Tax return Hattingen is one of the oldest municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in 1396 and has a picturesque historic district with Fachwerk houses, built between the 14th and 16th centuries. It is also famous for its numerous restaurants and cafés.
A large part of the city was destroyed in World War II. In the years after the war, Hattingen has rebuilt itself and is now a modern industrial town with many new shopping malls and leisure facilities. It is also home to the world’s largest escalator factory. The municipal area of Hattingen covers 71 square kilometres. It has 60,490 inhabitants.
In the medieval times, Hattingen and Blankenstein were heavily fortified with stone walls, defensive towers and five city gates. Three of the castles within the municipal area remain today: Isenburg, a moated castle on the hillides above the Ruhr river; Blankenstein Castle and Haus Kemnade, a renaissance manor house.
After the revolution of 1922, Hattingen was ruled by socialist councillors until 2004. From then on, the municipality has been led by a mayor from the CDU. In the elections of 2020, she loses her mandate to the SPD candidate Lars Konig.
The municipal reorganisation creates a bigger, newer city consisting of the city of Hattingen, most parts of Blankenstein and five communities of the former “Hattingen-Land” (Bredenscheid-Stuter, Niederelfringhausen, Oberelfringhausen, Oberstuter, Winz). Its administrative center is the historical town centre of Hattingen.
The Reshop-Carre, a 11,500 qm big shopping mall is opened in conjunction with a city festival. Around 30 shops for clothing, hardware, electronics and telecommunication are settled in this new attraction. In addition, a new fire station at the Wildhagen is completed. The city festival has a new theme every year. This includes a parade, a musical and various cultural events. In the same year, all five medieval gates are reinterpreted by internationally known artists. These are now a major attraction for visitors. In addition, gyms are provided for hundreds of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Steuererklärung Hattingen