Waltrop
Town
Saint Peter Church
Coat of arms
Location of Waltrop within Recklinghausen district
Waltrop Show map of Germany Waltrop Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°37′N 07°23′E / 51.617°N 7.383°E / 51.617; 7.383
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Recklinghausen
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Marcel Mittelbach[1] (SPD)
Area
• Total	46.98 km2 (18.14 sq mi)
Elevation	67 m (220 ft)
Population  (2021-12-31)[2]
• Total	29,429
• Density	630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	45731
Dialling codes	02309, 02363 (Oberwiese)
Vehicle registration	RE

Waltrop (German pronunciation: [ˈvaltʁɔp] ^ⓘ is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approximately 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund.

Division of the town

The town of Waltrop is surrounded by the Bauerschaften (rural boroughs) Lippe (Unterlippe/Oberlippe), Elmenhorst, Brockenscheidt, Leveringhausen, Oberwiese and Holthausen.

History

People already settled in this area about 2,000 years ago.

The village developed around the parish church of St. Peter which was built in the 9th/10th century. It is known that in 1432 Waltrop was a part of the county Dortmund. After the Soest Feud, the archbishops of Cologne could intervene against the counts of Mark, so that Waltrop became a part of Vest Recklinghausen.

The production of coal in the mine started in 1905. As a consequence, Waltrop grew larger and became an industrial town. The coal mine was closed down in 1979.

In 1939, Waltrop got its municipal rights.

Governance

The town council of Waltrop consists of 36 seats, which are divided into 6 parliamentary groups since September 2020:

• SPD, 13 seats
• CDU, 12 seats
• Greens, 5 seats
• Waltroper Aufbruch (WA), 3 seats
• FDP, 2 seats
• Die Linke, 1 seat

Since 2020 Marcel Mittelbach (SPD) is mayor of Waltrop.

Notable places

Waltrop is home to a museum of old ship lifts, including the Henrichenburg boat lift and a historical coal mine, called Zeche Waltrop.

Local industry

• Manufactum, upscale retailer for traditionally-made household goods
• Langendorf, a tipping trailer manufacturer

Notable people

• Sylvia Dördelmann (born 1970), rower
• Matthias Hues (born 1959), actor and martial artist
• Christoph Korte (born 1965), rower
• Michel Lewandowski (1914–1990), footballer
• Alexander Baumjohann (born 1987), footballer
• Nikolas Breuckmann (born 1988), mathematical physicist

Twin towns – sister cities

Waltrop is twinned with:^[3]

• Herne Bay, England, United Kingdom (1976)
• Cesson-Sévigné, France (1984)
• San Miguelito, Nicaragua (1988)
• Gardelegen, Germany (1990)
• Görele, Turkey (2012)