Hamm, Westphalia

Hamm (, Latin: Hammona) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railway station is an important hub for rail transport and renowned for its distinctive station building.

History

Coat of arms The coat of arms has been in use in its present form for about 750 years. It shows the markish chessboard ("märkischen Schachbalken") in red and silver on a golden field. Originally it was the founders' coat of arms, i. e. the Counts of Mark. The chessboard and the colours are often displayed in the coats of arms of further towns founded by that family line. Similarly, the colours of the city are red and white.

Overview The name Ham means "corner" in the old Low German dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name thom Hamme would be used, which evolved slowly into its modern form Hamm. The name derives from the description of the Hamm's location in the corner of the Lippe river and the narrow Ahse affluent, where it was founded on Ash Wednesday in March 1226 by Count Adolf I of the Mark.

1350 The Black death killed nearly all of the citizens. Only seven families survived. 1469 Hamm became a member of the Hanseatic League. It was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the today's Ruhr area still were only tiny villages. 1614 The Treaty of Xanten ends the conflict about the heritage of Cleve-Mark, the Electorate Brandenburg (later Prussia) inherited the Ducal Cleve and the counties Ravensburg and Mark (with Hamm) 1618-1648 Thirty Years' War, Hamm was taken several times by different armed forces and had to endure changing garrisons. Almost all buildings were destroyed, except for the main church St. Georg (today: Pauluskirche) and St. Agnes church. 1657 Establishment of the Gymnasium Illustre (later named Gymnasium Hammonense) with three faculties (theology, jurisprudence and philosophy). 1753 Establishment of the regional court (Landgericht) 1767 "Märkische Kammerdeputation" established 1769 Brewery Isenbeck founded 1787 Changing of the "Märkische Kammerdeputation" into the "Märkische Kriegs- und Domänenkammer" by the Prussian "Generaldirektorium". 1818 Hamm has 4,688 inhabitants. 1820 The regional appeal court moves from Cleve to Hamm. 1847 First train stops at the main station Hamm 1853 Westfälische Union (later Thyssen Draht AG) was founded 1856 Westfälische Draht Industrie was founded (later Klöckner Draht GmbH, today Westfälische Draht Industrie (WDI)) 1901 30,000 inhabitants, the district Hamm is split up into the urban district of Hamm (City) and the district of Unna. 1901 Coal-mine de Wendel in Herringen starts mining (later Heinrich-Robert, now Bergwerk Ost) (first coal output 1904) 1902 Coal-mine Maximilian in Werries/Ostwennemar starts mining (first coal output 1907) 1905 Coal-mine Radbod in Bockum-Hövel starts mining (first coal output 1905) 1912 Coal-mine Sachsen in Heessen starts mining (first coal output 1914) 1914 Datteln-Hamm-Canal is completed including the new city port 1938 The A2 (motorway) reaches Hamm 1939-1945 55 air raids destroy nearly 60% of the old city and leave only a few historical buildings. 1944 Coal-mine Maximillian closes after several problems with water drainage of the hole mine (completely flooded in 1914). 1945 First meeting of the city council after the war 1946 Establishment of the industrial court and the industrial court of appeal by the Allied Control Council. 1953 Windsor Boys' School opens for the children on British Service personnel 1956 Sport airfield founded in the Lippe meadows. 1965 A1 (motorway) reaches Hamm. 1976 Coal-mine Sachsen closes 1983 Windsor Boys' School closes – View the Virtual Tour of the Windsor School / Windsor Boys School Hamm, Germany

1984 First Landesgartenschau (horticultural show of the federal state) of North Rhine-Westphalia is held in Hamm. The old area of the coal-mine Maximillian was used for this purpose. The world largest glass elephant (Glaselefant) is built as the main attraction and until today is one of the major landmarks of the city. 1990 Coal-mine Radbod closes. 2002 Consecration of the Sri Kamadchi Ampal-Temple 2005 Establishment of the university of applied sciences "SRH Fachhochschule Hamm"

Population development

Until 1833 any population is an approximation, in later times the population was counted or updated by the local government or other institutions of the government.

+Significant minority groups Nationality Population (2022) 9,309 3,255 2,034 1,927 1,744 1,563 1,143 871 795 743 631 583 504386 313

Politics and structure Mayor The current Lord Mayor (Oberbürgermeister) of Hamm is Marc Herter of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2020. The Mayor is directly elected for a five-year term. Prior to the 1999 local administration reform in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Oberstadtdirektor was the chief executive of the city, and was chosen by the city council.

The most recent mayoral election was held on 14 September 2025, and the results were as follows:

City council

The Hamm 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) | 25,992 | 37.1 | 2.0 | 22 | 2 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 23,385 | 33.4 | 9.2 | 19 | 6 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 8,925 | 12.7 | 5.5 | 7 | 3 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 3,575 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 3,274 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3 | 3

| align=left| Pro Hamm (WG Pro) | 2,555 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 2 | ±0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| The Left (Die Linke) | 2,068 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 2 | 1 |- | colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey| |- | bgcolor=#553A26| | align=left| The Right (Die Rechte) | 213 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Free Voters (FW) | 122 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0 | ±0 |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 70,109 ! 98.4 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 1,163 ! 1.6 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ! 71,272 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! ±0 |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 136,561 ! 52.2 ! 0.7 ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: State Returning Officer

Incorporations In 1939, 1968 and 1975 Hamm incorporated several towns and municipalities: in 1939 the village Mark (which the Counts and the county took the name of) and in 1968 the villages of Berge and Westtünnen. In the reorganisation of 1975, the following towns and municipalities were incorporated into the City of Hamm:

The town of Bockum-Hövel, Lüdinghausen district The town of Heessen, Beckum district The municipality of Uentrop, Unna district, formed in 1968, including the municipalities of Braam-Ostwennemar, Frielinghausen, Haaren, Norddinker, Schmehausen, Uentrop, Vöckinghausen and Werries The municipality of Rhynern, (Unna district, without Hilbeck incorporated by Werl), formed in 1968, including the municipalities of Allen, Freiske, Hilbeck, Osterflierich, Osttünnen, Rhynern, Süddinker and Wambeln The municipality of Pelkum, (Unna district), formed in 1968, including the municipalities of Herringen, Lerche, Pelkum, Sandbochum, Weetfeld and parts of Wiescherhöfen.

The number of citizens more than doubles from 83.000 in 1974 to 173.000 in 1975.

City structure

Ascheberg1 Drensteinfurt2 Ahlen2 Lippetal3 Werne4 Hamm(Map of Hamm's quarters) Welver3 Bergkamen4 Kamen4 Bönen4 Unna4 1 District Coesfeld2 District Warendorf3 District Soest4 District Unna

Hamm has seven quarters (), each divided into residential areas like City, which actually means the center of the city around the Pauluschurch or like Hövel-Radbod near the former entrance to the coalmine Radbod in the quarter Bockum-Hövel. The following table shows the situation in 2006. Every quarter is named with the prefix Hamm, like Hamm-Bockum-Hövel or Hamm-Mitte. Quarter / Pop. Pop. density Area /km2 /sq mi km2 sq mi Bockum-Hövel 35,468 Heessen 23,639 Herringen 21,077 Mitte 34,407 Pelkum 18,974 Rhynern 18,648 Uentrop 28,122 Total 180.355

The former town Bockum-Hövel today forms the quarter with the largest number of inhabitants, closely followed by the centre of the city Hamm-Mitte. The latter is the smallest quarter by metric size.

Twin towns – sister cities

Hamm is twinned with:

Neufchâteau, France (1967) Santa Monica, United States (1969) Bradford, England, UK (1976) Chattanooga, United States (1977) Mazatlán, Mexico (1978) Toul, France (1987) Oranienburg, Germany (1990) Kalisz, Poland (1991) Afyonkarahisar, Turkey (2006)

Miscellaneous In 2006 Hamm was the first city to accomplish a "Ratsbürgerentscheid" (literally: "council's citizens decision"). Subject of the plebiscite was a plan to build a 43 ha city lake (2007–2010) near the city centre. 136,521 citizens were entitled to vote, 57,563 used that possibility and 56.9% refused their approbation for the project. As minimal vote 20% (of the total 136,521 voters) had to decide between one of the possibilities (20% for Yes or 20% for NO). The city council accepted the voting and stopped the plans. This procedure is planned for future projects in NRW. Also in Hamm established was the "Baugerichtstag e. V." a society organizing a congress about the German building law. The congress is held in a two years term.

Health The largest health facility is the Marien Hospital with its two separate buildings, Marien Hospital I the old building within the centre of the city and Marien Hospital II together 587 beds. Then there is the (EVK Hamm) Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hamm (Protestant Hospital) combined with the children's hospital south of the centre together 493 beds, the St. Barbara Klinik (Clinic) in Heessen with 422 beds and the Malteser Krankenhaus (Hospital) St. Josef in Bockum-Hövel with 260 beds. Additional there are the Klinik für manuelle Therapie (Clinic for manual therapy) within the quarter (138 beds), the spa district. The Westfälisches Institut Hamm für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und psychotherapie (Westphalian Institute Hamm for Children's- and Youth psychiatry and psychotherapy) as an Institute of the federal state (158 beds) and the private Klinik (clinic) am Bärenbrunnen. (All Hospitals together have 2058 beds.) Former Hospitals are: The BWK Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Hamm (Hospital of the Federal Defence Forces) closed in 2007 after a reform of the German forces Knappschaftskrankenhaus (Hospital operated by the health fund for miners (Bundesknappschaft) now Marien Hospital II) Märkische Kinderklinik (Children's Hospital combined with the Elisabeth Kinderklinik and now part of the EVK Hamm as "Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin") St. Elisabeth Kinderklinik (Children's Hospital combined with the Märkische Kinderklinik and now part of the EVK Hamm as "Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin")

Education

Hamm, Westphalia

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