Bergkamen

Bergkamen (Westphalian: Biärgkoamen) is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated south of the river Lippe, approx. 15 km north-east of Dortmund and 15 km south-west of Hamm.

Bergkamen, a fairly new town in the east part of the Ruhr Area and south of the Münsterland, was founded in 1966 by the merging of at first five smaller communities. The town‘s history, however, reaches back to ancient Roman times - this can be experienced by visiting the Bergkamen Municipal Museum, which has a large Roman department, and the nearby archeological site, the “Roemerlager“.

Main sights

 * Westphalian Sports Boat Centre - Marina Ruenthe
 * The neighbouring national trust area, “Beversee“, and the wooded hill, “Grosses Holz“, a renaturalized former slag heap, provide an inviting atmosphere for relaxation.

Cultural events

 * Harbour Festival ("Hafenfest") in June
 * Light Festival ("Lichtermarkt") in October.

Bergkamen is home to theatre performances at the “studio theater bergkamen“ and numerous exhibitions in the town‘s own art gallery “sohle1“ or the “Stadtmuseum“

History
In February 1946, a coal mine in the city suffered a dust explosion that killed 418 miners. This was the worst mining accident in German history.

Twin towns – sister cities
Bergkamen is twinned with:
 * 🇩🇪 Hettstedt, Germany (1990)
 * 🇹🇷 Silifke, Turkey (1994)
 * 🇫🇷 Gennevilliers, France (1995)
 * 🇵🇱 Wieliczka, Poland (1995)

Notable people

 * Ernst von Bodelschwingh-Velmede (1794–1854), Prussian Minister of Interior and Cabinet
 * Carl von Bodelschwingh (1800–1873), Prussian Finance Minister
 * Ernst von Bodelschwingh (1906–1993), politician (Member of Bundestag, CDU)
 * Hans Sennholz (1922–2007), economist
 * Dietrich Schwanitz (1940–2004), best-selling author, grew up in Rünthe
 * Eugen Drewermann (born 1940), theologian, church critic, best-seller author
 * Peer Steinbrück (born 1947), politician (SPD), Member of Landtag, for Bergkamen 2000–2005
 * Konrad Ott (born 1959), philosopher and ethicist
 * Heiko Antoniewicz (born 1965), cook
 * Frauke Petry (born 1975), politician (AfD), lived in Bergkamen and went to school there