Moers

Moers (; older form: Mörs; Dutch: Murse, Murs or Meurs) is a German city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel.

History

Known earliest from 1186, the county of Moers was an independent principality within the Holy Roman Empire.

During the Eighty Years' War it was alternately captured by Spanish and Dutch troops, as it bordered the Upper Quarter of Guelders. During the war it finally fell to Maurice of Orange. As it was separated from the Dutch Republic by Spanish Upper Guelders it did not become an integral part of the Republic, though Dutch troops were stationed there.

After the death of William III of Orange in 1702, Moers was inherited by the king of Prussia. All Dutch troops and civil servants were expelled.

In 1795 it was annexed by France. At the Congress of Vienna, in 1815 it was returned to Prussia and in 1871 it became part of the German Empire.

A target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the Steinkohlenbergwerke () Rheinpreussen synthetic oil plant in Moers, was partially dismantled post-war.

Population

Sports In 1985, the Moers Sports Club (volleyball) was formed, winning the 1989 Bundesliga championship.

Notable people

Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769), lay preacher, mystic and poet. Georg Perthes (1869–1927), surgeon and radiologist (Perthes disease) Anna Erler-Schnaudt (1878–1963), contralto Hans Dammers (1913–1944), Luftwaffe ace Walter Niephaus (1923–1992), chess master Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1925–2005), comedian, writer Hubert Hahne (1935–2019), racing driver Helmut Kelleners (born 1939), racing driver Herman Weigel (born 1950), film producer and screenwriter Armin Hahne (born 1955), racing driver Jürgen Renn (born 1956), physicist and historian of science Helga Trüpel (born 1958), politician (Alliance 90/The Greens) Jörg van Ommen (born 1962), racing driver Katja Nass (born 1968), fencer Stephan Paßlack (born 1970), footballer Christian Ehrhoff (born 1982), ice hockey player Timo Weß (born 1982), field hockey player Benjamin Weß (born 1985), field hockey player Regina Abelt (born 1954), first First Lady of Ethiopia (1995–2001)

Politics

List of mayors 1815–1820: Wilhelm Urbach 1822–1830: von Nievenheim 1830–1850: Friedrich Adolf Vinmann 1850–1859: Karl von Strampff 1860–1864: Gottlieb Meumann 1864–1897: Gustav Kautz 1898–1910: August Craemer 1910–1915: Richard Glum 1917–1937: Fritz Eckert 1937–1941: Fritz Grüttgen 1943–1945: Peter Linden 1945–1946: Otto Maiweg 1946: Karl Peschken 1946–1952: Wilhelm Müller 1952–1977: Albin Neuse (SPD) 1977–1999: Wilhelm Brunswick (SPD) 1999–2004: Rafael Hofmann (CDU) 2004–2014: Norbert Ballhaus (SPD) 2014-2025: Christoph Fleischhauer(CDU) 2025–: Julia Zupancic (CDU)

City council

The Moers city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2 | Party ! Votes ! % ! ± ! Seats ! ± |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 12,431 | 31.3 | 3.2 | 17 | 2 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 11,593 | 29.2 | 8.5 | 16 | 4 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 6,563 | 16.5 | 7.5 | 9 | 4 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 2,548 | 6.4 | New | 3 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,860 | 4.7 | 0.3 | 2 | 1

| align=left | Die Grafschafter (Graf) | 1,544 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2 | 2 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | Die PARTEI | 1,302 | 3.3 | New | 2 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | The Left (Die Linke) | 1,125 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2 | 1

Twin towns – sister cities

Moers is twinned with:

Maisons-Alfort, France (1966) Bapaume, France (1974) Knowsley, England, United Kingdom (1980) Ramla, Israel (1987) La Trinidad, Nicaragua (1989) Seelow, Germany (1990) Stazzema, Italy (2019)

See also Moers Festival Burma-Shave, which awarded a trip to Moers in a 1955 promotion

References

External links

Tourism and culture. Personal guide to the city of Moers

Moers

Bron en licentie