Oberdorf-Helenenberg

Helenenturm on the Helenenberg

The statistical district of Oberdorf-Helenenberg viewed from a hill: a sea of ​​houses and roofs.

Entrance to the pumping station

former elevated water tank, "Wasserschlösschen"

Oberdorf-Helenenberg is a district of Witten-Mitte . The statistical district merges seamlessly with the city center district . The statistical district had a total of 6,099 inhabitants on December 31, 2015.

history

Long before the first documentary mention of Witten in 1214 first settled in Oberndorf farmers to. To date, no documents have been discovered that could date the settlement. The home research assumes that Witten has emerged from two parcels settlements that have settled in the so-called Oberndorf and the lower village. The upper village is said to have consisted of eleven to twelve farms in the 10th century . Nothing is known about the farmers who settled. The Unterdorf is now part of the city center district. In the course of industrialization it was completely absorbed by the expanding city, even old streets were partly lost during this time, so that today it only exists in history books. The upper village lives on, however, in the street names "Oberdorf", "Oberstraße" and "Obergasse", which represent a ring around the area, even if not completely closed, which formed the upper village until industrialization.

In contrast to the city ​​center with its pedestrian zone , department stores and shops, there are comparatively few retailers in Oberdorf-Helenenberg. Four to five-storey residential development largely shapes the face of the district. This does not apply to the area directly on Helenenberg.

See also : History of the city of Witten

Helenenberg

The Helenenberg represents one of the last foothills of the Ardey Mountains . Together with the Witten City Park and the Hohenstein , it forms the "green lung" of Witten-Mitte. Before it was named Helenenberg, the area was called “Vor der Egge”, as can be seen from old land register maps. The area got its current name in 1858 when the Justice Councilor Strohn had a lookout tower built on the Egge in memory of his late wife Helene , which he later gave to the city as a gift. From its viewing platform, weather permitting, you can see far into Bochum and Dortmund .

On the Helenberg, the city built a water tank in 1897 , which the people of Witten affectionately called "Wasserschlösschen" due to its playful architecture and two towers in the entrance area. After renovation work and a largely underground relocation of the pumping station, the building was demolished in 1960. In its place there is now a hill that is very popular with walkers.

Memorial stone for the former Jewish cemetery on the Helenenberg

Jewish Cemetery

The first Jewish cemetery in Witten was established on the Helenenberg . It was officially opened in 1867, but in fact it is likely to be ten to fifteen years older, as Jewish services had been taking place in Witten since 1844 . In 1900 the cemetery was closed. In the Third Reich it was leveled by the National Socialists . Today a memorial stone commemorates this first Jewish cemetery.

Pestalozzischule ( special needs school )

schools

A grammar school , a secondary school , a secondary school , the Witten vocational college ( vocational schools ) and the special needs school of the city of Witten are located in the district. At the moment there is also the Bach School, a primary school, in the district, which is, however, about to be closed.

literature

• Stephanie Reekers: The regional development of the districts and municipalities of Westphalia 1817-1967 . Aschendorff Verlag , Münster 1977, ISBN 3-402-05875-8 .
• Walther Hubatsch (Ed.): Federal and Reich authorities (=  The Protected Areas of the German Empire 1884–1920. Excerpts from the outline of German administrative history 1815–1945 . Volume 22 ). Johann Gottfried Herder Institute , Marburg 1984, ISBN 3-87969-183-5 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population by statistical districts. (PDF; 29.8 kB) (No longer available online.) In: Witten.de. December 31, 2015, archived from the original on February 18, 2016 ; Retrieved February 19, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Martina Kliner-Lintzen, Siegfried Pape: "... you can't forget that". Witten Jews under National Socialism . Ed .: City of Witten. Publishing house Dr. Dieter Winkler, Bochum 1991, ISBN 3-924517-44-4 , p. XVI .

Coordinates: 51 ° 26 '  N , 7 ° 21'  E