Ratingen
Town
Ratingen
Ratingen
Flag of Ratingen
Flag
Coat of arms of Ratingen
Coat of arms
Location of Ratingen within Mettmann district
Ratingen is located in Germany
Ratingen
Ratingen
Ratingen is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Ratingen
Ratingen
Coordinates: 51°18′N 6°51′E / 51.300°N 6.850°E / 51.300; 6.850
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionDüsseldorf
DistrictMettmann
Subdivisions6 boroughs with 10 districts
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Klaus Konrad Pesch[1] (Ind.)
Area
 • Total88.72 km2 (34.25 sq mi)
Elevation
50 m (160 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
 • Total86,424
 • Density970/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
40878–40885 (1962-1995: 4030)
Dialling codes02102
Vehicle registrationME, seit 1975 (1956-1974: D)
Websitewww.ratingen.de

Ratingen (Limburgish: Rotinge) is a town in the district of Mettmann in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies in the northwestern part of Berg about 12 km northeast of Düsseldorf.

Administration

With a communal reform of 1975 the independent municipalities of Breitscheid, Eggerscheidt, Hösel, Lintorf (seat Angerland) as well as the local part of Homberg and the municipality of Homberg-Meiersberg (seat Hubbelrath) were added to the city of Ratingen.

Water castle "Haus zum Haus"

History

Ratingen was settled before 849. From the Middle Ages the Ratingen area belonged to the count and later dukes of Berg. On December 11, 1276 the settlement received city rights. Ratingen was one of the four places of Berg which experienced an economic boom in the end of the Middle Ages, but slowed during the Thirty Years' War. At the beginning of the Industrial Age, the first manufacturing plants opened in 1783. In Cromford the first mechanical spinnery of Europe opened, which grew into the Textilfabrik Cromford, now part of the Rheinisches Industriemuseum (Rhine Industry Museum). In the Napoleonic times, it became part of the city of Berg and in 1815, into the Kingdom of Prussia.

In the communal re-organization of 1929, Ratingen maintained its independence. After relatively small war damage, Ratingen in the 1960s and the 1970s experienced years of growth and development (West Ratingen with 20,000 inhabitants, developed in the late 1960s-1980s). In 1970, before further incorporations the number of inhabitants surpassed 50,000.

Politics

The current mayor of Ratingen is Klaus Konrad Pesch of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2014. 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
Votes  % Votes  %
Klaus Konrad Pesch Christian Democratic Union 16,433 41.5 12,874 52.1
Rainer Vogt Citizens' Union Ratingen 7,490 18.9 11,833 47.9
Christian Wiglow Social Democratic Party 6,178 15.6
Heinz Martin Tönnes Alliance 90/The Greens 5,434 13.7
Markus Sondermann Free Democratic Party 2,344 5.9
Hans Michael Gericke Die PARTEI 1,029 2.6
Manfred Evers Independent 700 1.8
Valid votes 39,608 98.9 24,707 99.4
Invalid votes 432 1.1 162 0.7
Total 40,040 100.0 24,869 100.0
Electorate/voter turnout 72,748 55.0 72,741 34.2
Source: City of Ratingen (1st round, 2nd round)

City council

Results of the 2020 city council election.

The Ratingen 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) 13,595 34.4 Decrease 0.2 24 Increase 4
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 7,553 19.1 Increase 9.5 14 Increase 9
Citizens' Union Ratingen (BU) 6,964 17.6 Decrease 6.7 12 Decrease 2
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 6,056 15.3 Decrease 5.6 11 Decrease 1
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 2,479 6.3 Increase 1.7 4 Increase 1
Alternative for Germany (AfD) 1,607 4.1 Increase 1.0 3 Increase 1
Die PARTEI 1,159 2.9 New 2 New
The Optimists 119 0.3 New 0 New
Independent Manfred Evers 40 0.1 New 0 New
Valid votes 39,572 98.9
Invalid votes 458 1.1
Total 40,030 100.0 70 Increase 12
Electorate/voter turnout 72,748 55.0 Increase 3.4
Source: City of Ratingen

Economy

Several important international enterprises (particularly from the IT industry) as Vodafone, ASUS, Hewlett-Packard, SAP, CEMEX and Esprit maintain branches and/or main centres in Ratingen. It is also the hometown of automotive dealer Gottfried Schultz. On 1 June 2021 Trading Hub Europe, the market area manager for the German natural gas market, was founded in Ratingen.

Sport

Since 1997 the town has hosted the Mehrkampf-Meeting, an annual decathlon and pentathlon meeting.

Twin towns – sister cities

Ratingen is twinned with:[3]

Between 1972 and 2016 Ratingen was also twinned to Cramlington/Blyth Valley, United Kingdom.[4]

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 21 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2021" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Partnerstädte". stadt-ratingen.de (in German). Ratingen. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  4. ↑ "Stadt Ratingen - Cramlington, Großbritannien". www.stadt-ratingen.de. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
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