Castrop-Rauxel

Castrop-Rauxel
Castrop-Rauxel
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Recklinghausen
Town subdivisions	15
Mayor	Johannes Beisenherz (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	51.66 km2 (19.95 sq mi)
Elevation	98 m  (322 ft)
Population	77,263  (31 December 2006)
- Density	1,496 /km2 (3,874 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	RE
Postal codes	44575–44581
Area codes	02305, 02367 (Henrichenburg)
Website	(German language)
Location of the town of Castrop-Rauxel within Recklinghausen district
Coordinates: 51°33′0″N 7°19′0″E / 51.55°N 7.31667°E / 51.55; 7.31667

Castrop-Rauxel (German pronunciation: [ˈkastʁɔpˈʁaʊksəl]) is a former mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area.

Geography

Castrop-Rauxel is between Dortmund to the east, Bochum (south), Herne (west), and to the north, Recklinghausen, Datteln and Waltrop.

History

First mentioned in 834 as "Villa Castorpe",^{[citation needed]} the city of Castrop was founded in 1902 by merging the municipalities Castrop, Obercastrop and Behringhausen. On April 1, 1926 Castrop-Rauxel was formed when Castrop merged with 10 other municipalities. During World War II, a plant at Castrop-Rauxel used the Bergius process to produce synthetic (German: Ersatz) oil products.

In 1975, the village of Henrichenburg was annexed and Castrop-Rauxel became part of the Recklinghausen (district). In 1984 the last of 7 coal mines at Castrop=Rauxel ("Erin") closed.

Transportation

Castrop-Rauxel has access to three major highways, the Emscherschnellweg A 42 ,the Sauerlandlinie A 45 and the A 2.
There are 3 railway stations within the city. The central station (Castrop-Rauxel Hauptbahnhof) on the Cologne-Minden Railway is located in the suburb of Rauxel. Connecting Castrop-Rauxel to the western Ruhr cities like Duisburg, Oberhausen, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne and in the east to Dortmund and Hamm. The unmanned stations of Castrop-Rauxel South (Castrop-Rauxel Sued) and Castrop-Rauxel Merklinde on the Emschertalbahn are offering hourly services with trains to Dortmund, Herne and Dorsten. Located in the city centre is the central bus station Muensterplatz. From here passengers can travel to almost all suburbs and to neighboring cities like Herne, Dortmund and Bochum.
The Rhine-Herne Canal runs right through Castrop-Rauxel; Castrop-Rauxel also has a small Yacht club on this body of water.

Twin towns
Wakefield, United Kingdom Vincennes, France Kuopio, Finland Nowa Ruda, Poland Delft, Netherlands Zehdenik, Germany

Economy

Castrop-Rauxel has been attempting to change from a former mining city to a city with a modern lifestyle, high recreational value, new economy companies, a 27 hole golf course, and various cultural events.

Culture

The WLT (Westphalian State Theater) is the oldest and most relevant source of theatrical entertainment in Castrop-Rauxel. There is one cinema with two screens in Castrop. Castrop’s history is closely connected to horse racing, the Reiterbrunnen in the very center of Castrop’s market square is a reminder of the race days on the Naturhindernisbahn, now part of the Goldschmieding Park.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Castrop-Rauxel

v • d • e Towns and municipalities in Recklinghausen (district) Castrop-Rauxel | Datteln | Dorsten | Gladbeck | Haltern | Herten | Marl | Oer-Erkenschwick | Recklinghausen | Waltrop

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