Haltern am See

Haltern am See (Haltern at the lake, before December 2001 only Haltern) is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx. 15 kilometres (9 miles) north of Recklinghausen.

Haltern am See
New town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Haltern am See within Recklinghausen district
Haltern am See Show map of Germany Haltern am See Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°45′N 7°11′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Recklinghausen
Government
• Mayor	Bodo Klimpel (CDU)
Area
• Total	158.34 km^2 (61.14 sq mi)
Elevation	40 m (130 ft)
Population  (2018-12-31)[1]
• Total	38,013
• Density	240/km^2 (620/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	45721
Dialling codes	02364 (Haltern am See), 02360 (Lippramsdorf)
Vehicle registration	RE
Website	www.haltern-am-see.de

The town is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Düsseldorf.[2]

History

Former Halteren was founded on February 3rd in 1289. They received the town charter by the prince-bishop of Münster, Everhard von Dienstag.

During Kristallnacht (1938), the town's synagogue, Jewish cemetery and the houses and shops belonging to the town's Jews were vandalised. Jews were deported to concentration camps, the last five of whom were deported in January 1942.[3] Only one of the town's Jews survived the Holocaust: Alexander Lebenstein, after whom a school is named.

In March 2015, the town received international attention when 16 students and two teachers from the Joseph-König-Gymnasium in Haltern, were killed in the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash in the French Alps. They were on their way home from a student exchange with the Giola Institute in Llinars del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain.[4] Haltern's mayor, Bodo Klimpel, described it as "the darkest day in the history of our city."[5]

Gallery

• 
  Church
• 
  Former town hall
• 
  Tower: der Siebenteufelsturm

Notable people

• Benedikt Höwedes, footballer for Juventus F.C. and Germany, was born in the city
• Joseph König (1843-1930), chemist, after whom the Joseph-König-Gymnasium is named, was born in Lavesum in Haltern
• Alexander Lebenstein, Holocaust survivor, after whom the Alexander-Lebenstein-Realschule is named, was born in Haltern
• Christoph Metzelder, former footballer for Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04, was born in the city
• Bodo Klimpel, current mayor of Haltern am See, was born in Rourkela, State of Odisha, India
• Luba Goy, German-Canadian actress and comedian, was born in Haltern in 1945 and emigrated to Canada with her parents in 1951.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Haltern is twinned with:[6]

• Roost-Warendin, France
• Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria

References

1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2018" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
2. Botelho, Greg and Catherine Shoichet. "Germanwings crash: Students, singers among the victims" (Archive). CNN. March 24, 2015. Retrieved on March 26, 2015.
3. Spector, Shmuel & Vigoder, Geoffrey (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust: A-J. p. 485.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
4. "Germanwings A320 Crash Victims Include 15 German Schoolchildren, Local Media Reports". International Business Times. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
5. "16 schoolchildren believed to be aboard Germanwings plane that crashed in Alps". Yahoo News. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
6. "Partnerstädte". haltern-am-see.de (in German). Haltern am See. Retrieved 2019-12-03.

External links

• Livius.org: Roman fortress Haltern