Wachtendonk
| coat of arms | Germany map | |
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Coordinates: 51 ° 25 ' N , 6 ° 20' E |
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| Basic data | ||
| State : | North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| Administrative region : | Dusseldorf | |
| Circle : | Kleve | |
| Height : | 29 m above sea level NHN | |
| Area : | 48.14 km 2 | |
| Residents: | 8129 (Dec. 31, 2019) | |
| Population density : | 169 inhabitants per km 2 | |
| Postal code : | 47669 | |
| Area code : | 02836 | |
| License plate : | KLE, GEL | |
| Community key : | 05 1 54 060 | |
| LOCODE : | DE ZX6 | |
| Community structure: | 2 districts | |
| Address of the municipal administration: |
Weinstrasse 1 47669 Wachtendonk |
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| Website : | ||
| Mayor : | Hans-Josef Aengenendt ( CDU ) | |
| Location of the municipality of Wachtendonk in the Kleve district | ||
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The municipality Wachtendonk is located on the lower Lower Rhine near the Dutch border at Venlo in the west of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is a kreisangehorige community of Kleve in the administrative district of Dusseldorf .
geography
Geographical location
Wachtendonk is located west of the Rhine in the Lower Rhine Plain, in the south of the Kleve district. To the north of the city, the Nette flows into the Niers .
Community structure
The municipality is divided into the towns of Stadt Wachtendonk and Wankum , for each of which the municipality council elects a local head . The spatial delimitation of the localities corresponds to the boundaries of the former municipalities of Wachtendonk and Wankum. The districts of Geneng, Gelinter and Schlick belong to the town of Wachtendonk, the districts of Aerbeck, Harzbeck, Heide, Langdorf, Müllem and Vorst to the town of Wankum.
Neighboring communities
The municipality of Wachtendonk borders the city of Straelen to the west and north , the municipality of Kerken to the east, and the city of Kempen , the municipality of Grefrath and the city of Nettetal (the last three in the Viersen district ) to the south . Since January 1, 2010, the nearest major city has been Venlo in the Netherlands, 13 km away, in Germany it is the city of Krefeld (20 km).
history
City Wachtendonk
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After the Romans , of which few finds report, the Franks conquered the country in the 3rd and 4th centuries . The area of today's Wachtendonk - called Land Geissern - belonged to the Mühlgau according to the Germanic division. In the 12th century the Archbishops of Cologne took possession of the land goats. Their bailiffs settled on an elevation in the quarry, a Donk , and built a moated castle there. The name Wachtendonk is derived from this Vogtendonk . From 1326 Wachtendonk belonged to the upper quarter of the Duchy of Geldern and received city rights in 1343 . The city was fortified with trenches and a city wall and got its own church. At times Wachtendonk was pledged to the Duchy of Cleves . This pledging led to a conflict between the neighboring duchies of Geldern and Kleve and finally to the battle of Straelen in 1468 , as a result of which Wachtendonk fell back to the duchy of Geldern. In the Eighty Years' War , the Dutch struggle for freedom against the rule of Spain , Wachtendonk was conquered several times by the Dutch and recaptured by the Spanish: in 1572 the troops of William of Orange occupied the fortress, in 1578 troops of the States General took the city again and held it for 10 Years. In 1588, Count Ernst von Mansfeld recaptured Wachtendonk for the Spaniards, who in 1600 had to give way to the Dutch. Although the fortress was expanded with ramparts and moats, the Spaniards retook them again. The fortification was razed in 1607. After the end of the Spanish War of Succession in 1713, Wachtendonk fell to Prussia in the Treaty of Utrecht with parts of the Duchy of Geldern .
In 1794 the French revolutionary armies occupied the left bank of the Rhine and stayed for 20 years. For a time, Wachtendonk belonged to the Département de la Roer established in 1798 - and thus to France . After Napoleon's abdication , Prussia returned to the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and remained there until World War II , which ended for the city on March 3, 1945 with the invasion of the 8th US Panzer Division .
Wankum village
The name Wankum is derived from the Franconian Wankheim ( home in the meadows and pastures ). The ending -um means -heim and occurs more frequently in place names - e.g. B. in Lottum, Latum, Sevenum, Stockum, Vernum etc. The fact that Saint Martin is the patron saint of the parish indicates a settlement by the Franks. The founding of the Martin parish in Wankum is set around 500 . In a document dated August 28, 1279, Wankum is first mentioned as Wanchheim . At that time, Duke Johann von Brabant , Archbishop of Cologne Siegfried von Westerburg , Count Dietrich von Kleve and Count Rainald I von Geldern met in Wankum to conclude what would later become known as the Wankum Land Peace . This was a contract that obligated the parties to provide mutual assistance in combating counterfeiting and robber baronism.
After the end of the Spanish War of Succession , Wachtendonk and Wankum came to Prussia in the Peace of Utrecht (1713) with parts of the Duchy of Geldern, were under French rule from 1798 to 1814, and were added to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, along with the entire Lower Rhine . Thereupon they came on April 23, 1816 in the course of the Prussian administrative organization to the district of Geldern as one of over 40 districts of the province of Jülich-Kleve-Berg , the later Rhine province .
Little of the historical buildings remained in Wankum; only the ground plan of the foundation in the schoolyard of the elementary school remained of the original church. Other less pleasant sights that no longer exist are still reminiscent of street names such as “An der Dingbank”, where court was held and enforced. With funds from the municipality and the Office for Agricultural Regulations, Wankum is currently being renewed as far as possible. In the former chaplaincy a "village room" was set up, which also houses a small museum.
Territorial reform
The municipality of Wachtendonk was created in its current form on July 1, 1969 during the 1st municipal reorganization program in North Rhine-Westphalia. The municipalities Stadt Wachtendonk and Wankum were merged to form the new municipality Wachtendonk. Since the rights of the titular town "Stadt Wachtendonk" have never expired, the unusual construction was chosen that a "town" is part of a municipality.
On January 1, 1975, in the course of the 2nd reorganization program in North Rhine-Westphalia, the old Kleve district was merged with the former Geldern district and sub-areas of the Moers and Rees districts to form the new Greater Kleve district on the Lower Rhine. Due to its southern location, Wachtendonk is clearly oriented towards Kempen and Krefeld.
Population development
The following information relates to the present-day area of the municipality of Wachtendonk.
- 1975: 5749 inhabitants
- 1980: 5772 inhabitants
- 1985: 6087 inhabitants
- 1990: 6392 inhabitants
- 1995: 7185 inhabitants
- 2000: 7576 inhabitants
- 2005: 7841 inhabitants
- 2010: 7888 inhabitants
- 2015: 8189 inhabitants
- 2016: 8134 inhabitants
- 2017: 8197 inhabitants
politics
Municipal council
In addition to the nationally represented parties, two local electoral associations are active in Wachtendonker municipal politics: the Wankum voter community (WWG) and the Wachtendonker citizens' association (WBV) .
The council of the municipality Wachtendonk consists of a total of 24 members. Since the last local election on May 25, 2014 , parties and electoral associations have been represented in the local council as follows:
| CDU | WWG | Green | SPD | WBV | FDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 seats | 5 seats | 3 seats | 3 seats | 2 seats | 1 seat |
The next local election will take place in autumn 2020.
mayor
Hans-Josef Aengenendt (CDU) was elected mayor of the municipality of Wachtendonk in 2015 with 73.45% of the vote. His opponent was Berthold Perret (non-party, 26.55%).
The next mayoral election will take place in 2020.
Coat of arms, flag, official seal
The municipality of Wachtendonk was granted the right to use the coat of arms described below with a certificate from the District President in Düsseldorf dated October 30, 1971.
- Description of coat of arms
- In the golden (yellow) field a two-storey red tower growing from the lower edge of the shield , the lower storey being provided with six, the upper storey with four battlements. A red lily hovers over it .
The municipality of Wachtendonk was also granted the right to fly the flag described below with documents from the District President in Düsseldorf dated October 30, 1971 and June 7, 1972.
- Description of the banner
- Red-gold-red in a ratio of 1: 3.5: 1 striped lengthways with the municipal coat of arms slightly above the center.
- Description of the flag
- Red-gold-red in a ratio of 1: 3.5: 1 striped lengthways (i.e. along the longer side line) with the municipal coat of arms slightly shifted towards the pole.
- Official seal
The municipality has an official seal with the municipality's coat of arms.
coat of arms
banner
Hoist flag
Town twinning
The municipality of Wachtendonk has been twinning with the French municipality of Acigné (Brittany) since 1980 . A school friendship has existed with the Russian city of Syktywkar in the Komi Republic (northwestern Russia) since 1995.
Culture and sights
Town center
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The town center with old houses and angled streets has been beautifully restored with the support of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to numerous individual buildings, it is also a listed building. The road layout has remained unchanged for more than 300 years. Most of the houses were built soon after the local fire of 1708.
Individual buildings:
- Parish church of St. Michael, started from 1361, started around 1380 at the latest, choir and sacristy renewed after a fire of 1516, so-called Cabanes chapel (burial chapel for Otto von Nydeggen ) was added to the north side of the ship in 1523 . Traces of the siege can still be found on the west facade of the tower.
- House Püllen dates from 1634; it was one of the few houses that was spared in the fire of 1708 - just like the former powder tower , which is now used as a restaurant.
- The historic town hall of Wachtendonk was destroyed in the great city fire in 1708. After the destroyed building was torn down, the building was rebuilt in 1841 while retaining the old floor plan.
- The ruins of Wachtendonk Castle are located southeast of the town center on the banks of the Niers. It was uncovered during excavations and can be visited.
Surroundings
- Langenfeld House in Wankum; the former manor was from the 14th century until 1532 one of the ancestral seats of the Counts of Spee . Later the owners of the property changed more frequently, most recently the Counts of Schaesberg at Krickenbeck Castle , who sold the building to Alexander Heckmanns in 1970.
- Schwalm-Nette Nature Park , which in turn is part of the German / Dutch Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park . That is why one of the centers of the nature park is located in Haus Püllen with a permanent exhibition about the creation of the nature park and constantly changing exhibitions, as well as a cottage garden. The center is operated in cooperation with the municipality and is also the municipality's tourist information center.
International partnership
For more than ten years there has been an active partnership between parishes in Wachtendonk and Sobradinho (Brazil), which has contributed to the support of several social projects, as well as the construction of numerous cisterns, which are intended to help make the rural population independent of external water supplies. The parish in Wankum is in charge of a number of social projects in Olinda (Brazil).
leisure
- The Wankumer Heide is a popular local recreation area with a number of special sports offers, including water skiing in the "blue lagoon". Parts of the Wankumer Heide are under nature and landscape protection, including an orchid meadow.
- Wachtendonk is a good starting point or destination for canoeing on the Niers or for cycling on the Lower Rhine. The community has the necessary infrastructure with attractive restaurants of various orientations, as well as attractive shopping opportunities.
Economy and Infrastructure
traffic
Local public transport
Wachtendonk is not on a railway line. The nearest train stations are in this order Kempen , Aldekerk , Nieukerk and Geldern on the left-hand Lower Rhine route and InterCity - Venlo train station on the Breda – Maastricht , Maaslinie and Viersen – Venlo railway lines .
The public transport is organized by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR). The bus route 063 Geldern Bf - Straelen - Wachtendonk - Kempen Bf (joint traffic SWK / NIAG ) and the taxi bus route 34 Wachtendonk – Aldekerk Bf (operator: NIAG) connect the community to the German rail network and the neighboring cities.
The municipal works operate the lines OL 1 Wachtendonk - Wankum - Aerbeck - Harzbeck and OL 2 Wachtendonk - Geneng - Gelinter. A citizen bus was discontinued after a short period of operation.
The bus route 929 Duisburg Hbf - Moers - Venlo Station has been passing through the municipality without stopping on the motorway for a number of years, so that the Venlo train station can no longer be reached by bus from Wachtendonk.
Road traffic
The municipality of Wachtendonk is connected to the motorway network by the Wachtendonk and Wankum exits of the federal motorway 40 Venlo - Dortmund. The Venlo - Duisburg section is part of the European route 34 Antwerp - Bad Oeynhausen.
The state roads L 39, L 140, L 361 and L 479 as well as the district roads K 1, K 21, K 23 and K 24 connect Wachtendonk with the surrounding towns.
Air traffic
The nearest airports are Niederrhein Airport , 29 km away and Düsseldorf Airport , 45 km away.
Personalities
Born in Wachtendonk
- Theo Stammen (1933–2018), political scientist
- Johannes Linssen (* 1949), soccer player, coach and manager
- Gisbert Haefs (* 1950), writer and translator
- Gabriele Haefs (* 1953), literary translator
- Toni Tholen (* 1965), Germanist and literary scholar
Associated with Wachtendonk
- Winnemar Gruters von Wachtendonk († August 16, 1466 in Cologne), pastor in Wachtendonk, official and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Cologne
- Matthias Mertens (1906–1970), Roman Catholic priest, was imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp; grew up in Wachtendonk on his parents' farm
Others
The Wachtendonck Psalms , an ancient Dutch language monument, are named after the Dutch canon Arnold Wachtendonck and are therefore not related to Wachtendonk.
literature
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Paul Clemen : The art monuments of the Rhine province. 1. Vol. II. Dept .: The district of Geldern. Schwann-Verl., Düsseldorf 1891.
- Wachtendonk, pp. 86-90
- Wankum, pp. 92-95
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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 )
- ↑ Paragraph 3 of the main statute of the municipality of Wachtendonk
- ↑ Illustration by Frans Hogenberg from 1605: Wachtendonck Anno 1605, October 28th ( digitized version )
- ↑ Martin Bünermann: The communities of the first reorganization program in North Rhine-Westphalia . Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, Cologne 1970, p. 79 .
- ↑ Population of all municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia from December 31, 1962 at the end of each year according to the current territorial status
- ↑ Election results for the 2014 municipal elections, the Niederrhein municipal computing center
- ^ Ministry of the Interior and Local Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
- ↑ http://wahlarchiv.krzn.de/wahl2015/wep660/index.html
- ↑ a b c Paragraph 2 of the main statute of the municipality of Wachtendonk
- ↑ Parish of St. Marien, History of the Church of St. Micheal in Wachtendonk ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) 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.
- ^ Dehio Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Vol. North Rhine-Westphalia I - Rhineland , 2005, ISBN 3-422-03093-X , p. 1157
- ↑ http://www.wachtendonk.de/C12574E80055D599/html/87A215875A178A11C12578D2002F131C?opendocument
- ↑ Wachtendonk municipal works
Web links
- Website of the municipality of Wachtendonk
- Picture album of the community and castle ruins of Wachtendonk
Bedburg-Hau | Emmerich am Rhein | Geldern | Goch | Issum | Kalkar | Kerken | Kevelaer | Kleve | Kranenburg | Rees | Rheurdt | Straelen | Uedem | Wachtendonk | Weeze