Verl
Verl | |
|---|---|
 St. Anna Church in Verl | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Verl within Gütersloh district  | |
  Verl  Verl | |
| Coordinates: 51°52′59″N 08°31′00″E / 51.88306°N 8.51667°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Detmold |
| District | Gütersloh |
| Subdivisions | 5 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–25) | Robin Rieksneuwöhner[1] (CDU) |
| Area | |
• Total | 71.37 km2 (27.56 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 85 m (279 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 25,669 |
| • Density | 360/km2 (930/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 33415 |
| Dialling codes | 05246 |
| Vehicle registration | GT |
| Website | www.verl.de |
Verl (German: [fɛʁl] ⓘ) is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is approximately 15 km south of Bielefeld and 10 km east of Gütersloh.
History
[edit]The name Verl was first mentioned in the expression 'Henricus de Verlo', which can be found in a charter from 1264.[3] The designation probably relates to the farm estate Meier zu Verl, which belonged to a group of four estates that presumably came into existence around the turn of the first millennium. Some earlier documented references to estates in this area can be dated back to the year 1188.
In 1512, a chapel was built in the farming community. This chapel was turned into a parish church in 1577 and, since then, has marked the social center for the communities of Verl, Sende and Bornholte. Count Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg sponsored the building of the church of St. Anna at the location of the former chapel in 1792. The construction of this classical hall church was completed in 1801.[3]
Until the establishment of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807 during the Napoleonic period, Verl belonged to the County of Rietberg. From 1807 on, the county was divided into two administrative districts (called cantons) -- Rietberg and Neuenkirchen—comprising the now independent municipalities of Verl, Bornholte, Sende, Liemke, and Österwiehe. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the districts where incorporated into the newly created district of Wiedenbrück.
On July 1, 1838, the canton administration was moved from Neuenkirchen to Verl and, in addition to the aforementioned municipalities, the village of Kaunitz was added to the newly created canton of Verl. With the introduction of a new local government code in the Kingdom of Prussia on October 31, 1841, the canton's name was changed to Amt Verl (meaning department). By this time, Verl already had 6,786 inhabitants.
Another adjustment to the local government code was carried out on January 1, 1970, constituting the current city limits. Now simply called Verl, the municipality consists of five administrative units (Verl, Bornholte, Sürenheide, Sende, and Kaunitz) and belongs to the district of Gütersloh. Verl is a town as of 1 January 2010. In 2017, the town was declared "culturally significant" by the LWL-Geodaten Kultur organization.[4]
Places of interest
[edit]- St. Anna Church
- Timbered houses from the 16th century
- Flea market "Hobbymarkt" - one of the largest flea markets in Germany, every first Saturday of the month
- Verl Button Museum - founded in a former print building in 2014[5]
Important companies
[edit]- Beckhoff New Automation Technology
- Bertelsmann Financial Services
- Miles and More Traveler loyalty
- Nobilia, the European market leader for kitchen furniture
Sport
[edit]SC Verl, an association football club, was founded on 6 September 1924,[6] and since 1970 has consistently played in the higher echelons of amateur football. The club was promoted to the professional national third division in 2020 where it has played ever since.
In 2021, the town of Verl applied to be a host city for an international program as part of the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin. For the occasion of the Olympics, the town was selected to host the Honduran chapter of Special Olympics International.[7] The delegation consisted of 25 people and were to stay in the city for four days total.[8]
Sister cities
[edit]Verl has sister city relationships with the following two cities:[9]
Annaburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (1990)[10]
Delphos, Ohio, United States (1999)
The sister relationship with Annaburg was established in 1990, shortly after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. In the first few years of the relationship, Verl assisted Annaburg in finding a new administration, which would eventually help create new connections between the two cities.
The sister relationship was Delphos was founded in 1999. The town was founded in the 1800s by pastor Johannes Otto Bredeick, a native of Verl, after a period of famine had struck North Rhine-Westphalia.[11] Periodic visits and a student exchange happen between the two towns every year since the sister relationship went into effect.[9]
Politics
[edit]Coat of arms
[edit]In 1970, the council of the newly formed municipality of Verl decided to enact a coat of arms and banner.[12] The coat of arms of the town of Verl is divided into four areas. In the center of the coat of arms is a golden shield. The first and fourth areas of the coat of arms contain a green background with silver oak trees with two golden acorns, while the second and third contain the same imagery with opposite coloration. On the coat of arms of the District of Verl are five diamonds that represent the five municipalities belonging to Amt Verl in the Prussian Kingdom; Verl, Bornholt, Senden, Liemke, and Österwiehe.
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Town of Verl Coat of Arms -
Town banner -
Town flag -
District of Verl Coat of Arms
Logo
[edit]Since 2014, the town of Verl has employed a logo to represent itself publicly.[13] The logo was chosen after a competition took place among several agencies and representatives.[14] The logo contains five multi-colored lines of differing length and the slogan "City of Verl – A Good Reason" (German: Stadt Verl – Ein guter Grund).
Notable people
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Die Glocke: Verls neuer Bürgermeister heißt Robin Rieksneuwöhner
- ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- ^ a b "Stadtgeschichte". Stadt Verl (in German). Verl. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ "Kulturlandschaftlich bedeutsamer Stadt- und Ortskern Verl". www.lwl.org. Landschaftsverband Westfalen‑Lippe (LWL). Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Glocke, Die (2014-09-04). "Knopfmanufaktur ist mehr als Museum". www.die-glocke.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag ISBN 3-89784-147-9
- ^ "Baden-Württemberg" (PDF). assets.berlin2023.org. March 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "Verl App: Special Olympics: Delegation aus Honduras erwartet". Verl App (in German). 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ a b "Städtepartnerschaften | Stadt Verl". www.verl.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". www.verl.de. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ Meißner, Frithjof. "Ursprung und Geschichte der Partnerschaft Verl - Delphos". Amerikanetz (in German). Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ Verl, Stadt. "Stadt Verl · Das Wappen der Stadt Verl". www.verl.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "Stadt Verl · Das Logo". www.verl.de. Archived from the original on 2015-09-17. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ THÖRING, VON ROLAND. "Elegant und stark zugleich". Neue Westfälische (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-18.
External links
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Towns and municipalities in Gütersloh (district) | ||
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
