Hagen

For other uses, see Hagen (disambiguation).

Hagen
Old Town Hall (right) and Square. In the center the Volme Galerie (City Mall).
Flag Coat of arms
Hagen
Coordinates: 51°22′N 7°29′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Urban districts of Germany
Government
• Lord Mayor	Erik O. Schulz (independent)
Area
• Total	160.4 km2 (61.9 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	185,996
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	58000-58139
Dialling codes	02331, 02334, 02337
Vehicle registration	HA
Website	www.hagen.de

Hagen (German pronunciation: [ˈhaːɡən]) is the 41st-largest city in Germany, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (met by the river Ennepe) meet the river Ruhr. As of 31 December 2010 the population was 188,529. The city is home to the FernUniversität Hagen, which is the only state funded distance education university in Germany. Counting more than 67,000 students (March 2010), it is the largest university in Germany. [1]

History

Hengsteysee

Hagen was first mentioned ca. 1200, presumably the name of a farm at the junction of the Volme and the Ennepe. After the conquest of Burg Volmarstein in 1324, Hagen passed to the County of Mark. In 1614 it was awarded to the Margraviate of Brandenburg according to the Treaty of Xanten. In 1701 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.

After the defeat of Prussia in the Fourth Coalition, Hagen was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Berg from 1807–13. In 1815 it became part of the new Prussian Province of Westphalia.

The growth of the city began in the 19th century with the mining of coal and the production of steel in the Ruhr Area. Hagen was the scene of fighting during the Ruhr Uprising, 13 March - 2 April 1920 and has a monument to the Ruhr Red Army.

In 1928 Hagen developed into a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants.

On the night of 1 October 1943, 243 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos from the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command attacked the city. According to the Bomber Command Campaign Diary, "This raid was a complete success achieved on a completely cloud-covered target of small size, with only a moderate bomber effort and at trifling cost." Severe damage was caused.

After World War II the town became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Economy

Owing to the extensive use of water power along the rivers Ruhr, Lenne, Volme and Ennepe, metal processing played an important role in the region of Hagen in and even before the 15th century.

In the 17th and 18th century, textile and steel industries as well as paper production followed.

Hagen is the home of the Suedwestfaelische Industrie- und Handelskammer, as well as Sparkasse Hagen, the local municipal savings bank. The bank's former headquarters, the Sparkasse Hagen tower, was a regional landmark until its demolition in 2004.

The city is heavily indebted and in the process of cutting city services in order to balance its budget.

Attractions

Hagen is home to the LWL-Freilichtmuseum Hagen, or Hagen Open-air Museum, a collection of historic industrial facilities where trades such as printing, brewing, smithing, milling, and many others are represented not simply as static displays, but as living, working operations that visitors may in some cases even be invited to participate in. It is located near the Hagen community of Eilpe. The Historical Center contains the Museum of the City and the Werdringen castle. In the Blätterhöhle cave in Hagen the oldest fossils of modern people in Westphalia and the Ruhr were found. Some date back to the early Mesolithic, 10,700 years B.C. It seems that the descendants of Mesolithic people in this area maintained a foraging lifestyle for more than 2000 years after the arrival of farming societies.

Panoramic view of Hagen (taken from urban forest of Hagen)

Boroughs

Half-timbered houses "Lange Riege" (17th century)

Borough	Population Oct 2007	Area in km²
Hagen-Mitte	78.952	20,5
Hagen-Nord	38.451	29,6
Hagen-Haspe	30.360	22,2
Hagen-Eilpe/Hagen-Dahl	17.148	51,1
Hagen-Hohenlimburg	31.306	37,0

some localities of Hagen:

• Hagen-Dahl
• Hagen-Emst
• Hagen-Priorei
• Hagen-Rummenohl
• Hagen-Halden

Demographics

The following table shows the largest foreign resident groups in the city of Hagen.

Rank	Nationality	Population (2012)
1	Turkey	8,182
2	Italy	3,363
3	Greece	3,019
4	Poland	1,695
5	Portugal	1,121
6	Serbia (incl. Montenegro)	1,108
7	Bosnia and Herzegovina	636
8	Croatia	553
9	Morocco	474
10	Ukraine	320
11	Russia	300
12	Australia	1

Traffic

Shunting yard Hagen-Vorhalle

The Autobahnen A1, A45 and A46 touch Hagen.

Hagen has been an important rail junction for the southeastern Ruhr valley since the first rail line opened in 1848. The shunting yard of Hagen-Vorhalle is among Germany's largest, and the central station offers connections to the ICE network of Deutsche Bahn as well as to local and S-Bahn services. Since December 2005, Hagen has also been the starting point for a new service into Essen, operated by Abellio Rail.

Local traffic is handled by Hagener Straßenbahn (Hagen Tramways), which, despite its name, offers only bus services, as the last tramway route in Hagen was abandoned in May 1976. All local rail and bus services operate under the transport association VRR.

Sport

The German Basketball Federation (DBB) is based in Hagen

Sport clubs in Hagen:

• TSV Hagen 1860 - largest club (multiple fistball champions)
• SSV Hagen (1974 basketball champions), later known as Brandt Hagen
• Phoenix Hagen
• Hasper SV
• Hohenlimburger SV (multiple women water polo champions)

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Hagen is twinned with the following towns:

- Ełk (Poland), since 1955 - Liévin (France), since 1960 - Kouvola (Finland), since 1963 - Montluçon (France), since 1965

- Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Berlin (Germany), since 1967 - Bruck an der Mur (Austria), since 1975 - Smolensk (Russia), since 1985 - Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut (Israel), since 1997

Personalities

• Sir Charles Hallé (Karl Halle) was born here in 1819
• Nena (born 24 March 1960 in Hagen), German pop singer
• Karl Ernst Osthaus (1874–1921), patron of the avant-garde
• Nicholas (Klaus) Rescher (born 15 July 1928) American Philosopher
• Mousse T. (born 2 October 1966 in Hagen), German DJ and record producer
• Kurt Meyer Knights Cross holder
• Franz Bronstert (1895–1967) painter
• Emil Schumacher (1912–1999) painter and co-founder of German abstract art
• Antje Vowinckel (born 1964), sound artist, radio artist and musician.
• Henning Wehn (born 10 April 1974), German comedian
• Bettina Hauert (born 18 June 1982), German professional golfer
• Wilhelm Böing (born 1846 in Hagen-Hohenlimburg), father of the aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company William Boeing

See also

• Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA
• Wippermann jr GmbH

External links

• Official city website