Castrop-Rauxel

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Castrop-Rauxel
Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Recklinghausen
Town subdivisions	15
Mayor	Johannes Beisenherz (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	51.66 km² (19.9 sq mi)
Elevation	98 m (322 ft)
Population	77,263 (31/12/2006)
- Density	1,496 /km² (3,874 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	RE
Postal codes	44575–44581
Area codes	02305, 02367 (Henrichenburg)
Website	www.castrop-rauxel.de Coordinates: 51°33′00″N 7°19′00″E / 51.55, 7.316667

Castrop-Rauxel (IPA: [ˈkastʁɔpˈʁaʊksəl]) is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Transportation
4 Economy
5 Culture
- 5.1 Twin Towns
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Castrop-Rauxel is nestled between the major cities of Dortmund in the east, Bochum in the south, Herne in the west, and Recklinghausen and Waltrop in the north, right in the eastern part of the Ruhr.

[edit] History

Castrop-Rauxel was first mentioned in 834 as Villa Castorpe, and received rights as a free city in 1384, and has existed in its present day form, including the township of Henrichenburg and being part of the Vest, the district of Recklinghausen, since 1975.

[edit] Transportation

Castrop-Rauxel has access to three major highways, the Emscherschnellweg A 42 ,the Sauerlandlinie A 45 and the A 2. The old Cologne – Minden railroad stops in Castrop-Rauxel, connecting it to the western Ruhr cities like Duisburg, Oberhausen, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne and in the west to Dortmund, and Lünen. The Rhine-Herne Canal runs right through Castrop; Castrop also has a small Yacht club on this body of water.

[edit] Economy

During the 19th and most of the 20th century the Ruhr was a coalmining and steel producing area, famous for big companies like Krupp, Hoesch, or Thyssen. Castrop-Rauxel used to have seven coalmines. In 1984 the last mine, called Erin, named by its Irish founder William Thomas Mulvany, closed. Just like the rest of the Ruhr, Castrop-Rauxel has been attempting to change from a former blue collar image to a city with a modern lifestyle, high recreational value, new economy companies, a 27 hole golf course, and various cultural events.

[edit] Culture

The WLT (Westphalian State Theater) is the oldest and most relevant source of theatrical entertainment in Castrop-Rauxel. There is one cinema with two screens in Castrop. Castrop’s history is closely connected to horse racing, the Reiterbrunnen in the very center of Castrop’s market square is a reminder of the race days on the Naturhindernisbahn, now part of the Goldschmieding Park.