Burscheid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Burscheid is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has just under 20,000 inhabitants. The town is known for its sub-communities (somewhat equivalent to the American concept of neighborhoods) and the town center with its marketplace and churches.

1 Economy
2 Government
3 Transportation
4 Neighboring communities
5 Sub-communities
6 Services
7 Tourist sites
8 External link

[edit] Economy

The two largest employers in Burscheid are Federal Mogul GmbH (formerly known as Goetze AG) and Johnson Controls.

[edit] Government

Hans Dieter Kahrl (CDU) was first elected as Bürgermeister (mayor) in 1999. He was reelected in a general election on 26 September 2004 with 51.6 % of the vote.

The current city council was elected with the following breakdown of political affiliations (again, as of the 2004 general election):

CDU, 2,932 votes, 40.0 % (1999: 47.4 %)
SPD, 1,989 votes, 27.2 % (28.4 %)
Grüne, 745 votes, 10.2 % (6.5 %)
UWG, 884 votes, 12.1 % (8.5 %)
FDP, 767 votes, 10.5 % (9.2 %)

[edit] Transportation

Burscheid is on the A1 Autobahn, and federal highway (Bundesstraße) 51 travels through the town. A once active rail-spur existed in part of the town in the early 1990s. It had, at that time, already been out of service for several years. The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg and Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr both operate bus lines that stop in Burscheid.

[edit] Neighboring communities

Burscheid is within 15 kilometers of both Solingen and Leverkusen.

[edit] Sub-communities

Bellinghausen - Benninhausen - Berghamberg - Berringhausen - Blasberg - Dierath - Dünweg - Dürscheid - Großbruch - Großhamberg - Grünscheid - Heddinghofen - Hilgen - Kaltenherberg - Kämersheide - Kippekofen - Kleinhamberg - Kuckenberg - Lungstraße - Nagelsbaum - Oberlandscheid - Oberwietsche - Ösinghausen- Repinghofen - Rötzinghofen - Sträßchen.

Hilgen (or Burscheid-Hilgen) is the second largest and most significant sub-community, next to the main town center (Burscheid itself). Hilgen is on the town's border with Wermelskirchen and has many of its own shops and restaurants. Most sub-communities in Burscheid are easily reachable by foot or bicycle.

[edit] Services

Burscheid has its own public schools, swimming pool, police force, and volunteer fire department.

[edit] Tourist sites

Haus Landscheid is a former estate that belonged to the knight Heinrich von Nesselrode in 1731. It was the site of a restaurant from 1983 to 1998, but has been abandoned since 1998. No new uses of the property have been planned or have come forward.
The Lambertsmühle (Lamberts Mill) is in the Wiehbach valley in the southwest of the town, and has been a museum since 1994. The mill's main exhibit is entitled "The Path from Grain to Bread."
The Paffenlöher Steffi (in the neighboring community of Paffenlöh) is a local dance club.