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{{Multiple issues|
{{expand German|topic=geo|Schwelm|date=July 2012}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2012}}
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{{Infobox German location
|type              = Stadt
|name              = Schwelm
|image_flag        = Flagge Schwelm.svg
|image_coa         = DEU Schwelm COA.svg
|image_photo       = Schwelm Stadtansicht.JPG
|coordinates       = {{coord|51|16|N|7|16|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan        = Schwelm in EN.svg
|state        = Nordrhein-Westfalen
|region  = Arnsberg
|district          = Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis
|elevation         = 213
|area            = 20.5
|postal_code       = 58332
|area_code         = 02336
|licence           = EN
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 05 9 54 024
|website           = [https://www.schwelm.de/ www.schwelm.de]
|mayor             = Stephan Langhard<ref>[https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/index_bm.shtml Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020], Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2020&ndash;25
|party             = SPD
}}
'''Schwelm''' ({{IPA|de|ʃvɛlm|-|De-Schwelm.ogg}}) is a town in the district of [[Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis]] in the administrative region of [[Arnsberg]] within the state of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] in western Germany.

==Geography==
Schwelm is situated in the southeast of the "''[[Ruhrgebiet]]''", the [[Ruhr district]] of [[Germany]], between [[Westphalia]] and the "''[[Bergisches Land]]''". Schwelm is commonly known as the "''Pforte Westfalens''" ("Gate to [[Westphalia]]").

According to its area, Schwelm is the smallest town in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]].

===Neighbouring places===
Surrounding towns include [[Ennepetal]], [[Gevelsberg]], [[Sprockhövel]] and [[Wuppertal]].

===Division of the town===
Schwelm is called the "town of neighbourhoods". It is made up of the following 13 neighbourhoods:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.schwelmer-nachbarschaften.de/ |title=Schwelm - town of neighbourhoods |access-date=20 October 2013}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
* Aechte de Muer
* Brunnen
* Fronhof
* Linderhausen
* Loh
* Möllenkotten
* Oberstadt
* Oehde
* Ossenkamp
* Parliament
* Rote Wasser
* Winterberg
* Zur alten Post
{{div col end}}

==History==
{{Expand section|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Schwelm 1722.jpg|thumb|Town map by Johann Ricer, 1722]]
The history of Schwelm can be traced back to the ninth century, where it is first mentioned as "Suelmiu". The town of Schwelm was officially established in 1496 and became seat of the [[Ennepe-Ruhr]] [[Districts of Germany|district]] in 1929.

During [[World War II]], [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced laborers]] of the 3rd [[SS construction brigade]] were dispatched in the town by the Nazis in 1943.<ref>{{cite book|last=Megargee|first=Geoffrey P.|year=2009|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume I|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=1385|isbn=978-0-253-35328-3}}</ref>

==Language/dialect==
A Westphalian variety of high German is spoken in Schwelm (Westphalian: from old Saxon ''Westfal'' = "western land"). The Westphalian dialect belongs to the low Saxon dialects, which is a part of the family of low German dialects. Compared to other German regions (e.g., [[Bavaria]] or [[Swabia]]) the dialect does not have a strong influence on the everyday speech. Especially the elderly population is still able to speak Schwelm's original Westphalian tongue, called ''Schwelmer Platt'', which is quite different from standard high German and bears a certain resemblance to Dutch.

==Politics==
The current mayor of Schwelm is Stephan Langhard of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD) since 2020. In the most recent mayoral election on 13 and 27 September 2020, Langhard advanced to the runoff with 41.85% of votes against Philipp Beckmann of the [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP), who won 30.4%. Heinz-Jürgen Lenz, with the endorsement of the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] and [[Alliance 90/The Greens|The Greens]], placed third with 27.8%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wahlergebnisse.stadt-hagen.de/prod/KW2020/05954024/html5/Buergermeisterwahl_NRW_227_Gemeinde_Stadt_Schwelm.html|title=Mayoral election|date=13 September 2020|access-date=26 April 2022|language=de|publisher=City of Schwelm}}</ref> In the runoff, Langhard won with 52.4% of votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wahlergebnisse.stadt-hagen.de/prod/KW2020/05954024/html5/Buergermeisterstichwahl_NRW_305_Gemeinde_Stadt_Schwelm.html|title=Mayoral runoff election|date=27 September 2020|access-date=26 April 2022|language=de|publisher=City of Schwelm}}</ref>

=== Local council ===
[[File:2020 Schwelm City Council election.svg|thumb|350px|Results of the 2020 city council election.]]
The Schwelm 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:

{{election table}}
! colspan=2| Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD)
| 3,302
| 29.5
| {{decrease}} 1.8
| 14
| {{increase}} 2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}| 
| align=left| [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU)
| 2,998
| 26.8
| {{decrease}} 2.7
| 13
| {{increase}} 2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}| 
| align=left| [[Alliance 90/The Greens]] (Grüne)
| 1,794
| 16.1
| {{increase}} 7.1
| 8
| {{increase}} 5
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}| 
| align=left| [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP)
| 1,532
| 13.7
| {{increase}} 6.9
| 7
| {{increase}} 3
|-
| 
| align=left| Schwelmer Voters' Association/Citizens for Schwelm (SWG/BfS)
| 484
| 4.3
| {{decrease}} 3.7
| 2
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}| 
| align=left| [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]] (Die Linke)
| 484
| 4.3
| {{decrease}} 1.4
| 2
| ±0
|-
| 
| align=left| Education, Innovation, Future (BIZ)
| 441
| 3.9
| New
| 2
| New
|-
| colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey| 
|-
| 
| align=left| All for Schwelm (AFS)
| 145
| 1.3
| New
| 0
| New
|-
! colspan=2| Valid votes
! 11,180
! 98.5
! 
! 
! 
|-
! colspan=2| Invalid votes
! 172
! 1.5
! 
! 
! 
|-
! colspan=2| Total
! 11,352
! 100.0
! 
! 48
! {{increase}} 10
|-
! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout
! 22,534
! 50.4
! 
! 
! 
|-
| colspan=7| Source: [http://wahlergebnisse.stadt-hagen.de/prod/KW2020/05954024/html5/Ratswahl_NRW_205_Gemeinde_Stadt_Schwelm.html City of Schwelm]
|}

==Points of interest==
Schwelm has got a historical town center with many old houses, some of which date back to the 18th century. The ''Altmarkt'' is a historical market place lying in front of the tall ''Christuskirche'', the town's principal Protestant church. From the ''Altmarkt'', the decorative street ''Kölner Strasse'' leads uphill and is part of the former road to Cologne.

Until 2011, Schwelm was home to the ''Brauerei Schwelm'', the "Schwelm Brewery", one of few remaining private breweries in North Rhine-Westphalia. Established in 1830 by Haarmann & Kathagen, the brewery was one of the first worldwide to switch from wooden to metal storage containers. The original administration building, the ''Rietz'sche Haus'' built in 1701, is an appealing house in the town center. Most of the brewery's historic production site, however, was torn down in 2012.

The oldest piano manufacturer in the world is located in Schwelm. Since 1794, ''Rud. Ibach Sohn'' has been building pianos and, until 1904, organs in Schwelm.

Europe's biggest fair-trade organisation "GEPA" was founded in Schwelm in the 1970s, but is now located in [[Wuppertal]].

A historical Jewish cemetery, dating from the late 18th century is located in the countryside about 1.3&nbsp;km south of the town's center. It is maintained by the municipality and volunteers.<ref>Helbeck, Gerd: Juden in Schwelm. 1st ed. 1988, 2nd ed. 2007 (written by a renowned town archivist and printed by the local Historical Society, the book includes a chapter on the cemetery)</ref>

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Schwelm is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Partnerstadt|url=https://www.schwelm.de/tourismus/stadtinformationen/partnerstadt|website=schwelm.de|publisher=Schwelm|language=de|access-date=2021-03-09|archive-date=2021-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423152913/https://www.schwelm.de/tourismus/stadtinformationen/partnerstadt|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], France (formerly [[Fourqueux]])

==Notable people==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2007-0037, Gustav Heinemann.jpg|thumb|140px|Gustav Heinemann in 1969]]
*[[Friedrich Christoph Müller]] (1751–1808), theologian and cartographer, lived here in 1785–1808
*[[Friedrich Springorum]] (1858–1938), engineer and entrepreneur
*[[Wilhelm Göcke]] (1898–1944), Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
*[[Gustav Heinemann]] (1899–1976), third president of the [[Federal Republic of Germany]] from 1969 to 1974
*[[Johannes Joachim Degenhardt]] (1926–2002), [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] and [[Archbishopric of Paderborn|archbishop of Paderborn]]
*[[Franz Josef Degenhardt]] (1931–2011), political singer-songwriter
*[[Martin Grötschel]] (born 1948), mathematician
*[[Rolf Rüssmann]] (1950–2009), football player and manager
*[[Torsten Schmidt (cyclist)|Torsten Schmidt]] (born 1972), racing cyclist
*[[Olivia Spiker]] (born 1981), Polish-German amateur boxer

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Schwelm Panorama.jpg|View of the Lindeberg-high ridges of the inner town
Schwelmequelle.jpg|Schwelmequelle
Herbergstraße 12.jpg|Grade II listed building No. 12
Schwelm Schnupftabaksmuehle.jpg|The boating lake excursion restaurant/mill c.1900
Schwelm Altmarkt Christuskirche.jpg|View from the Old Market of the Church
Schwelm Martfeld 43.jpg|Formerly-moated house Martfeld
Schwelm MGS.jpg|Old high-school in the Märkischer
Bahnhof Schwelm.jpg|Schwelm train station
Schwelm Ibach 2007.jpg|Factory building of piano manufacturer Rud. Ibach
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[:Category:Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia|Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Schwelm}}
{{EB1911 poster|Schwelm}}
*{{Official website}} {{in lang|de}}
*[https://www.schwelm.de/aktuelles/stadtinformationen/stadtgeschichte/ History of Schwelm] {{in lang|de}}

{{Cities and towns in Ennepe-Ruhr (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis]]