Wermelskirchen

Wermelskirchen (Ripuarian: Wärmelßkirrshe) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m).

Geography
The distance to Cologne is about 35 kilometers, to Düsseldorf about 45 kilometers. The neighboring municipalities are Remscheid, Hückeswagen, Wipperfürth, Kürten, Odenthal, Burscheid and Solingen. The townscape is characterized by Altberg slate and half-timbered houses.

Coat of arms
The coat-of-arms of the city of Wermelskirchen looks like a silver shield split into thirds. In the left field is an oak tree. In the right field there is a Swan and pictured in the middle field there is a church.

History
From 1822 to 1945, Wermelskirchen was part of the Prussian Rhine Province.

Education
Wermelskirchen has an Evangelical, a Roman Catholic church and a Latin school.

Economy
The city has the head office of OBI and the origin of the caster manufacturer TENTE.

Twin towns – sister cities
Wermelskirchen is twinned with:
 * 🇩🇪 Forst, Germany
 * 🇫🇷 Loches, France

Notable people

 * Carl Leverkus (1804–1889), founder of a German chemical and pharmaceutical company and the namesake of the city of Leverkusen
 * Uwe Boll (born 1965), film director and writer, restaurateur and founder of Bauhaus Restaurant chains in Canada
 * Tim Schrick (born 1976), racecar driver, and television presenter
 * Thomas Kleine (born 1977), footballer
 * Christian Lindner (born 1979), politician and Federal Minister of Finance (2021–present)

Honorary citizens

 * 1876: Ludwig von Bohlen
 * 1889: Carl Leverkus
 * 1895: Otto von Bismarck
 * 1933: Paul von Hindenburg