Kempen, Germany
Kempen | |
|---|---|
 Old School Street | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Kempen
within Viersen district  | |
Location of Kempen | |
  Kempen  Kempen | |
| Coordinates: 51°21′57″N 6°25′10″E / 51.36583°N 6.41944°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Düsseldorf |
| District | Viersen |
| Subdivisions | 4 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2025–30) | Christoph Dellmanns |
| Area | |
• Total | 68.8 km2 (26.6 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 68 m (223 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Population (2024-12-31)[1] | |
• Total | 34,105 |
| • Density | 496/km2 (1,280/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 47906 |
| Dialling codes | 02152 / 02845 |
| Vehicle registration | VIE / KK |
| Website | www |
Kempen (German: [ˈkɛmpn̩] ⓘ) is a town in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Düsseldorf, and 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Venlo.
History
- 1186: First mention in official documentation of Kempen as a place – the sovereign until 1794 is the Archbishop (electoral prince) of Cologne
- around 1290: Kempen is rebuilt as a fortified town
- 11 March 1294: First confirmation of Kempen as a town in official documentation
- 15th century: town blooms economically and culturally (population of approx. 4,200)
- 1542–1543: Kempen is the centre of the Reformation for the Lower Rhine
- 1579: The plague costs the town almost half of its inhabitants
- 1642: Kempen is conquered and destroyed by the allied French, Hessian and Weimar troops during the "Hessen War" (Thirty Years' War)
- 1794–1814: Kempen is under French rule. In the département of Roer established in 1797, Kempen becomes a canton seat in 1798 and a French town in 1801.
- 1815: After the Congress of Vienna, Kempen becomes Prussian and is the county seat
- 1929: Due to local reforms, Kempen becomes the administrative seat of the county of Kempen-Krefeld
- 1966 onward: Restoration of the old town
- 1970: Communal restructuring: The communities of Hüls, St. Hubert, Tönisberg and Schmalbroich join Kempen along with the localities of St. Peter and Unterweiden to form a single town
- 1975: In further local reforms, Hüls is assigned to the city of Krefeld. The county of Viersen is formed and Kempen becomes part of "Kreis Viersen"
- 1984: The county seat is transferred from Kempen to Viersen.
- 1987: A cultural forum is opened in the Franciscan monastery after comprehensive restoration and renovation work.
- 11 March 1994: Date of the 700-year jubilee of the confirmation of Kempen as a town
Politics
The current mayor is Christoph Dellmanns who has been serving since 2020. In the 2025 local elections, he was reelected with 89 % of votes. His only opponent was Joachim von Contzen of Die PARTEI.[2]
Council
After the 2025 elections, the Kempen city council is composed as follows:
| Party | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 6,887 | 38.0 |  1.5
|
20 | ±0 | |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 3,157 | 17.4 | 0.7
|
9 | ±0 | |
| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 2,939 | 16.2 | 6.2
|
8 | 3
| |
| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 1,754 | 9.7 |  7.8
|
5 | 4
| |
| Free Voters Kempen (FWK) | 1,275 | 7.0 | 3.2
|
4 | 2
| |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,047 | 5.8 | 2.7
|
3 | 1
| |
| The Left (Die Linke) | 726 | 4.0 | 1.9
|
2 | 1
| |
| ÖDP-Citizens Initiative Kempen (ÖDP-BIKK) | 255 | 1.4 | 1.6
|
1 | 1
| |
| The PARTY (PARTEI) | 85 | 0.5 | New | 0 | New | |
| Valid votes | 18,125 | 98.9 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 198 | 1.1 | ||||
| Total | 18,323 | 100.0 | 52 | 2
| ||
| Electorate/voter turnout | 28,523 | 64.2 | ||||
| Source: City of Kempen | ||||||
Twin towns – sister cities
Wambrechies, France (1972)- Orsay, France (1973)
East Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom (1978)
Werdau, Germany (1990)
Notable people
- Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471)
- John Brugman (?–1473), Franciscan friar and preacher in Flanders
- Wilhelm Hünermann (1900–1975), priest and writer
- Adolph Moses Radin (1848–1909), rabbi
- Udo Schiefner (1959–2025), politician
- Isabel Varell (born 1961), actress and singer
- Bernhard van Treeck (born 1964), psychiatrist and author
- Tobias Koch (born 1968), pianist
- Daniel Altmaier (born 1998), Tennis player
- Luca Witzke (born 1999), Handball player
- Jordan Beyer (born 2000), Football player
Gallery
-
View in a street -
Church -
Towngate (Das Kuhtor) -
Lutheran church (Thomas Church) -
.jpg)
Hessenmühle -
Kempen Castle
References
- ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2024 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus 2022" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW.
- ^ "Wahlergebnispräsentation Stadt Kempen Bürgermeisterwahl" (in German). 14 September 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ "Partnerstädte | Stadt Kempen". www.kempen.de. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kempen (Niederrhein).
- Official website
(in German)
Towns and municipalities in Viersen (district) | ||
|---|---|---|
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907). "Kempen". The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.