Castrop-Rauxel

Castrop-Rauxel, city (1994 pop. 79,100), North Rhine-Westphalia, W Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, an industrial city of the Ruhr district. Chemicals and other light industrial goods are produced there, and coal mining is a major industry.

Castrop-Rauxel (ˈkastʁɔpˈʁaʊksəl) is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

Castrop-Rauxel is nestled between the major cities of Dortmund in the east, Bochum in the south, Herne in the west, and Recklinghausen, Datteln and Waltrop in the north, right in the eastern part of the Ruhr_Area.

History

Castrop-Rauxel was first mentioned in 834 as Villa Castorpe. In 1902 the city of Castrop-Rauxel was founded by merging the municipalities Castrop, Obercastrop and Behringhausen. On April 1, 1926 the city of Castrop-Rauxel was formed by merging the city of Castrop with 10 other municipalities. In 1975 the village of Henrichenburg was merged into the city of Castrop-Rauxel, also in the same year Castrop-Rauxel became part of the Recklinghausen %28district%29.

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.

Economy

During the 19th and most of the 20th century the Ruhr was a coalmining and steel producing area, famous for big companies like Krupp, Hoesch, or Thyssen. Castrop-Rauxel used to have seven coalmines. In 1984 the last mine, called Erin, named by its Irish founder William Thomas Mulvany, closed. Just like the rest of the Ruhr, Castrop-Rauxel has been attempting to change from a former blue collar image 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.

Twin Towns

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

External links

• Official site
• Town info