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Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia

Coordinates: 51°50′N 6°52′E / 51.833°N 6.867°E / 51.833; 6.867
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Borken
Coat of arms of Borken
Location of Borken within Borken district
Borken (district)North Rhine-WestphaliaKleve (district)Wesel (district)Coesfeld (district)Coesfeld (district)Lower SaxonySteinfurt (district)NetherlandsRaesfeldHeidenRhedeBocholtBorkenRekenVelenStadtlohnHeekAhausGescherLegdenSchöppingenGronauVredenSüdlohnIsselburg
Borken is located in Germany
Borken
Borken
Borken is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Borken
Borken
Coordinates: 51°50′N 6°52′E / 51.833°N 6.867°E / 51.833; 6.867
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionMünster
DistrictBorken
Subdivisions12
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Mechtild Schulze-Hessing[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total152.6 km2 (58.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total43,589
 • Density290/km2 (740/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
46325
Dialling codes02861
Vehicle registrationBOR

Borken (German pronunciation: [ˈbɔʁkn̩] , Westphalian: Buorken) is a town and the capital of the district of the same name, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

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Borken is situated 10 km east of the Dutch border. Borken station is the northern terminus on the remaining section of the Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck–Winterswijk railway.

Neighbouring places

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Division of the town

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Borken consists of 12 districts:

  • Borken
  • Borkenwirthe/Burlo
  • Gemen
  • Grütlohn
  • Gemenwirthe
  • Gemenkrückling
  • Hoxfeld
  • Hovesath
  • Marbeck
  • Rhedebrügge
  • Weseke
  • Westenborken

The 10 largest groups of foreign residents by 31 December 2018:

 Poland 627
 Syria 408
 Netherlands 262
 Romania 154
 Turkey 145
 Portugal 121
 Serbia 118
 Iraq 110
 Croatia 85
 Kosovo 79

History

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British troops from the 7th Armored Division in Weseke, Borken March, 1945

The name comes from the German word "Burg" or "Burk" and gradually changed to "Burke", then "Burken" and finally to "Borken". Around the year 800 the village was being used by Charles The Great (Charlemagne) as a stopover place on his travels. In 1226 City rights were granted by Bishop Dietrich II of Isenberg-Limburg. Fortification of the city with walls and towers was first noted in 1391.

In the last years of the Holy Roman Empire (1803–06) it was the capital of the short-lived principality of Salm. From 1810 to 1814 it was part of the French Empire. In 1815 Borken came under the jurisdiction of the Prussian Province of Westphalia. At the same time it became the seat of government for the newly formed district or county of Borken (Kreis Borken). Between 1880 and 1905 the area experienced the building of railroad connections: (1880 Wanne-Borken-Winterswijk line, 1901 Empel-Bocholt-Borken and Borken-Burgsteinfurt, 1905 Borken-Coesfeld-Münster).

Near the end of World War II the historic center of the city was heavily destroyed. After the war, community rearrangements followed in 1969, including annexation of Gemen and other towns in the vicinity. Between 1975 and 1978 came the cleaning up and rebuilding of the southern part of the old city. There, buildings which had outlasted the destruction of the Second World War were finally demolished. In 2001 Borken celebrated its 775th anniversary.

Twin towns – sister cities

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Borken is twinned with:[3]

Notable people

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Born in Borken

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Leonide Massine in 1914

Connected with Borken

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 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. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  3. ^ "Partnerstädte". borken.de (in German). Borken. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
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