Iserlohn

Iserlohn
Iserlohn
Town
	Bauernkirche
	Coat of arms
	Location of Iserlohn within Märkischer Kreis district
	Iserlohn Iserlohn
	Coordinates:51°23′N07°40′E/ 51.383°N 7.667°E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Märkischer Kreis
Subdivisions	5
Government
•Mayor(2020–25)	Michael Joithe(Die Iserlohner)
Area
• Total	125.5 km2(48.5 sq mi)
Elevation	494 m (1,621 ft)
Population (2023-12-31)
• Total	92,404
• Density	740/km2(1,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00(CEST)
Postal codes	58636–58644
Dialling codes	02371(Iserlohn); 02374(Iserlohn-Letmathe); 02304(Schwerte, Iserlohn-Hennen); 02352(Altena,parts of Iserlohn-Kesbern); 02378(Fröndenberg- Langschede, Iserlohn-Drüpplingsen);
Vehicle registration	MK; ISuntil 1974; LSuntil 1979;
Website	iserlohn.de

Iserlohn(German:[iːzɐˈloːn]^ⓘ;Westphalian:Iserlaun) is a city in theMärkischer Kreisdistrict, inNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and theSauerlandregion.

Geography

Iserlohn is located at the north end of theSauerlandnear theRuhrriver, in West-Central Germany.

History

The Pancratius church (also called Bauernkirche) is believed to have been founded in around 985, but the first written document mentioninglondates only from 1150.^{[citation needed]}In 1237 theCount of the Markgave Iserlohn municipal rights. In 1975 the city, which had been anurban districtbefore, incorporated the surrounding ex-municipalities ofLetmathe,Hennen,Sümmernand Kesbern, and became part of the district "Märkischer Kreis".As a larger mid-sized city, Iserlohn, however, still has a special status compared to most other municipalities in the district. This means that the city takes on tasks more usually performed by the district, such as social and youth affairs, hence it is comparable to an urban district.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Iserlohn is Michael Joithe, a member of the voter groupDie Iserlohner.The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:


Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
Candidate		Party	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Eva-Barbara Kirchhoff	Christian Democratic Union	13,275	39.8	11,912	49.8
	Michael Joithe	Die Iserlohner	5,273	15.8	12,007	50.2
	Martin Luckert	Social Democratic Party	5,015	15.0
	Manuel Huff	The Left	2,864	8.6
	Martin Isbruch	Alliance 90/The Greens	2,692	8.1
	Daniel Bläsing	Alternative for Germany	1,608	4.8
	Claudio Vurro	Independent	1,521	4.6
	Hans Herbers	Independent Voters' Association	592	1.8
	Martin Radojcic	Independent	233	0.7
	Robert Gustävel	Independent	194	0.6
	Michael Klammt	Independent	129	0.4
Valid votes			33,396	99.2	23,919	98.3
Invalid votes			279	0.8	419	1.7
Total			33,675	100.0	24,338	100.0
Electorate/voter turnout			72,958	46.2	72,849	33.4
Source: City of Iserlohn (1st round,2nd round)

City council

The Iserlohn city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:


Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Christian Democratic Union(CDU)	11,817	35.6	3.6	24	4
	Social Democratic Party(SPD)	6,337	19.1	13.3	13	3
	Die Iserlohner	4,397	13.2	New	9	New
	Alliance 90/The Greens(Grüne)	3,713	11.2	4.3	8	5
	The Left(Die Linke)	2,498	7.5	0.5	5	1
	Alternative for Germany(AfD)	1,985	6.0	0.2	4	1
	Free Democratic Party(FDP)	1,483	4.5	0.4	3	1
	Independent Voters' Association (UWG)	960	2.9	0.7	2	1
	Independent Radojcic	43	0.1	New	0	New
Valid votes		33,233	98.8
Invalid votes		420	1.2
Total		33,653	100.0		68	18
Electorate/voter turnout		72,958	46.1
Source:City of Iserlohn

Points of interest

TheDechenhöhlecaves were discovered in 1868 during the construction of the railway lineHagen-Iserlohn. 360 metres are accessible for visitors, and there are manystalactitesandstalagmitesin the cave.

The Danzturm, located on the southern hill overlooking the old city, is a landmark and featured on the logo of the local brewery (Iserlohner). The tower has views of the valley and surrounding hills and is open to the public with a small inn at the base.

In the 18th century, the town became known for itsIserlohn boxes,a form of tobacco orsnuffbox with an engraved orem Boss edlid that often featured an image of formerPrussianKingFrederick the Great.^[3]

Sports

The city is home of theIserlohn Roosters,aDEL(first-division) ice hockey team. The Roosters joined the DEL in 2000 and developed from a low-budget team to a solid one that regularly competes for aPlayoff-spot. The club plays its home games at theEissporthalle Iserlohn,which holds 4,967 spectators. The original club, EC Deilinghofen, was founded in 1959 and went bankrupt in 1987. The second club, ECD Sauerland, existed from 1988 to 1994. In 1994, Iserlohner EC was founded.

Education

Iserlohn has 15 elementary schools and 12 secondary schools (3Gymnasien,1Gesamtschule,3Realschulen,5Hauptschulen).

Two universities of applied sciences are also located in the city. The headquarters, together with a major branch, of theSouth Westphalia University of Applied Sciences(also: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) offering engineering and informatics programmes is located in the city centre on Alexanderhöhe.^[4]TheBusiness and Information Technology School(BiTS) is a private, state-approved business school with a campus near the Seilersee.^[5]

Schützenfest

The Schützenfest is a famous festival which takes place every year, and is central to Iserlohner's cultural life - and the town's identity. It is held at the Parkhalle, Alexanderhöhe.

At the same time as the Shooters festival (Schützenfest) the Iserlohn Peace committee (FriedensPlenum) has held a 3 day free benefit music festival around the farmers church (Bauernkirche) since 1991.

Coat of arms

Iserlohn's coat of arms features, in the middle,Saint Pancras(St. Pancratius), who is patron of the oldest church in Iserlohn. He is depicted between two towers of the historiccity wall.The checkedfessbelow the saint is derived from the arms of theCounts of the Mark.

Twin towns – sister cities

Iserlohn istwinnedwith:^[6]

Almelo,Netherlands (1954)
Biel/Bienne,Switzerland (1959)
Hall in Tirol,Austria (1967)
Auchel,France (1975)
Laventie,France (1975)
Nyíregyháza,Hungary (1989)
Novocherkassk,Russia (1990)
Glauchau,Germany (1991)
Chorzów,Poland (2004)

Notable people

Johann Stephan Pütter(1725–1807), Reichspublizist and teacher of state law
Friedrich Soennecken(1848–1919), businessman, entrepreneur, inventor and graphic artist
Alexander Pfänder(1870–1941), philosopher
Karl Rasche(1892–1951), SS honor and rank leader for special use with the rank ofObersturmbannführerand board member and spokesman of theDresdner Bank
Wilhelm Wessel(1904–1971), painter
Curt Rechel(1902–1973), Navy officer
Walter Bosse(1904-1979), artist, designer, and potter
Richard Friederich Arens(1919–2000), mathematician
Gerd Roellecke(1927–2011), jurist and legal philosopher
Aloys Kontarsky(1931–2017), pianist
Alfons Kontarsky(1932–2010), pianist
Bernhard Kontarsky(born 1937), conductor and pianist
Jochen Busse(born 1941), actor and cabaret artist
Helmut Neuhaus(born 1944), historian on Early modern period
Harm Klueting(born 1949), Roman Catholic clergyman, historian, theologian and university lecturer
Volker Fischer(born 1950), fencer
Ulrich Walter(born 1954), astronaut
Gordon Brown(1958–2020), sculptor
Timothy Paul Evans(born 1962), British general lieutenant and commander of the ARRC
Matthias Mellinghaus(born 1965), rowing sportsman, film director and assistant director, Olympiasieger 1988
Brian Glynn(born 1967), ice hockey player
Marsha Wattanapanich(born 1970), Thai singer and actress
Markus Giesler(born 1976), consumer researcher
Caput[de](born Soner Duman) (born 1983), rapper
Thore Schölermann(born 1984), actor
Dieter Orendorz(born 1992), ice hockey player
David Beckmann(born 2000), car racing driver
Monty Don(born 1955), gardener

References

^Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020,Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 21 June 2021.
^"Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011"(in German).Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW.Retrieved20 June2024.
^Fleming, John&Hugh Honour.(1977)The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts.London:Allen Lane,p. 399.ISBN 0713909412
^"FH-SWF Iserlohn".fh-swf.de. 28 August 2013.
^[1]Archived27 January 2010 at theWayback Machine
^"Partnerstädte".iserlohn.de(in German). Iserlohn.Retrieved24 November2019.

External links

Official website(in German)
NewspaperIserlohner Kreisanzeiger und Zeitung(in German)

[1] Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020,Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 21 June 2021.

[2] "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011"(in German).Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW.Retrieved20 June2024.

[Fleming-3] Fleming, John&Hugh Honour.(1977)The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts.London:Allen Lane,p. 399.ISBN 0713909412

[4] "FH-SWF Iserlohn".fh-swf.de. 28 August 2013.

[5] [1]Archived27 January 2010 at theWayback Machine

[6] "Partnerstädte".iserlohn.de(in German). Iserlohn.Retrieved24 November2019.

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Authority control databases
International	FAST VIAF WorldCat
National	Germany Israel United States Czech Republic
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