Bocholt

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

Coordinates: 51 ° 50 ′  N , 6 ° 37 ′  E

Basic data
State : North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region : Muenster
Circle : Bark
Height : 25 m above sea level NHN
Area : 119.4 km 2
Residents: 71,113 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density : 596 inhabitants per km 2
Postcodes : 46395, 46397, 46399
Primaries : 02871, 02874Template: Infobox municipality in Germany / maintenance / area code contains text
License plate : BOR, AH, BOH
Community key : 05 5 54 008
LOCODE : DE BHT
City structure: 7 boroughs

City administration address : 		Berliner Platz 1
46395 Bocholt
Website : www.bocholt.de
Mayor : Peter Nebelo ( SPD )
Location of the city of Bocholt in the Borken district
Kreis Borken Nordrhein-Westfalen Kreis Kleve Kreis Wesel Kreis Coesfeld Kreis Coesfeld Niedersachsen Kreis Steinfurt Niederlande Raesfeld Heiden Rhede Bocholt Borken Reken Velen Stadtlohn Heek Ahaus Gescher Legden Schöppingen Gronau Vreden Südlohn Isselburgmap
About this picture

The city of Bocholt ([ ˈbɔxɔlt ], in Low German Bokelt ) is located in Westmünsterland , in the northwest of North Rhine-Westphalia . It is the only large district town and the largest city of Borken in Münster Region . After Aachen, Bocholt is the second largest German city on the German-Dutch border and the third largest city in the Münsterland after Münster and Rheine .

geography

Geographical location

Bocholt belongs politically and culturally and historically to the western Münsterland, but in terms of landscape it is already part of the Lower Rhine lowlands . While the western part of the city with an altitude between 15 and 25 meters above sea level is assigned to the natural area of Issel level , the east (districts of Barlo, Stenern and Biemenhorst with up to 48 m above sea level) belongs to the natural area of Lower Rhine sand plates and marks the flowing landscape transition to Westmünsterland.

In the north, the city boundary is also the state border with the Netherlands , in the south-west it is also the border with the Wesel district and thus the border with the Düsseldorf administrative district . It also forms the border between the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association , to which Bocholt belongs via the Borken district, and the Rhineland Regional Association . The Bocholter Aa flows through Bocholt .

Expansion of the urban area

The total area of ​​the urban area is around 119 square kilometers, of which 65.9% is used for agriculture. 6.7% is forest area, 1.8% water area, 2.1% recreation and green areas, 15.9% courtyard and building areas, 6.9% streets, paths and squares and 0.8% other areas.

structure

Map of the districts of Bocholt

According to the main statute, Bocholt is divided into the seven city districts center, northeast, east, southeast, southwest, west and northwest, each of which has a district committee . In addition, the city of Bocholt is divided into eleven districts by the main statute, which largely correspond to the old communities that existed until the regional reform of 1975 . The eleven districts are

For statistical purposes, the city of Bocholt also divides the city area into 32 statistical districts.

Neighboring communities

Municipality of Aalten
(Province of Gelderland ) the NetherlandsNetherlandsNetherlands  		Winterswijk municipality
( Gelderland province ) NetherlandsNetherlandsNetherlands 
City of Isselburg
( Borken district ) 		Neighboring communities City of Rhede
( Borken district )
City of Hamminkeln
( Wesel district )

climate

Climate diagram Bocholt city

The climate of the Lower Rhine lowlands is temperate with a clear maritime influence, so that the winters are very mild and the summers are moderately warm. On a long-term average, there are only twelve snow cover days, around 50 frost days and only ten ice days (permafrost days) per year. There are also around 34 summer days (daily maximum 25 ° C or more) and six to seven hot days (30 ° C or more) on average. In the long-term average from 1981 to 2010, the air temperature is 10.5 ° C and around 812 mm of precipitation falls.

history

middle Ages

Bocholt was first mentioned as "Bohholz" in the Annales regni Francorum from the 8th and 9th centuries. Bocholt received city ​​rights based on the Münster model by Dietrich III in 1222 . von Isenberg , the Bishop of Munster. The name is traditionally interpreted as " beech wood ". The medieval city seals point to this etymology , which, as so-called speaking seals, all show a tree as a seal image, which can be clearly identified as beech on the city seal from 1302. Locals call the city “Bokelt” in Low German . The motto of inveterate Bocholt residents is (in Bocholt Low German): "Nörgens bäter as in Bokelt" (nowhere better than in Bocholt).

In the Middle Ages, the settlement grew around a "primeval parish" founded at the beginning of the 9th century and an episcopal main courtyard at a crossing over the Aa. The town elevation served to secure the prince-bishop's power in the west of the diocese. The city took part in the Westphalian country peace. The development of the city went well, in the 14th century the fortified city area had to be expanded, a second church was built - which, however, did not receive parish rights until the 20th century - and the city became eligible for parliament . Also in the 14th century, the Bocholt office , an administrative authority of the Münster bishopric , was formed and settled in the city. In the 15th century the parish church of St. Georg was rebuilt as a Gothic hall church, three monasteries were created, at the end of the century Israhel van Meckenem († November 10, 1503 in Bocholt) worked as a goldsmith and copper engraver in Bocholt.

Early modern age

Historic Bocholt town hall from 1622

The rise of the city ended with the beginning of modern times. Because of its border location, the Bocholt economy suffered from the Eighty Years War . In the so-called Spanish winter of 1598/1599 , Bocholt was occupied by Spanish troops for months. The construction of the town hall in 1618/24 is an indication of a recovery in urban prosperity. Then the Thirty Years' War ruined the city: repeated conquests and looting and costly occupation by Hessian troops from 1635 to 1650 impoverished Bocholt. There were also devastating plague years. Political decline was followed by economic decline. Since the city, like others, tended towards Protestantism since the middle of the 16th century and resisted all attempts at re-Catholicisation by the sovereign, it also lost its urban independence in 1627 and was only given back to a limited extent after the Counter-Reformation .

Recovery took centuries. In the middle of the 16th century war refugees from Brabant came to the city , who brought with them knowledge of cotton weaving and in 1569 founded a cotton guild, the "Bomsidenambt". In the course of time, manual textile production from cotton became Bocholt's economic focus, admittedly dependent on cotton imports from the Netherlands, which were subject to frequent disruptions in the 18th and early 19th centuries - especially during the Seven Years' War and under Napoleonic rule.

Modern

Kitchen in a workers' apartment, around 1920, in the Bocholt Textile Museum

Through the Peace of Lunéville (1801), the end of the Prince Diocese of Münster (1802) and the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss (1803), the city of Bocholt came under the rule of the Princes of Salm-Salm and Salm-Kyrburg (see also the Salm family ), who in the Areas of the former prince-bishop's offices Bocholt (including the rule Werth) and Ahaus as well as in the areas of the rule Anholt and Gemen the principality of Salm established. The city of Bocholt advanced to become the state capital when the princes established the “Fürstlich Salmisch Community Government” in a secularized women's monastery. In 1806 the Principality of Salm was one of the founding states of the Rhine Confederation . In 1811 the Principality of Salm was annexed by France along with other states , occupied by Prussia in 1813 and a little later by the Congress of Vienna (1815) also assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia under international law . Prussia Bocholt ordered into the district of Borken , Münster Region , province of Westphalia .

The industrialization that began in Bocholt in 1852 with the installation of the first steam engine for spinning, brought a strong economic recovery, especially from the 1871st At least 114 textile companies had been founded up until the outbreak of the First World War . The rise of the textile industry was associated with an equally strong increase in population (see table below) and a strong expansion of the infrastructure: 1878 connection to the railroad, 1913 to the electricity network; New hospital building 1875–1878, slaughterhouse 1899/1900, city gas 1901, train station 1904, fire brigade 1907, district court 1910/11, water supply / sewerage 1911–1913, cemetery relocation 1908, old people's and orphanage 1909/10, forest recreation center 1913, school, church and new monastery buildings.

While economic development stagnated or fluctuated strongly during and after the First World War, urban independence reached a high point in 1923 with the establishment of the Bocholt district. Politically, Bocholt was a stronghold of the center because of the predominantly Catholic population .

The Nazi seizure of power was not affected. It was significantly advanced by the mayor Fritz Emil Irrgang , appointed by the NSDAP , who led the city administration from 1934 to 1939. In 1935–38 the city received an SA garrison of the “ Austrian Legion ” in the specially built “Stadtwaldlager” . H. Emigrants from the Dollfuss Putsch who withdrew to Austria in 1938. The camp was used as a prisoner of war camp ( main camp VI F ) during the Second World War , which was commanded between 1942 and 1944 by Colonel Hans Jauch , Günther Jauch's grandfather . In the former camp cemetery there are over 1700 dead Soviet soldiers who died in the camp at the end of 1941.

Civilians in a Bocholter Strasse with residential buildings destroyed by the war, March 29, 1945

During the Second World War, all Jews who did not emigrate in time were deported to concentration camps and brutally murdered without resistance from the non-Jewish residents of Bocholt. Like practically all synagogues, the synagogue was desecrated in November 1938, the building was initially preserved and, with the verbal permission of the mayor, served as a parking space for a large horse cart in the immediate post-war period. The Bocholter Kreishandwerkerschaft built an office building there. Today there is a memorial plaque in its place. The last religious head, Leo Nussbaum, who for years looked after the well-being not only of the Jewish community but also of interdenominational understanding, was able to work with his wife Rosa, nee. Hulisch flee to Switzerland. His adult children were able to flee to Switzerland and the USA. In 1995 a street in Bocholt was named Leo-Nussbaum-Straße in memory of this prominent and deserving citizen of Bocholt.

About 85% of the city was destroyed by a bombing raid on March 22, 1945 and taken by British troops on March 29 and 30. After the Second World War, the city belonged to the British zone of occupation . The military administration set up a DP camp in the former prisoner of war camp to accommodate so-called displaced persons . The majority of them were former slave laborers from Poland , Estonia , Lithuania and Yugoslavia . Since many DPs refused to be repatriated to the communist sphere of influence and sought to emigrate overseas, the DP camp in Bocholt existed until the early 1950s, making it one of the last camps in Westphalia. The administration was later transferred to the NRW Ministry of Social Affairs. Cold War refugees were accommodated in the following: Hungarians in 1956, later refugees from the GDR.

After the state of Prussia was dissolved in 1947 and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia was founded , the city became part of the Westphalia-Lippe region . The reconstruction in the middle of the 20th century succeeded very quickly, which was mainly due to the rapid economic upswing of the 1950s and 1960s. The Bocholt textile industry was only able to take part in this upswing initially and increasingly came into competition with cheaper foreign products. The result was a sharp decline in this branch of industry. In contrast, the metal and electrical industries , which today determine the local economy, prospered . Despite successful reconstruction and economic expansion, the city could not maintain its central position in the surrounding area. The rail connections were shut down when the road network was expanded in the 1960s and 1970s, except for the Rhine rail connection to Wesel . In the course of the municipal territorial reform in North Rhine-Westphalia , Bocholt lost its district freedom in 1975 and came to the Borken district as a large district town , which u. a. the end of the “BOH mark”. At the same time, the number of inhabitants rose from approx. 49,000 to approx. 65,000 through the incorporation of ten surrounding communities; the area grew from 18.4 km² to 119.4 km². As a result of this expansion, the Bocholt industrial park was set up as a spacious industrial area southwest of the built-up urban area in the Mussum district and the hospital was relocated from the city center.

With the privatization of the Federal Railroad and the Federal Post Office in the 1990s, the station and post office were downgraded and the commercial court was relocated. With the completion of a justice center for the labor and district court as well as the public prosecutor's office at the end of 2006, the threatened withdrawal of the judicial authorities could be averted. Due to the license plate liberalization and a decision by the district council on December 6, 2012, vehicle owners have been able to obtain the old BOH, BOR or AH license plate regardless of their place of residence since February 1, 2013 .

Honors for the city of Bocholt

  • 1972 Award of the flag of honor by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in recognition of the European commitment of the city of Bocholt; Honorary title “Community of Europe”.
  • 1991 Award of the plaque of honor by the Council of Europe.
  • 1993 award of the Europe Prize by the Euro Council.
  • 2004 and 2005 - Awarded the title: "Virtual Town Hall Münsterland"
  • 2005 Presentation of the "European Energy Award"
  • 2005 - Winning the title “Most bicycle-friendly city in Germany” among 100,000 inhabitants. The title is awarded within the framework of the ADFC / BUND project “Relief for the environment through more cycling”, which is funded by the Federal Environment Agency .
  • 2006 Awarded the title "Virtual Town Hall NRW 2006"
  • 2009 Climate commune of the future - Awarded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
  • 2009 "Logistics location of the year in NRW", awarded by the transport industry association "LogistikCluster NRW"
  • 2012 Winner of the title “Most bicycle-friendly city in Germany” among 100,000 inhabitants.
  • 2013 Winner of the title “Germany's most bicycle-friendly city” among 100,000 inhabitants.
  • 2013 Winner of the title "Germany's most active city 2013" in the big cities category.

Incorporations

On January 1, 1975, the previously independent communities Barlo, Biemenhorst, Hemden, Holtwick, Liedern, Lowick, Mussum, Spork, Stenern and Suderwick were incorporated. Part of the Lankern district of the dissolved Dingden community was also added.

Population development

Population development of Bocholt.svg Population development of Bocholt - from 1871
Population development in Bocholt according to the data in the adjacent table. Above from 1498 to 2017. Below an excerpt from 1871

In the Middle Ages , Bocholt only had a few hundred inhabitants and in the early modern times a few thousand. The population grew only slowly and fell again and again due to the numerous wars, epidemics and famine. The population decreased in 1448 during the Soest feud when Bocholt was bombed. About half of the residents died during a plague epidemic in 1636/37. In the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) the city was also affected by military campaigns and looting. Only with the beginning of industrialization in the 19th century did population growth accelerate. While only 4,000 people lived in the city in 1831, by 1900 there were already over 20,000.

The effects of the Second World War are clearly visible . By the end of the war, the Allied air raids had destroyed 85 percent of the buildings. The population fell from 35,000 in 1939 to only 8,000 in March 1945. In 1974 around 48,000 people lived in the city. Due to numerous incorporations of localities in the area, the population rose to 66,000 on January 1, 1975. On June 30, 2005, the " official population " for Bocholt was 73,762 (only main residences and after comparison with the other state offices) according to the state office for data processing and statistics in North Rhine-Westphalia - a historic high.

The following overview shows the number of inhabitants according to the respective territorial status. Up to 1789 these are mostly estimates, then census results (¹) or official updates from the State Statistical Office. From 1871, the information relates to the “local population”, from 1925 to the resident population and since 1987 to the “population at the location of the main residence”. Before 1871, the number of inhabitants was determined according to inconsistent survey procedures.

year Residents
1498 1,800
1618 2,400
1637 1,200
1789 3,000
December 1, 1831 ¹ 4,000
December 1, 1840 ¹ 4,713
December 3, 1855 ¹ 5.016
December 1, 1871 ¹ 6.125
December 1, 1875 ¹ 7,000
December 1, 1880¹ 8,534
December 1, 1885 ¹ 10,600
December 1, 1890¹ 13,034
December 2, 1895 ¹ 16,273
December 1, 1900 ¹ 21,278
year Residents
December 1, 1905 ¹ 23,912
December 1, 1910¹ 26,404
December 1, 1916 ¹ 22,474
December 5, 1917 ¹ 21,831
October 8, 1919 ¹ 24,934
June 16, 1925 ¹ 30,182
June 16, 1933 ¹ 33,441
May 17, 1939 ¹ 35,099
December 31, 1945 29,443
October 29, 1946 ¹ 30,188
September 13, 1950 ¹ 37,674
September 25, 1956 ¹ 43,568
June 6, 1961 ¹ 45,675
December 31, 1965 47,730
year Residents
May 27, 1970 ¹ 48,852
December 31, 1975 65,460
December 31, 1980 65,352
December 31, 1985 66.105
May 25, 1987 ¹ 67,028
December 31, 1990 68,936
December 31, 1995 70,424
December 31, 2000 72,138
December 31, 2005 73,790
December 31, 2007 73,560
December 31, 2010 73.170
December 31, 2016 71,350
December 31, 2017 71,036

¹ census result

Denomination statistics

As of December 31, 2017, 11.0% of the population were Protestant and 64.7% Roman Catholic . Ten years earlier, on December 31, 2007, 11.6% of the population were Protestant and 71.1% Roman Catholic.

politics

City council

Local election 2014
Turnout: 49.9% (2009: 56.1%)
 %
50
40
30th
20th
10
0
46.5%
27.1%
8.8%
8.5%
3.2%
2.8%
1.9%
1.2%
City p.
Soc.LB
Gains and losses
compared to 2009
 % p
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
+ 0.4  % p
-4.0  % p
+ 0.8  % p
+ 2.4  % p
-2.7  % p
+ 2.8  % p
-0.9  % p
+1.2  % p
City p.
Soc.LB

According to the results of the local elections from 1999 to 2014, the seats in the city ​​council are distributed as follows, although the absolute figures are only comparable to a limited extent due to the different sizes of the city council:

Political party 1999 2004 2009 2014
CDU 28 22nd 21st 21st
SPD 15th 13 14th 13
GREEN 3 3 4th 4th
City party 2 3 3 4th
FDP 1 2 3 1
UWG 1 1 - -
LEFT - - 1 1
AfD - - - 1
Social List Bocholt - - - 1
total 50 44 46 46

mayor

Previous Lord Mayors :

Previous mayors :

  • Günther Hochgartz (CDU) from 1975 to 1983
  • Bernhard Demming (CDU) from 1983 to 1994
  • Christel Feldhaar (CDU) from 1994 to 1999

In addition to the honorary mayors as chairmen of the council, there was until 1999 a full-time city director as head of administration (so-called municipal dual leadership according to the British model).

Previous city ​​directors :

  • Ludwig Kayser from 1946 to 1964
  • Werner Gillen from 1964 to 1983
  • Ralf-Peter von Ameln from 1983 to 1990
  • Hans-Josef Dahlen from 1991 to 1998
  • Klaus Ehling from 1998 to 1999

Full-time mayors:

Since 1999 there has been a full-time official in North Rhine-Westphalia, determined by popular election, who heads the city administration and chairs the meetings of the city council with voting rights, but does not belong to it. He holds the title of mayor in independent cities and municipalities.

  • Klaus Ehling (CDU) from 1999 to 2004
  • Peter Nebelo ( SPD ) since October 2004

In the mayoral election on September 13, 2015, incumbent Peter Nebelo (SPD) received an absolute majority in the first ballot.

Political party candidate be right (in %)
SPD Peter Nebelo 13,345 52.4
CDU Heinrich Welsing 12.163 47.6

59,064 people were entitled to vote, 25,731 took part, the turnout was 43.6%.

badges and flags

  • coat of arms

  • banner

  • flag

coat of arms

The official description of the coat of arms ( blazon ) reads: “In a green field a just grown, torn silver beech with three symmetrically distributed branches with individual branches in between. The number of leaves is 17. They show ribs and are serrated. The number appearing on the long stems beechnuts is 23. The number of roots is 5. Below is the share per one abgehauener outgrowth. "The arms license was granted by the Prussian State Ministry on March 6, 1930. The model of the coat of arms is the large city seal, the use of which can be proven for the first time in 1302. As early as 1284, a tree can be seen on an incompletely preserved city seal. On an only rudimentarily preserved city seal from 1259, six leaves can be recognized on long smooth branches.

Description of the flag:

“The city flag consists of two longitudinal strips in the colors white and green. It can have the city coat of arms in the middle. ”This imprecise description of the main statute of the city of Bocholt does not provide any information as to whether a banner, a flag or both is being carried.

Threat from politicians

Since the end of 2015 there have been a large number of anonymous insults and threats against politicians in Bocholt. The mayor and the city treasurer were affected. Both had campaigned intensively for the accommodation of refugees in the city. “We want to gass you” was one of the threats. The head of the registry office (born 1981) was politically active as the SPD city association chairman in his hometown. Since the beginning of the refugee crisis , the man has been the focus of several anonymous right-wingers, who attacked him with xenophobic and anti-Jewish abuse via email and on Facebook. The police state security investigated. After death threats, he canceled a party conference and did not run for possible re-election in early 2017. Threats were also directed against his partner and daughter.

The designated SPD chairman Martin Schulz visited Bocholt on the occasion and, in front of 500 SPD supporters, thanked the threatened politician who, despite the massive hostility, had continued his work for the social democrats. In doing so, he kept a promise made by Sigmar Gabriel , who had promised to come as SPD leader in 2016.

Town twinning

The city has twinned cities with the Belgian municipality of the same name, Bocholt (since 1980), with the French city of Aurillac (since 1972) and with Rossendale (since 1977) in Great Britain .

In addition, there has been an economic partnership with the Chinese city of Wuxi since 1985 .

Sponsorships

Sponsorships existed for the speedboat S-68 “Seeadler” (1967–2007) and for the Airbus A300B4-603 (D-AIAU) “Bocholt” of Lufthansa (1992–2009). This now has a successor: An Airbus A321-231 (D-AISO) of Lufthansa is currently flying as "Bocholt".

Culture and sights

St. George Church
Textile museum
Historic town hall - renaissance - gable
Bocholt water tower
Holy Cross Church
House Woord
St. Ludgerus Church in the Spork district
Diepenbrock Castle
Apostle Church (Bocholt)

Archives

  • City Archives
  • Parish archive St. Georg
  • Archive of the Protestant parish
  • Archive of the Borgers company
  • Archive of the Stadtsparkasse Bocholt
  • Photo archive deutz fotografie | advertising (formerly photo studio Rösler)

Museums

Buildings

Parks and cemetery grounds

Nature and leisure

nature
  • City forest Bocholt
  • Hohenhorster Mountains
  • The Bocholter Aasee is an artificial lake with leisure facilities. The site has a total area of ​​74 hectares, the water surface is 30 hectares. It was completed in 1983, the excavated earth was used as a subsoil for the construction of the federal highway 473 .
  • Nature reserve "Holtwicker Bach" in the north of the city
  • Oak for shirts with a chest height of 7.38 m (2014).
Recreational facilities
  • City Theatre
  • Bahia fun and leisure pool
  • Tonwerke, private outdoor pool of the Bocholt water sports club
  • Shopping arcades
  • Old dairy with the “Kulturort Alte Molkerei e. V. "
  • Musicscool, free music and drama school
  • Kinodrom, a cinema with nine halls and a jazz bar
  • Bowling center 2000 directly on the Aasee
  • Kart track cockpit in Bocholt (in the industrial area "Robert-Bosch-Straße" between Bocholt and Rhede)
  • City forest sports park with indoor soccer and covered tennis and squash facilities
  • Bouldering hall, weight room Bocholt with a large selection of bloulders, a children's area, garden and large training area.

Sports

  • The first team of the Bocholt Rhinos currently plays in the national league American Football.
  • 1. FC Bocholt , TuB Bocholt and Olympia Bocholt are the three best-known football clubs in Bocholt.
  • The 1st men's volleyball team from TuB Bocholt plays in the 2nd Bundesliga North.
  • The 1st men's triathlon team, the Roseversand Bocholter WSV team, starts in the 2nd Bundesliga of the DTU.
  • The first women's soccer team of BV Borussia Bocholt 1960 plays in the second women's division .
  • The TC Blau-Weiss Bocholt plays with its women's team in the Lower Rhine League.
  • In terms of membership, the TuB Bocholt is one of the largest associations in North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • The SC Budokan Bocholt is one of the largest judo clubs in North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • The standard formation of the TSA of TSV Bocholt from 1867/1896 dances in the 1st Bundesliga standard.
  • The dance sport guard of TSV Bocholt has been participating in the German championships in carnival dance sport since 2010. In 2018 and 2019 they were German champions in show dance in the “youth” age group.
  • The dance corps of Bocholter KG were twelve times German champions in carnival dance sport.

Regular events

  • Carnival procession on Rose Monday
  • Bocholt is in bloom: Sunday shopping (last Sunday in April) with a large classic car meeting
  • Bands in Town (April 30th), live music in more than 15 bars downtown
  • Bocholt City Run on the first Saturday (except 1st) in May
  • Aasee triathlon on a Sunday in mid-June
  • Bocholt City Festival (Sunday shopping in June)
  • Bocholt wine festival on a weekend in July with the Bocholt wine queen being crowned
  • Big Bocholt Pumpkin Festival on a weekend in September
  • Bokeltsen Treff: Sunday shopping at the end of September
  • Bocholt autumn fair (Friday to Monday around the third Sunday in October)
  • Bocholter Sankt-Martins-Zug at the beginning of November
  • Unholy morning on December 24th (traditional meeting of numerous Bocholters in the Ravardiviertel in the city center)

Economy and Infrastructure

economy

Bocholt is an industrial and shopping city . Extensive pedestrian zones and a shopping center in the city ​​center attract many guests from the surrounding area, especially from the Netherlands, to the city.

The Siemens Group is the largest employer in Bocholt since the former "A. Friedr. Flender Aktiengesellschaft" was taken over by Siemens in 2005 and incorporated into the Siemens Industry Sector as part of the Drive Technologies Division . In the meantime it has been spun off as a 100% subsidiary and operates under the name Flender GmbH . In addition, Gigaset Communications GmbH (formerly Siemens Home and Office Communication GmbH & Co. KG; SHC) has a factory in Bocholt for the production of cordless telephones and, as the only supplier in Germany, mobile telephones (Gigaset). In mid-2020, the shareholders announced the relocation of the parent Gigaset . 99.86% of the shareholders voted in favor of relocating the headquarters from Munich to Bocholt.

Other large employers in Bocholt are the companies Borgers , the Duvenbeck group of companies, the GILDE group, Benning, LB-GmbH (formerly WM-Group) with various companies in and around Bocholt, Olbrich, Sinnack, Elsinghorst, Pieron, Otto Spaleck -Group, Pergan, the Meier-Group, Verfahrenstechnik Hübers, the Grunewald-Group, the Bocholter-Transport-Gesellschaft and Rose Bikes as well as the Lebo company.

The Bocholt industrial park in the southwest of the city with a gross area of ​​235 hectares is the largest contiguous, fully developed commercial area in all of North Rhine-Westphalia. There are 200 companies with over 6,000 employees. The industrial park has a direct connection to the B 67 and thus to the A 3 Arnheim / Oberhausen. In addition, there is a track connection to Bocholt train station via the main industrial track of the city of Bocholt. By mid-2010, the industrial park was enlarged by 20 hectares to the south.

The St. Agnes-Hospital Bocholt (member of the Clinic Association Westmünsterland) provides medical care in and around Bocholt with 470 beds. The hospital is one of the largest local employers. Affiliated is the central school for health professions with 150 training places, which is operated jointly with the St. Marien Hospital Borken .

The "Bocholter Energie- und Wasserversorgung GmbH" (BEW) is a company of the "Stadtwerke Bocholt GmbH" and supplies Bocholt private and business customers with energy and drinking water from a single source. In addition, the "Bocholter Bädergesellschaft", which operates the Bahia and Fildekenbad swimming pools, as well as "Stadtbus Bocholt GmbH" belong to the company. Due to its steady growth, it now has more than 150 employees.

The logistics group Kuehne + Nagel also has a branch in Bocholt. In addition, one of the largest retailers for caravans in Europe, the Caravan Center Bocholt, has its headquarters in the industrial park.

traffic

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Rail transport

Old Bocholt train station

The Bocholt Station is located 500 m southeast of the city center at the Bocholt track from where the RE19a in 25 minutes leads to Wesel. With the timetable change in December 2021, the establishment of a continuous line to the state capital Düsseldorf is planned. For this purpose, the trains from Bocholt in Wesel are to be combined with the Arnheim – Düsseldorf line.

At the south head of the station, the industrial trunk line of the city of Bocholt branches off to the industrial park, a remnant of the former Empel-Rees - Isselburg - Bocholt - Coesfeld - Münster line , which from Münster-Borken at the north head together with the track of the former Winterswijk-Bocholt line in the Bocholt train station opened. In the meantime, however, all the tracks on these connections have been dismantled - except for the section in the direction of Empel-Rees.

From 1910 to the times of the First World War , the Bocholt-Lichtenvoorde narrow-gauge railway also ran across borders to the Netherlands.

Bus transport

In road passenger transport open

the express bus line S75 to Münster via Rhede , Borken ,
the regional bus routes 61 to Rees via Isselburg and 64 to Wesel via Hamminkeln,
the hourly regional bus line R51 to Coesfeld ,
the Flixbus line N11 Bocholt, Hamminkeln , Wesel , Duisburg , Düsseldorf , Cologne , Bonn , Strasbourg , Freiburg , Basel , Zurich , Milan (also in the opposite direction),
the Flixbus line 056 Dortmund , Recklinghausen , Dorsten , Borken , Bocholt, Amsterdam (also in the opposite direction),
a bus line to Dinxperlo (NL) as part of the
City bus network of Stadtbus Bocholt GmbH , which run every half hour (Mon-Sat, no evening traffic),

the region and the urban area. The hub of all these bus connections is the bus meeting point in the city center . In addition, there are demand-oriented dial -a- bus lines.

There are also connections to Vreden and Rees-Millingen.

A night bus runs between Bocholt and Legden on weekends.

The Westphalian tariff applies to all local public transport , on the RB 32 the tariff of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr and beyond the tariff area the NRW tariff .

Streets

Bocholt is connected to the A 3 ( E 35 ) via the B 473 . The B 67 , which connects the A 3 with the A 31 , runs through the city . Since 2010 it has been running past the city as an expressway south. The road is also part of the planned “outer ring” of Bocholt, consisting of the east ring, the B 67 as the south ring, the L 602 as the west ring and the north ring still to be planned.

The planned north ring is highly controversial in the population of the city of Bocholt.

Since the summer of 2006, traffic in the direction of the Netherlands has been routed from the B 473 / L 602 through the Westring tunnel past the city center.

The old settlement structure of the city has shaped the street layout to this day. In the center of the village, for example, a closed traffic ring surrounds the city center, from which several star-shaped access roads lead off. The area within the ring is largely designated as a pedestrian zone, and traffic is often directed through one-way streets. A parking guidance system contributes to the further optimization of traffic flows in the city center.

Bicycle city Bocholt

Bocholt is an outspoken bicycle city , almost every citizen owns one or more bicycles , the cycle path network is extensive and comfortably developed. In 2005, 2012 and 2013 the city won the title “Most Bicycle-Friendly City in Germany” awarded by the ADFC and BUND in the category of cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants. Bocholt is the first city in Germany to have a guarded bicycle station built at a bus station (called “Bustreff” in Bocholt) and not at a train station. A second bike station at Bocholt train station went into operation in 2008.

In September 2010, District Administrator Kai Zwicker gave the go-ahead for the Bocholt police's bicycle relay. A total of eight police officers have since been on duty on trekking bikes. The aim of the police cycle relay is to make cycling in Bocholt safer. Compared to other cities, the number of accidents involving cyclists in an accident is at an unusually high level. The reason for this is that cycling accounts for around 40% of the total traffic volume in the city of Bocholt.

media

Newspapers

The Bocholter Presse is dominated by the only daily newspaper " Bocholter-Borkener Volksblatt " (BBV). The advertising papers “Bocholter Report” and “Stadt-Kurier” appear twice a week, the latter from the same company as the BBV. The free city magazine "PAN" appears monthly. News from Bocholt also appears in the Westfälische Nachrichten (WN).

Radio

The local radio station Radio WMW , based in Borken, broadcasts in Bocholt . In urban areas it can be received on VHF 88.4 MHz.

watch TV

Until 2012, the regional broadcaster wm.tv had its studio in the WM-Group's “City Logistics Center” near downtown Bocholt. The program could be received in the entire Münsterland, on the Lower Rhine and in the Recklinghausen district. This made it the largest regional broadcaster in Germany. In the meantime, wm.tv has switched to Center TV and is controlled from Münster.

The Bocholter-Borkener Volksblatt shows a daily news broadcast on the Internet. It also provides the content for the shopping center TV “Mallvision”, which has been broadcast in the arcades since 2007.

The nationwide TV learning channel nrwision bundles TV programs from Bocholt or from TV producers from Bocholt in its media library.

education

  • Primary schools: Annette von Droste Hülshoff School, Biemenhorster School, Clemens August School, Clemens Dülmer School, Diepenbrock Primary School Association, Josef School, Klaraschule, Kreuzschule, Liebfrauen Primary School Association, Ludgerus School, St. Bernhard School
  • Secondary schools: Arnold-Janssen- Schule (AJS) and Hohe-Giethorst-Schule (HGS).
  • Realschule: Israhel-van-Meckenem- Realschule (IvM), Albert-Schweitzer-Realschule (ASR) and Abendrealschule
  • Comprehensive school: Bocholt comprehensive school
  • Gymnasium: Episcopal St. Josef Gymnasium (formerly St. Josef Gymnasium of the Capuchins), St. Georg Gymnasium, Euregio Gymnasium , Mariengymnasium and evening gymnasium
  • Vocational colleges: Vocational college "Bocholt-West" as a commercial and craft vocational school sponsored by the Borken district, vocational college "Am Wasserturm" as an economic and commercial vocational school also sponsored by the Borken district and August Vetter vocational college sponsored by the diocese of Münster, two-year-old higher Vocational school for social and health care, technical college for social and health care and technical school for social pedagogy
  • Special schools: Overbergschule - Städt. Special school with a special focus on learning and the Bischof-Ketteler School - a private special school of the Caritas Association with a special focus on intellectual development
  • University: The Westfälische Hochschule Bocholt has offered some, mainly technical, courses since 1992. The head office is in Gelsenkirchen - the Bocholt department comprises the two departments of business and information technology and mechanical engineering (with bionics).
  • Adult education: In August 2008, the evening secondary school and the evening grammar school were combined to form the Westmünsterland further education college . The adult education center in Bocholt-Rhede-Isselburg has an extensive range of courses and further education available for the general public.
  • Other school facilities: The Bocholt - Isselburg music school is also located in Bocholt. There is also the free music school "musicscool" (music and acting lessons). In addition, one of Germany's 17 education centers of the Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Tasks (Federal Volunteer Service) is located on Adenauerallee.
  • Libraries: The city library is housed in the old station building. There are also libraries in various parishes.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

People who were born in Bocholt:

Personalities who have worked in the city

People who lived in Bocholt and at the same time had their place of work there without having been born there:

  • Israhel van Meckenem the Younger , goldsmith and copper engraver , * 1440/45 in Meckenheim, † November 10, 1503 in Bocholt
  • Wilhelm Klebitz , * around 1533; † 1568 in Paris, theologian and mathematician, teacher in Bocholt
  • Jan (or Johan) van Lintelo , approx. 1585–1632, master painter, draftsman and glass maker for cabinet windows. Was expelled from Bocholt in the course of the turmoil of the Thirty Years War, leaving behind his wife Stinneken and his two children in 1628 "because of religion" with his brother Derick, a lay judge of the city
  • Hans von Bostel , born September 15, 1779 in Wetzlar, † January 31, 1839, Hofrat in the state government of the Principality of Salm, director of the Bocholt district and city court, friend of Clemens Brentanos
  • Arnold Janssen , born November 5, 1837 in Goch, † January 15, 1909 in Steyl, high school teacher in Bocholt 1861–1873, founder of the Steyl Missionaries
  • August Joseph von Bönninghausen , * 1841 in Coesfeld, † 1912 in Bonn, general practitioner and medical adviser
  • Marcus Krüsmann , born April 11, 1879 in Bergisch Gladbach, † February 25, 1964 in Münster, lawyer and alderman for the city of Bocholt, later, until the Nazis came to power, long-time mayor of Limburg an der Lahn
  • Hermann Kunst , born January 21, 1907 in Ottersberg , attended high school in Bocholt, Protestant military bishop , first authorized representative of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany
  • Taşkın Oymacı , * around 1938 in Turkey, migrant supervisor for the workers' welfare in Bocholt
  • Michael Roes , born August 7, 1960 in Rhede, writer and filmmaker; spent his childhood and youth in Bocholt, graduated from St. Georg high school; has lived in Berlin since 1979
  • Dirk Dzimirsky , born April 22, 1969 in Rhede, artist of the hyperrealism style

Local specialities

literature

  • Anna Lindenberg: memories of old Bocholt. Drei Linden Verlag, Grabenstätt 1978, OCLC 164918825 .
  • Anton Schmeddinghoff: Living Past. Drei Linden Verlag, Grabenstätt 1982, DNB 830334750 .
  • Georg Ratermann among others: Bocholt in aerial pictures - A journey through time. Fiduciary development company Bocholt mbH, 2006, DNB 982220014 .
  • Lars Mackenbach: The hat project: Or do you know a reason to go to Bocholt? Harald Voß Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-935759-15-1 .

Web links

Commons : Bocholt  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Bocholt  - travel guide
Wikisource: Bocholt  - sources and full texts

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. ^ Map of the districts of Bocholt according to the main statute
  3. ^ Map of the Bocholt boroughs
  4. ↑ §§ 3 f. Main statute of the city of Bocholt, as of December 27, 2018 (PDF) Accessed on May 13, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Overview plan of the statistical districts of the city of Bocholt. (PDF) Retrieved May 13, 2019 .
  6. ↑ The weather station. Retrieved January 13, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Annales regni Francorum , Chapter 779 .
  8. ↑ Heinrich Gottfried Gengler: Regesten and documents on the constitutional and legal history of German cities in the Middle Ages. Erlangen 1863, pp. 241-243.
  9. ↑ Ludger Tewes: The Westphalian Landfrieden Kaiser Karl IV. From 1371 November 25 in the Bocholter Privilegien- und Statutenbuch , in: Unser Bocholt 36. Vol. 2-3, 1985, pp. 130-133
  10. ↑ FSVL: Judaism / Jewish Life in Aalten, Anholt, Bocholt, Dinxperlo, Isselburg, Rhede, Werth, Winterswijk (Working Group synagogue landscapes) / Leo walnut / Arthur Hochheimer. Retrieved February 16, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Ludger Tewes : The air raid on Bocholt of March 22, 1945 according to the documents of the British State Archives in London , in: Unser Bocholt 41. Jg. Heft 1, 1990, pp. 24-27
  12. ↑ Martin Bünermann, Heinz Köstering: The communities and districts after the municipal territorial reform in North Rhine-Westphalia . Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-555-30092-X .
  13. ↑ Bocholt is the most bicycle-friendly city in Germany. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 13, 2015 ; accessed on January 13, 2015 .
  14. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 310 .
  15. ↑ [1] , accessed on August 7, 2019.
  16. ↑ svv2009. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013 ; accessed on January 13, 2015 .
  17. ↑ svv2004. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013 ; accessed on January 13, 2015 .
  18. ↑ kreis-borken.de ( Memento from August 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
  19. ↑ § 2 of the main statute of the city of Bocholt. (PDF; 95 kB) Retrieved January 13, 2017 .
  20. ↑ http://www.rp-online.de/nrw/landespolitik/spd-politiker-sagt-nach-morddrohungen-parteitag-ab-aid-1.6311811 accessed on February 8, 2017.
  21. ↑ http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2015-04/drohungen-politiker , accessed on February 8, 2017.
  22. ↑ Archive link ( memento of February 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) viewed on February 8, 2017
  23. ↑ http://www.vorwaerts.de/artikel/verfickter-judenschaedel-hass-spd-bocholt viewed on February 8, 2017
  24. ↑ http://www.rp-online.de/politik/deutschland/kanzlerkandidat-martin-schulz-sprech-bei-der-spd-in-bocholt-und-dankt-purwin-aid-1.6589176 .
  25. ↑ "Wuxi (CN) - Pearl on Lake Taihu" on bocholt.de on the partnership. (Reviewed March 22, 2019)
  26. ↑ Johannes Bernard: Herz-Jesu-Kirche in Bocholt is to be demolished . In: Kirche + Leben , December 15, 2019, p. 15.
  27. ↑ Monument of the month May 2008. In: LWL - Monument of the month (2008). Page of the LWL , accessed on November 9, 2010.
  28. ^ Regional Association Westphalia-Lippe: Bocholter Stadtwald and adjacent leisure areas in LWL GeodatenKultur
  29. ↑ Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe: Aasee and Aapromenade in fiber optic spatial data culture
  30. ^ Entry in the directory of monumental oaks . Retrieved January 10, 2017
  31. ↑ Abellio Rail NRW builds depot in Duisburg newstix.de, December 2, 2015.
  32. ↑ Bocholt citizens' initiative - fair return instead of North Ring: goals. June 7, 2020, accessed June 7, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Stefan Prinz: BBV survey on the Nordring: 65 percent vote against. June 5, 2020, accessed June 7, 2020 .
  34. ^ TV from Bocholt at nrwision. nrwision , accessed March 9, 2015 .
  35. ↑ See also the annual report on the Realprogymnasium in Bocholt: for the school year ... ( digitized version ) and annual report on the Progymnasium (with non-binding Greek) in Bocholt: on the school year ... ( digitized version )