Bergkamen

{{Infobox German place

|type = Stadt

|image_coa = DEU Bergkamen COA.svg

|coordinates = {{coord|51|37|N|7|38|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

|image_plan = Bergkamen in UN.svg

|state = Nordrhein-Westfalen

|region = Arnsberg

|district = Unna

|elevation = 68

|area = 44.8

|Gemeindeschlüssel = 05978004

|postal_code = 59192

|area_code = 02307, 02389, 02306

|licence = UN

|website = [https://www.bergkamen.de/ www.bergkamen.de]

|image_caption=Bergkamen city hall

|image_photo=Bergkamen Rathaus.jpg

|mayor = Bernd Schäfer[https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/index_bm.shtml Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020], Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 30 June 2021.

|leader_term = 2020–25

|party = SPD

}}

Bergkamen ({{IPA|de|bɛʁkˈkaːmən|-|De-Bergkamen.ogg}}; Westphalian: Biärgkoamen) is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated south of the river Lippe, approx. {{convert|15|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north-east of Dortmund and {{convert|15|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} south-west of Hamm.

Bergkamen, a fairly new town in the east part of the Ruhr Area and south of the Münsterland, was founded in 1966 by the merging of at first five smaller communities. The town's history, however, reaches back to ancient Roman times - this can be experienced by visiting the Bergkamen Municipal Museum, which has a large Roman department, and the nearby archeological site, the “Roemerlager“.

Main sights

Westphalian Sports Boat Centre - Marina Ruenthe
The neighbouring national trust area, “Beversee“, and the wooded hill, “Grosses Holz“, a renaturalized former slag heap, provide an inviting atmosphere for relaxation.

Cultural events

Harbour Festival ("Hafenfest") in June
Light Festival ("Lichtermarkt") in October.

Bergkamen is home to theatre performances at the “studio theater bergkamen“ and numerous exhibitions in the town's own art gallery “sohle1“ or the “Stadtmuseum“

History

File:Bergkamen Gedenkstaette IMGP4166 wp.jpg

In February 1946, a coal mine in the city suffered a dust explosion that killed 418 miners. This was the worst mining accident in German history.Exorcising Hitler; The Occupation and Denazification of Germany, Frederick Taylor, Bloomsbury Press

Twin towns – sister cities

Bergkamen is twinned with:{{cite web|title=Städtepartnerschaften|url=https://www.bergkamen.de/staedtepartnerschaften-rat.html|website=bergkamen.de|publisher=Bergkamen|language=de|accessdate=2021-02-08|archive-date=2019-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701172223/https://www.bergkamen.de/staedtepartnerschaften-rat.html|url-status=dead}}

{{flagicon|GER}} Hettstedt, Germany (1990)
{{flagicon|TUR}} Silifke, Turkey (1994)
{{flagicon|FRA}} Gennevilliers, France (1995)
{{flagicon|POL}} Wieliczka, Poland (1995)

==Notable people==

File:Ernst von Bodelschwingh 2.JPG

Ernst von Bodelschwingh-Velmede (1794–1854), Prussian Minister of Interior and Cabinet
Carl von Bodelschwingh (1800–1873), Prussian Finance Minister
Ernst von Bodelschwingh (1906–1993), politician (Member of Bundestag, CDU)
Hans Sennholz (1922–2007), economist
Dietrich Schwanitz (1940–2004), best-selling author, grew up in Rünthe
Eugen Drewermann (born 1940), theologian, church critic, best-seller author
Peer Steinbrück (born 1947), politician (SPD), Member of Landtag, for Bergkamen 2000–2005
Konrad Ott (born 1959), philosopher and ethicist
Heiko Antoniewicz (born 1965), cook
Frauke Petry (born 1975), politician (AfD), lived in Bergkamen and went to school there

References

External links

{{Official website}} {{in lang|de}}
[http://www.roland-schaefer.de/ Website of Roland Schäfer, the former mayor of Bergkamen]

Category:Unna (district)