Iserlohn

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For steamships named Iserlohn, see SS Iserlohn.
Iserlohn
Bauernkirche

Coat of arms
Iserlohn
Coordinates: 51°23′N 07°40′E / 51.383°N 7.667°E / 51.383; 7.667Coordinates: 51°23′N 07°40′E / 51.383°N 7.667°E / 51.383; 7.667
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region Arnsberg
District Märkischer Kreis
Subdivisions 5
Government
 • Mayor Peter Paul Ahrens (SPD)
Area
 • Total 125.5 km2 (48.5 sq mi)
Elevation 494 m (1,621 ft)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
 • Total 93,799
 • Density 750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 58636–58644
Dialling codes 02371 (Iserlohn)
02374 (Iserlohn-Letmathe)
02304 (Schwerte,Iserlohn-Hennen)
02352 (Altena,parts of Iserlohn-Kesbern)
02378 (Fröndenberg- Langschede, Iserlohn-Drüpplingsen)
Vehicle registration MK,
IS until 1974
LS until 1979
Website www.iserlohn.de
Seilersee
Town hall
Danzturm

Iserlohn (German pronunciation: [iːzɐˈloːn]) is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the Sauerland region.

Geography

Iserlohn is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river.

History

The Pancratius church (also called Bauernkirche) was founded in around 985, but the first written document mentioning lon dates only from 1150. In 1237 the Count of the Mark gave Iserlohn municipal rights. In 1975 the city, which had been an urban district before, incorporated the surrounding ex-municipalities of Letmathe, Hennen, Sümmern and Kesbern, and became part of the district "Märkischer Kreis". As a larger mid-sized city, Iserlohn, however, still has a special status as compared to most other municipalities in the district. This means that the city takes on tasks more usually performed by the district (e.g. social and youth affairs) so that in some ways it is comparable to an urban district.

As an important industrial city in the Ruhr region, during the post-WWII era starting in 1953 Canadian and British military under NATO were garrisoned here and in surrounding municipalities (Hemer, where a large Canadian Army housing area was located to house Canadian Army personnel and their families, and Deilinghofen where two of the Canadian Army barracks were located (Fort Prince of Wales and Fort McLeod). There were also garrisons stationed at Werl and Soest/Bad Sassendorf.

Within Iserlohn itself the Canadian Army had barracks in former tank barracks and renamed the Barracks Fort Beausejour and Fort Qu'Appelle.

After 1970, following the transfer of Canadian troops to the Black Forest Region, these barracks in Iserlohn and Deilinghofen, as well as the barracks located in Werl and Soest, were either transferred to British, back to the Bundeswehr, or converted to civilian use. The Canadian housing in Hemer (Private Married Quarters or "PMQs") was converted to civilian housing. A lot of women from Iserlohn married service personnel and left for Canada in the sixties.

Points of interest

The Dechenhöhle was discovered in 1868 during the construction of the railway line Hagen-Iserlohn. 360m are accessible for visitors, and lots of stalactites make it a spectacular sight.

The Danzturm, located atop the southern hill overlooking the old city, is a landmark and featured on the logo of the local brewery (Iserlohner). The tower features spectacular views of the valley and surrounding hills and is open to the public with a small inn at the base.

In the 18th Century, the town became known for its Iserlohn boxes, a form of tobacco or snuff box with an engraved or embossed lid that often featured an image of Frederick the Great.[2]

Sports

The city is home of the Iserlohn Roosters, a DEL (first-division) ice hockey team. They came into the DEL in 2000 and developed from a low-budget-team to a solid team, which battles every year for a Playoff-spot. The club plays its homegames at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn, which holds 4967 spectators. The original club EC Deilinghofen was founded in 1959 and went bankrupt in 1987, the second club ECD Sauerland existed from 1988 to 1994. 1994 the Iserlohner EC was founded whereof the Roosters came to the DEL.

Education

In Iserlohn are 15 elementary schools and 13 secondary schools (4 Gymnasien, 1 Gesamtschule, 3 Realschulen, 5 Hauptschulen).

Also two universities of applied sciences are located in the city of Iserlohn. The headquarters plus a major branch of the South Westphalian University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) offering engineering and informatics programmes are located in the town centre and on the so-called Alexanderhöhe.[3] The Business and Information Technology School (BiTS) is a private state approved business school with a campus near the Seilersee.[4]

Schützenfest

Every year a part of the Iserlohner culture is the Schützenfest at Alexanderhöhe with its Parkhalle and the Friedensfest at Bauernkirche.

Coat of arms

In the middle of the coat of arms is Saint Pancras (St. Pancratius), patron of the oldest church in Iserlohn. He is depicted between two towers of the historic city wall. The checked fess below is derived from the arms of the Counts of the Mark.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Iserlohn is twinned with:

References

  1. ↑ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 31 July 2013. 
  2. ↑ Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. London: Allen Lane, p. 399. ISBN 0713909412
  3. ↑ "FH-SWF Iserlohn". .fh-swf.de. 28 August 2013. 
  4. ↑

Further reading

  • Götz Bettge: Iserlohn-Lexikon. Iserlohn 1987. ISBN 3-922885-37-3
  • Ernst Dossmann: Iserlohner Tabaksdosen erzählen. Ein Einblick in die wirtschaftlichen, gesellschaftlichen, politischen und militärischen Verhältnisse und das Aufblühen von Gewerbe, Industrie und Handel im märkisch-westfälischen Wirtschaftsraum während der Regierungszeit Friedrichs des Großen, dargestellt an bekannten Iserlohner Industrieerzeugnissen. 1981. ISBN 3-922885-01-2
  • Margret Kirchhoff: Pulsschläge einer Stadt. Die Oberste Stadtkirche Iserlohn – Zeitbilder und Momentaufnahmen. 2003. Eigenverlag Dr. Margret Kirchhoff.
  • Fritz Kühn: Liebes altes Iserlohn. (released about 1956). Westfalenverlag Dortmund
  • Peter Müller und Günter Stalp: Unsere gute alte Straßenbahn. Eine Reise in die Vergangenheit. Iserlohn 1995. ISBN 3-922885-78-0
  • Hans-Herbert Mönnig Verlag Iserlohn (no author mentioned): Iserlohn – unsere lebendige Stadt. Ein Bildband von Iserlohnern für Iserlohner. Iserlohn 1997. ISBN 3-922885-93-4
  • Heinz Stoob (†): Westfälischer Städteatlas; Band: I; 9 Teilband (Stadtmappe Iserlohn). Im Auftrage der Historischen Kommission für Westfalen und mit Unterstützung des Landschaftsverbandes Westfalen-Lippe; edited by Heinz Stoob and Wilfried Ehbrecht. Dortmund-Altenbeken, 1975. ISBN 3-89115-336-8

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iserlohn.
Towns and municipalities in Märkischer Kreis

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