jumping in 1982.

A large number of clubs are united in the Willich City Sports Association. Below is a selection of outstanding clubs.

  • DJK VfL Willich - with over 2500 members the largest club in town. Offers various sports such as football, athletics, judo and table tennis in eleven departments
  • TV-Schiefbahn 1899 e. V. - With ten departments such as handball, triathlon, volleyball, badminton and others
  • SC 08 Schiefbahn e. V. - One of the most successful Willich soccer clubs, in the 1980s the SC played in the 4th German soccer league.
  • Swimming club Willich 1965 e. V. - The only Willich swimming club and multiple winner of German youth championships
  • RSC "Blitz" Schiefbahn 1932 e. V. - From the 1930s to the 1980s, he won several German championships in cycling and art cycling
  • Cycling club OPEL 1924 e. V. Neersen - very successful art cycling club
  • Bossel and Ironing Club 1979 e. V. - The Willicher Club is one of the most active North Rhine-Westphalian Boßel clubs.
  • Rhein Polo Club e. V. - The largest polo club inNorth Rhine-Westphaliahas its club premises in Wekel between Willich and Schiefbahn.
  • Willicher Turnverein 1892 e. V. - Oldest sports club in Willich.
  • American Football Schiefbahn Riders eV - The first sports club for American football and cheerleading in the Viersen district.
  • Neersener Turnerbund 1894 e. V. - Nordic walking, gymnastics, dancing, apparatus and trampoline gymnastics, athletics, aerobics, table tennis, tennis, karate, judo, badminton, running club and cycling tourism are firmly integrated offers of the Neersener Turnerbundes.

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

Motorway A 44 towards Aachen

Willich's traffic policy is entirely geared towards individual motorized traffic. Willich and Schiefbahn are surrounded by a closed motorway ring, with the A 44 in the west and north, the A 52 in the south and the A 57 in the east. There are five motorway junctions within the urban area. With the exception of Anrath, every district has a junction no more than 500 m from the entrance to the town. Thus there is no significant through traffic in the districts. The city tries to counter the frequent traffic jams by building bypasses. Willich and Anrath have northern bypasses, Neersen has an eastern bypass on the A 44. In addition, a northern bypass is planned for Schiefbahn and another (eastern) bypass for Anrath.

Public transport is only available in rudimentary form in the city. Of the former five train stations in today's urban area, only the Anrath stop at the western end of Anrath , right on the city limits, is still in operation. Trains to and from Krefeld and Mönchengladbach stop there up to twice an hour in each direction. The railway lines Krefeld – Willich – Schiefbahn Nord – Mönchengladbach and Düsseldorf – Schiefbahn – Neersen – Viersen were discontinued in the 1960s to 1970s, as did the tram line from Krefeld via Willich and Schiefbahn to Mönchengladbach.

Bus lines run mostly every hour on weekdays, sometimes every half hour during rush hour. At the weekend the buses run every one to two hours. There are direct connections to the surrounding cities from Anrath to Krefeld, from Schiefbahn, Willich and Neersen to Mönchengladbach, from Willich and Schiefbahn to Kaarst, from Neersen and Schiefbahn to Viersen and Düsseldorf and from Anrath and Willich to Viersen and Meerbusch.

Plans for the reintroduction of the tram line from Krefeld via Willich and Weucken to Schiefbahn, which was originally also intended to connect the large new development area of ​​Wekel to public transport, have been put on hold for an indefinite period. Even for a planned extension of the Regiobahn Mettmann-Dusseldorf-Kaarst about Schiefbahn to Mönchengladbach (originally had a route planned on Schiefbahn to Viersen) the financing and implementation is still uncertain.

Highways

At the Neersen motorway junction, the A 44 and A 52 motorways cross, both of which lead through Willich's urban area. Coming from Mönchengladbach, the A 44 crosses the city in a south-north direction approximately in the geographic center and passes Neersen to the east and the Münchheide industrial park to the west. It divides the districts of Willich and Schiefbahn from Neersen and Anrath. In front of the city limits of Krefeld , the motorway makes an arc and leads east towards the north of Düsseldorf. The Neersen, Münchheide, Krefeld-Forstwald and Krefeld-Fichtenhain junctions are located in the Willicher area. Coming from Roermond , the A 52 leads south past Schiefbahn and Neersen in the direction of Düsseldorf and has a junction in Schiefbahn.

Federal and state roads

The B 57 leads from Krefeld to Mönchengladbach via Willich city area. However, it is now run via the A44.

State roads

There are several state roads in the city of Willich. Some of the most important:
L 26 (Willich– Meerbusch )
L 361 ( Grevenbroich –Schiefbahn – Anrath– Kempen - Kevelaer )
L 362 (Willich – Kempen– Kleve )
L 382 ( Korschenbroich –Willich – Krefeld)
L 461 (Krefeld – Willich – Willich -Neersen)

Transportation

former Willich signal box
The Anrath stop

The station Willich was on the railway line Krefeld-Rheydt . After the passenger was already set in the 1980s, the railway line was built between Krefeld steel mill and Mönchengladbach-Neuwerk in 1997 shut down .

On the northwestern outskirts of Anrath , right on the city limits, there is the city's only train stop . The nearest train stations, where long-distance trains also stop, are Mönchengladbach , Düsseldorf and Duisburg .

In the evening there is a collective taxi that also connects the train stations in Anrath and Kaarster See throughout the city . In Anrath and Willich (since 2007) there is an hourly public bus .

The only railway line stopping in the city is the Rhein-Niers-Bahn ( RB  33). It runs twice an hour in each direction on the Duisburg-Ruhrort-Mönchengladbach railway from Mönchengladbach via Anrath to Krefeld and Duisburg. Every second trip is extended to Aachen or Wesel. The BVR express bus line SB  86 runs from the S-Bahn station on Kaarster See via Schiefbahn, Wekel and Willich to Münchheide. The line number used to belong to the discontinued express bus connection Düsseldorf – Schiefbahn – Viersen. The second express bus line in the city connects Anrath and the stop there with Viersen in one direction and Kempen, Grefrath and Nettetal-Lobberich in the other direction. Another important overland connection is the 094 line. It starts at Kaarster See station and leads over Schiefbahn and Neersen to Viersen. It used to have line number 862 and is a remnant of the former rail bus connection from Düsseldorf via Schiefbahn, Neersen and Viersen to Nettetal, which was set up as a replacement for the railway line that was discontinued in the 1960s. Line 071 runs from the Haus Meer junction in Meerbusch with a connection to the trams in the direction of Krefeld and Düsseldorf via Osterather Bahnhof , where the regional express lines 10 in the direction of Düsseldorf and Krefeld / Kleve and 7 ( Rhein-Münsterland-Express ) in the direction of Krefeld and Neuss / Cologne stop, to Willich and Anrath and on to Viersen.

Bus routes also lead to the two neighboring cities. From Mönchengladbach the line 036 of the NVV AG travels via Neersen to Schiefbahn and partly further via Wekel to Willich. Anrath is connected to Krefeld by line 054, which runs through Krefeld city center to Uerdingen. The SWK Mobil lines 055 and 056 run from Schiefbahn or Neersen via Willich to the city limits of Krefeld. From there you can change to the tram . Finally, line 038 is the only bus line that does not leave the Willich urban area. It connects Neersen from the castle with Anrath and the local train station.

Airports

The Mönchengladbach airfield, which formerly belonged to Neersen, is located directly on the southern city limits . The Dusseldorf airport is about 15 kilometers away. Other airports in the area are Niederrhein Airport and Cologne / Bonn Airport , which are each around 75 kilometers away.

economy

Agriculture continues to shape the image of the city. However, their economic importance has declined. Of the 13,782 employees subject to social security contributions who worked in Willich in mid-2005, 9925 were employed in the service sector, 3493 worked in the manufacturing industry and 253 in agriculture and forestry. 13,782 people worked in Willich, and 16,165 employees lived in the city. However, only 3988 Willichers also worked in Willich. 12,177 people worked outside the city. In contrast, there were 9,794 in-commuters from other communities. Willich thus had a negative commuter balance of 2,383 people.

Water tower in the Becker business park

Willich-Münchheide industrial park

In the 1970s, Willich's most important employer at that time, the Hannen brewery , left the city. Then, with the support of the Viersen district and funds from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Münchheide industrial park was created west of Alt-Willich. Due to the good motorway connection ( A 44 ), the area, which has grown to around 140 hectares, has developed into one of the larger commercial areas in the region. Since 2007 the area has been expanded by 26 hectares. Since the mid-1990s, another industrial area has been built in the former Becker steelworks on almost 35 hectares. Meanwhile, several international groups (for example Pioneer , Umax , Hitachi , Seiko , Yonex , Behringer ) have their European and German headquarters in Willich. In 1982, the Fujifilm Group was the first Japanese company to move the headquarters of its subsidiary Photex (later Eurocolor and now Fuji Imaging Germany) to the Münchheide industrial estate. The large analog photo laboratory was for a while the largest commercial employer in Willich, but was closed at the beginning of 2010 due to the displacement of analog by digital photography. The headquarters of Fuji Imaging Germany can still be found at this address.

Business park Stahlwerk Becker

Another important industrial area is the Stahlwerk Becker industrial park . A steel mill stood on this site from 1908 to 1945. After the Second World War, the area became the barracks of the British Army on the Rhine . The troops, who maintained good contact with the city administration and the population, left the site in 1992. The municipal property company has been marketing the business park, which also has a start-up center, since 2002 . Mainly medium-sized companies have settled in the business park.

In earlier times an important employer in the old community of Anrath was the royal Prussian prison there. Today's penal institution in Willich actually consists of two independent institutions for women and men.

media

The daily newspapers Westdeutsche Zeitung and Rheinische Post appear in Willich with local editions. Regularly appearing advertising papers are the Willicher Nachrichten (appear on Wednesdays) and the Extra-Tipp on Sundays .

Public facilities

Willich is the seat of the Bundeswehr Department of Defense Clothing Office III , which is now a branch of the LH Bundeswehr Clothing Company . The De Bütt indoor and outdoor swimming pool as well as the municipal youth center “Hülse” are also located in the Willich district. The Anrath ex-show jumper Norbert Koof has rented his riding stables to the police of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the accommodation of the “Rhineland rider squadron” .

safety

Fire and rescue services

  • The city administration of Willich maintains an ambulance with two ambulances (RTW) and an emergency doctor vehicle (NEF) on St. Töniser Straße in Alt-Willich . The third ambulance has been stationed in the new Anrath rescue station since May 2017
The new fire station of the Clörath fire engine
  • The volunteer fire brigade of the city of Willich is responsible for fire protection . The fire brigade has 226 voluntary members. There are a total of five fire engines. These are each responsible for their districts, but also support the other fire engines in larger deployments. The Clörath fire fighting train is an exception here, as there is no Clörath district. His area of ​​operation extends in the broadest sense to the western part of the city, and thus he is also responsible for Anrath and Neersen. Some fire engines have special vehicles that are used throughout the city and beyond.
    • 1. Willich fire fighting train: Hazardous goods equipment trolley and turntable ladder
    • 2. Anrath fire fighting train: command vehicle and LF KatS NRW
    • 3. Schiefbahn fire fighting train: turntable ladder and rescue vehicle II
    • 4. Neersen fire fighting train: Viersen district's oil barrier for water
    • 5. Clörath fire-fighting train: turntable ladder, roll-off container for coping with mass casualties (MANV) and roll-off container with 3,000 m hose line and accessories for water supply

police

technical aid organization

The local association Viersen / Tönisvorst of the THW , based in the district town of Viersen, is responsible for Willich .

education

All types of schools are available in the city of Willich. In 2003 they were attended by a total of 4,390 students.

There are nine primary schools in the city of Willich. There are four primary schools in Alt-Willich, two each in Anrath and Schiefbahn, and one primary school in Neersen. These are often named after important citizens of the former old communities or after the urban area in which they are located.

The Robert Schuman European School is the only secondary school in Alt-Willich. It was established in 1992 in the buildings of a former secondary school and in 2003 had 1,112 students. As is usual with comprehensive schools, it is organized as an all-day school and has a profile upper level. The first year of high school graduation left the school in 2001. In 2008 the school received the “European School” award and has been called the Robert Schuman European School since then.

The St.-Bernhard-Gymnasium in Schiefbahn is the oldest secondary school in the city. It grew out of a 1945 opened missionary school and was initially a boys boarding before the sponsorship of the Oblates Hünfelder passed and became a state-approved school. In 2006 1264 students attended the grammar school. In August 2007, the Order of Malta took over the sponsorship of the high school.

The Willi-Graf-Realschule has existed in Schiefbahn since 1978 opposite the grammar school . In 2003 it had 784 students. From today's perspective, this school is very much on the outskirts. The building was erected here because it was planned in the 1970s that Willich and Schiefbahn should be merged into one village, so the school would then have been in the new center.

In 1998 the municipal Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium opened in Anrath . In 2006, 953 students learned there, the first of whom graduated from high school in 2007. The Johannesschule in Anrath is the only one of the four main schools in the city that still exists. It was built as a primary school in 1952 and had 629 students in 2003.

There is no secondary school in Neersen.

With the Pestalozzi School , the city of Willich also has a special needs school. What is special about this is that this school has moved from Willich to Schiefbahn. The upper level of the comprehensive school is now housed in the former building in Willich. The now closed Jahnschule secondary school was previously housed in the new rooms of the special needs school.

The Rhein-Maas vocational college of the Viersen district has a location in Willich. It offers vocational preparatory and part-time courses in various specialist areas. In 2015, the vocational college had around 3,600 students at its five locations in the district.

There has been a second comprehensive school in Willich since the 2012/13 school year. At the beginning it did not have a name, so that it started operations with four classes under the name Städtische Gesamtschule Willich II. It is now run under the name Leonardo da Vinci Comprehensive School . The Willi-Graf Realschule and the Johannes-Schule did not accept any more students. The origin goes back to a parents' initiative.

The Leonardo da Vinci comprehensive school has started its service in the premises of the Realschule in Schiefbahn. Willich is the first municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia to introduce a two-part school career in the area of ​​secondary schools.

Willicher personalities

Honorary citizen of the city of Willich

  • Jacques Remory (2013), Mayor of the twin town of Linselles
  • Johannes Marschang (1973), prelate from Anrath, was honored, among other things, for his commitment to young, old and sick people in Anrath and as pastor of the penal institution during the Third Reich.
  • Emil Merks (1979, also honorary mayor), former mayor of the municipality of Willich and first, acting mayor of the city, received the award for his work for socially disadvantaged and elderly citizens.
  • Käthe Franke (1994, also honorary mayor), former mayor, was honored for her commitment to the interests of the citizens, her ability to mediate in the Willich political landscape and for representing Willich outside the city limits.

Furthermore, since 1971 several citizens have been awarded the ring of honor. This is intended to honor citizens who “have made outstanding contributions to the city of Willich”. Since 1984 there has also been an honor plaque and plate of honor.

  • Hans Lamers (April 27, 1971), deceased
  • Jakob Scheulen (December 7, 1973), deceased
  • Bernhard Brück (July 17, 1974), deceased
  • Richard A. Dennis (September 9, 1975)
  • Friedrich Lindner (September 18, 1979), deceased
  • Berthold Nelke (September 3, 1980), deceased
  • Michel Deplancke (September 11, 1986), deceased
  • Alfred Rohmeis (September 29, 1994), deceased
  • Akira Okada (December 20, 1994)
  • Ralf-Hasso Sagner (January 29, 1998), deceased
  • Werner Oerschkes (January 29, 1998)
  • Hans Kothen (June 29, 2005)
  • Manfred Möller (June 29, 2005), deceased
  • Renate Tippmann (June 29, 2005)
  • Franz Weber (June 29, 2005)
  • Dieter Hehnen (June 28, 2014)
  • Jochen Kock (June 28, 2014)

literature

  • Willicher Kulturstiftung (ed.): City history Willich . Boss Druck und Medien, Kleve 2003, ISBN 3-933969-34-4 .
  • City of Willich 1970–1990. Chronicle of a young city on the Lower Rhine . Zsgest. by Ulrike König. Geiger, Horb am Neckar 1990, ISBN 3-89264-416-0 .
  • Hans Kaiser: Willich and his parish church - a piece of local history . Joh. Van Acken, Krefeld 1981 (without ISBN). Published by the parish council of the Catholic parish on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the new parish church.
  • Peter Franz Bayertz: Historical news about the community and parish Willich in the Crefeld district . Gehrich in Comm., Crefeld 1854 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Willich  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Population of the municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia on December 31, 2019 - update of the population based on the census of May 9, 2011. State Office for Information and Technology North Rhine-Westphalia (IT.NRW), accessed on June 17, 2020 .  ( Help on this )
  2. ↑ http://www.territorial.de/rheinpr/neussgrv/landkrs.htm
  3. ↑ Martin Bünermann: The communities of the first reorganization program in North Rhine-Westphalia . Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, Cologne 1970, p. 115 .
  4. ↑ Numbers, data, facts. Population statistics. In: Website of the city of Willich. January 2019, accessed April 22, 2019 .
  5. ^ Religious affiliation of the population in North Rhine-Westphalia. District of Viersen - City of Willich. ( Memento from November 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: Website of the State Office for Information and Technology North Rhine-Westphalia (IT.NRW). May 9, 2011, accessed April 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Main statute of the city of Willich
  7. ^ Website of the Willich Economic Development Agency
  8. ↑ Willich Münchheide location. ( Memento from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: www.gewerbewillich.de. Retrieved April 22, 2019 (PDF; 2.1 MB).
  9. ↑ Kerstin Reemen: Fujifilm: Laboratory Willich is closed. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung website . February 5, 2010, accessed April 22, 2019.
  10. ↑ Thomas Bloemer: Fujifilm to close two photofinishing labs in Germany. ( Memento from May 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) In: PMA Newsline website. November 4, 2009, accessed April 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Rescue service in the Viersen district association. V. - Willich ambulance station. ( Memento from September 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: Internet site German Red Cross. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  12. ↑ Leonardo da Vinci Comprehensive School - home page. In: www.habenschule-willich2.de. Retrieved April 25, 2016 .