Homepage Hamm Today E-mail: mailbox@claus-peters.de Startseite Hamm Reisen English Version
Hamm Today
Many people know Hamm as the central railway junction, but Hamm is more than that. It is a city with many faces. Some facets will be touched upon below. At the interface between Münsterland, Sauerland and Ruhr district Hamm is a city in a green countryside with numerous parks such as the Maximilian Park including the butterfly house and the green "Bad Hamm". The Maximilian Park was established in 1984 on the occasion of the 1st North Rhine-Westphalia national garden show on the former site of the Maximilian colliery. Also Concerts and other events take place here. Especially the world's largest glass elephant (34 m high) as a new landmark of Hamm is known nationwide (picture on the home page). He was evolved from the coal washing plant of the former colliery. Also the banks of the River Lippe including its landscape and the Datteln-Hamm-Canal invite to a walk or to stop off at a restaurant. Hamm provides many recreational opportunities, such as on board of the canal ship "Santa Monika III" on the Datteln-Hamm-Canal or a ride on the well-developed bicycle path network. Leisure, sport and health are together in the "Maximare Erlebnistherme Bad Hamm" with Aqua World, saltwater pool, sauna Resort, Spa Resort and Cafe Mare. Hamm is a shopping city with over a 1 km long pedestrian zone and an "Allee-Center" of the ECE Project Management GmbH & Co. KG, with over 80 specialty shops, where you can buy and stroll regardless of the weather. Even in the individual districts of Hamm there are more shops and shopping centers. The justice is located in Hamm. Since 1820, Hamm has been the seat of the largest German Higher Regional Court. The Higher Regional Court of Hamm area of responsibility includes 10 District Courts and 78 Local Courts. The Prosecutor General as well as the Judicial Examination Office, Attorney Court of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Duty Court Of The Judges are located in the building of the Higher Regional Court. Other legal authorities in Hamm are the Local Court, the Higher Labour Court and the Labour Court. Federal, country and local authorities make Hamm an authority city. Important branches of industry are wire industry/steel processing (e.g. the companies “voestalpine Böhler Thyssen Welding GmbH”, Salzgitter Mannesmann Line Pipe GmbH, Salzgitter Mannesmann Precision GmbH and Westfälische Drahtindustrie GmbH), chemicals (e.g. Du Pont De Nemours GmbH, Lacke and Beizenfabrik Hesse GmbH & Co) power generation by coal-fired power or steam and gas fired power plants (RWE power AG, Trianel) and electrical engineering (e.g. motor vehicle supplier Hella KG Hueck & Co). With the shutdown of the coalmines an industrial structural change was also carried out. So numerous logistics enterprises have locations in Hamm (EDEKA Logistikzentrum, Metro Group Logistic GmbH, Plus Logistik- und Dienstleistungsges. mbH, Claas Service and Parts GmbH, Trinkgut Getränke-Logistik). In addition there are companies in the construction industry (e.g. Hoffmeier Industrieanlagen GmbH & Co. KG) and the food industry is represented in Hamm. Hamm became a logistics center in the eastern Ruhr district. Altogether, Hamm has a versatile economic structure. Hamm can't be reached only across rail and street as a logistics centre but also in the European inland-waterway infrastructure over the Datteln-Hamm-Canal. The town port Hamm is the second biggest public canal port in Germany. Major transshipment goods are mineral oils, petrol, oil-bearing seeds, edible oil, feedstuff, corn, fertilizers, stones, earths, coal and steel. Education is written with a capital letter in Hamm. The first private university in 2005 became the SRH University for Logistics and Economy officially recognized university. In 2009, the state University Hamm-Lippstadt started operation. 2012 Studies of energy technology and resource optimization, biomedical technology, technical management and marketing, mechatronics, industrial engineering and computational design have been offered. One can continue his education soundly about building lastingly also in the known Ecological-Centre NRW in Hamm-Heessen. Among the most important cultural institutions in Hamm there are the "Westfälischen Freilichtspiele e.V. Waldbühne Heessen" ("Westphalian Open-Air Festival Association Waldbühne Heessen") amateur's most frequented open-air theater in Germany, the Helios Theater with his ensemble, and the "Kurhaus" as a play location for many touring stages. The "Kurhaus" is located in a 300,000 sq. m. beautiful park. The origins of the "Kurhaus" dates back to 1867. Even the Gustav-Lübcke-Museum in the modern museum building from 1993 is worth a visit. A special addition to the exhibition center of gravity is the Egyptian art. The exhibition is one of the largest in North Rhine-Westphalia. Greek and Roman art, city and the region's history and applied arts of the 20th Century are also represented. The coin-cabinet-mirror of many historical epochs, belongs to the most famous collections of North Rhine-Westphalia. Bookworms will find a large media offer in the new central library of the city of Hamm, which has been housed since 2010 in the new Heinrich-von-Kleist-Forum at the station. Impressive is the novel technique of a self-checkout system, automatic return to the media and a sorting facility with support straps. Besides the Central Library in Heinrich-von-Kleist-Forum, the University of Economics and Logistics (SRH) and the Community College are located. A popular destination is the zoo in Hamm (area of 6.5 ha). There are about approximately 88 different species. Among these the small "Meerkat" is the most popular for the visitors in 2012. The meerkats are housed in a 250 square meter enclosure, which is modeled after an African semi-desert. Hamm has lots of other attractions. Some are listed below: Secular Buildings: • Castle Oberwerries, 17th century, origins of 1284 • Castle Heessen, 13th century, origins of 975 • Old Brewery of Castle Ermelinghof, 13th century • House Vorschulze, 18th century • Houses Henin and Freese, 16th and 19th century • Stunikenhaus, 18th century Historical Monuments (churches) • Protestant St. Paul's Church (St. George and Lawrence's Church until 1911), 13th - 14th century • Protestant Pankratius Church in Mark Hamm, 11th - 14th century • Former. Cath. St. Pankratius Church in Hamm- Hövel (oldest church in Hamm), 11th century • Protestant Parish Church in Hamm-Berge, 11th century • St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Hamm-Berge, 1924 • St. Agnes Catholic Church, 15th century • Protestant Parish Church of St. Victor in Hamm-Pelkum, 11th century • Protestant Parish Church of St. Jacobus in Hamm Pelkum, 11th - 14th century • Catholic Parish Church of St. Regina Hamm-Rhynern, 12th century • Protestant Parish Hamm-Uentrop, 11th century • Protestant Parish Hamm-Rhynern, 17th century • Catholic Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche), 1899 Hamm has city partnerships with the following cities: • Bradford (Great Britain) • Chattanooga (Tennessee/USA) • Santa Monica (Kalifornien/USA) • Mazatlan (Mexico) • Neufchâteau (France) • Toul (France) • Kalisz (Polen) • Afyonkarahisar (Turkey) • Oranienburg (Germany)
Hamm in statistical figures Geograhical Position: 51° 40’ 57” northen latitude and 7° 49’ 13” east of Greenwich, 63 meter above mean sea level, Territory: 226 sq km Length of the city limits: 104 km Biggest expansion: west-east 21,9 km, north-south 18,2 km Inhabitans: 178.000 (situation 31.12.2013)  *) Traffic loction: Datteln-Hamm-Canal as well as approach to the motorways A 1, A 2, A 44 and A 445, ICE railway junction, Airport of the Air Sports Club Hamm *) Source: Administration City of Hamm
Maximilianpark Entrance Higher Regional Court Allee-Center Hamm Canal Port Hamm Zoo Hamm, meerkat Gustav Lübcke Museum
Click images to enlarge.
Heinrich-von-Kleist-Forum, Central Library, Community Collage This page in german
More city views can be seen on the page “Hamm Image Gallery”.