Hückeswagen
Town
City administration office in the Hückeswagen Palace
Coat of arms
Location of Hückeswagen within Oberbergischer Kreis district
Hückeswagen Show map of Germany Hückeswagen Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°8′42″N 7°20′30″E / 51.14500°N 7.34167°E / 51.14500; 7.34167
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Oberbergischer Kreis
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Dietmar Persian[1] (Ind.)
Area
• Total	50.46 km2 (19.48 sq mi)
Elevation	308 m (1,010 ft)
Population  (2021-12-31)[2]
• Total	14,706
• Density	290/km2 (750/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	42499
Dialling codes	02192
Vehicle registration	GM
Website	www.hueckeswagen.de

Hückeswagen (German pronunciation: [ˈhʏkəsˌvaːɡn̩] ^ⓘ) is a town in the north of Oberbergischen Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the governmental district of Cologne.

Geography

Hückeswagen is situated on the river Wupper. Two dams, Bevertal dam and Wuppertal dam, are near the city. Hückeswagen's location in the narrow valley and well as the castle mountain are notable. It is located approximately 40 km away from Cologne. Nearby towns are Radevormwald, Wipperfürth, Wermelskirchen and Remscheid.

The coat of arms of Hückeswagen

The arms were granted on August 9, 1892. The arms show in the upper part the lion from the arms of the Counts of Berg, who bought the area in 1260 from the Counts of Hückeswagen. The lower part is a symbol for the textile industry, which has been important to the town since the late Middle Ages. The combination of lion and spindle appears first in a seal from 1555.

History

Hückeswagen was an ancestral seat of the counts of Hückeswagen and in 1085 became for the first time a Franconian Salhof, or saddle court, in form of a "confirmation of a donation of the genotypes of the Essen abbess Svanhild among other things by emperors Heinrich IV. (HRR)" mentions documentary. (Documentary first namings oberbergische places v. Klaus Pampus).

Between 1220 and 1240 the counts of Hückeswagen moved to Bohemia and built the "Hukvaldy" and "Alttitschein" castles.

Between 1490 and 1508 the "Nikolaus church" was built. Later the "Paulus church" was established after a fire.

Town privileges were given to Hückeswagen on 4 April 1859 according to Rhenish town order. From 1861 to 1920 Hückeswagen consisted of the municipality and Neuhückeswagen, a juridically rural community. On 1 March 1920 the juridically independent municipalities were combined. On 18 October 1875 the still young city was connected to the railroad network. During the period of industrialisation Hückeswagen had a significant textile industry. Cloth available in Hückeswagen today testifies to the great prosperity of the industrial families. The importance of the town as the center of the local area has been reduced in last few decades as the neighbouring town Wipperfürth received some municipal and public facilities to establish itself as an important center. Because of municipal reform, in 1975 the town lost the share of Bergisch Born in Remscheid.

On July 12, 1969 Joachim Kroll murdered Maria Hettgen, 61, near here.

Population

On 31 August 2004 Hückeswagen had 16,541 inhabitants; 1,209 residents are of foreign origin. The number of females (8,561) exceeds the male inhabitants (7,983).

Origin of the name

Market street in Hückeswagen

The name derives from the earlier form "Hukensuuage" or "Huckengeswage", signifying the settlement of a man named Hugobert or Hugibald. Local history researcher Wilhelm Blankertz presents a different theory in his publications, that the oldest local name was "Hukengesuuage", meaning "settlement of the Hunginger family near the water". The settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1085 in a deed issued by the abbess Svanhild of Essen to a nobleman. Around 1298 the form "Huckenshove" came into use.

Places of interest

Swan pond at castle Hueckeswagen

• The historic city center
• Hückeswagen Castle and the local history museum
• Catholic parish church - Sankt Mariä Himmelfahrt
• Paulus church - Protestant
• Johannis church - Protestant
• Swan pond in the town park
• The Bever dam and the Wuppertal dam offer recreational opportunities with their vast traveling and water sport possibilities.
• Hückeswagner mills

Local area

Economy

Enterprises

The biggest employer in the town is "Klingelnberg", a mechanical engineering company.

Traffic

Personalities

Johann Heinrich Jung in 1801

• Willi Daume (1913-1996)- former National Olympic Committee president
• Heidemarie Ecker-Rosendahl - 1972 Summer Olympics long jump winner
• Johann Heinrich Jung (1740-1817), author
• Vinzenz Jakob von Zuccalmaglio, named Montanus (in 1806-1876)
• Maria Zanders (née Johanny; born 1839)
• Peter Biesenbach - German politician, Landtag member
• Walter Ufer (born here 1876) - American artist based in Taos, New Mexico
• Jörg Guido Hülsmann - economist
• Julian Wasserfuhr - jazz trumpeter
• Roman Wasserfuhr - jazz pianist, composer and arranger

International relations

Hückeswagen is twinned with:

• Étaples sur Mer (France), since 29 July 1972.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hückeswagen.

• Official site (in German)
• General information about the town (in German)
• MyTown Hückeswagen (in German)
• Town marketing (in German)