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Wikipedia / Remscheid

Remscheid () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south side of the Ruhr area.

Remscheid had 113,333 inhabitants at the end of 2025. A variety of the Limburgish language, known locally as Remscheder Platt is spoken in the city through all generations.

Geography

Remscheid comprises four boroughs, Alt-Remscheid, Remscheid-Süd, Lennep, and Lüttringhausen.

Its highest point is the Brodtberg (378 m).

History

Remscheid was founded in the 12th century, but remained a small village until the 19th century. Early spellings for the city included Remissgeid (1217), Rymscheyd (1351), Reymscheyd (1487) and Rembscheid (1639). The economic growth of the entire Rhine-Ruhr region led to an increase of the population of Remscheid. Mechanical engineering and toolmaking were the main industries practised within the town. This is carried on today with the Hazet tool company which has three factories in Remscheid. Remscheid was part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1822 to 1945.

On 31 July 1943, during World War II, Remscheid was almost completely destroyed during a British bombing raid which caused a firestorm. This bombing raid was the final operation of RAF's Battle of the Ruhr involving 273 aircraft. Today around one third of the city consists of buildings from before World War II. During 14 and 15 April 1945, Remscheid was captured by the 78th Infantry Division (United States).

An A-10 Thunderbolt II crashed in the city on 8 December 1988. Six people died.

Demographics

As of 31 December 2019, the city's population was 113,703, of which 92,726 (81.6%) were German citizens and 20,977 (18.4%) were non-Germans (Ausländer); of the non-German population, the top 10 nationalities represented were as follows:

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Remscheid is Sven Wolf of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), elected in 2025.

The previous mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Candidate ! Party ! Votes ! % |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Burkhard Mast-Weisz | align=left| Social Democratic Party | 22,431 | 60.6 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Heidemarie Alexa Bell | align=left| Christian Democratic Union | 9,710 | 26.2 |- | | align=left| Peter Keck | align=left| Pro Remscheid | 1,908 | 5.2 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Fritz Beinersdorf | align=left| The Left | 1,309 | 3.5 |- | | align=left| Roland Kirchner | align=left| W.i.R. Remscheid | 877 | 2.4 |- | | align=left| Bettina Stamm | align=left| Real Remscheid | 775 | 2.1 |- ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 37,010 ! 98.5 |- ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 548 ! 1.5 |- ! colspan=3| Total ! 37,558 ! 100.0 |- ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 85,783 ! 43.8 |- | colspan=5| Source: State Returning Officer |}

City council

The Remscheid 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:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/− ! Seats ! +/− |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 12,718 | 34.5 | 0.3 | 20 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 11,036 | 29.9 | 7.3 | 17 | 3 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 5,409 | 14.7 | 6.3 | 9 | 5 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,945 | 5.3 | 0.6 | 3 | 1 |- | | align=left| Pro Remscheid (PRO) | 1,870 | 5.1 | 0.7 | 3 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| The Left (Die Linke) | 1,700 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 3 | ±0 |- | | align=left| W.i.R. Remscheid (WIR) | 1,092 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 2 | ±0 |- | | align=left| Real Remscheid (Echt) | 788 | 2.1 | New | 1 | New |- | colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 358 | 1.0 | New | 0 | New |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 36,916 ! 98.4 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 592 ! 1.6 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ! 37,508 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! 6 |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 85,783 ! 43.7 ! 0.7 ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer |}

Main sights

  • The Müngstener Brücke is a railway bridge crossing a valley and connecting Remscheid with the neighbouring town of Solingen. It is 107 m above the ground, making it the highest railway bridge in Germany. It was constructed in 1897 and originally named the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke after Wilhelm I (whose 100th birthday would have been in 1897).

  • The Eschbachtalsperre, the first dam built in Germany for the supply of drinking water is located here. It was built in 1891.

  • The old city of the borough Lennep consists of 116 houses from 1756.

Twin towns – sister cities

Remscheid is twinned with:

Remscheid also cooperates with Mrągowo County, Poland and Schmalkalden, Germany.

Notable people

Gallery

References