Town history
1050- First documentation
About 1050 Herten was mentioned as “Herthene” in an assessment register of the abbey Werden at the Ruhr. During the mediaeval times Herten belonged to the electorate cologne.
The castle of Herten provided a residence for nearly 300 years of the proconsul of the kurkönischen Vestes.
1857 – Herten becomes an independent country community
Between 1844 and 1856 Herten was an independent country community in the Amtsverband Recklinghausen. After the separation in the year 1857, Herten got an own administration. Count Felix Dorste zu Vischering von Nesselrode-Reichenstein allocated at first the Renteigebäude of the castle for the administration of the office of Herten. Several years later the comital house at the Hermannstr./corner Kaiserstr. acts as the administrative office at the Kaiserstr. 20 (today Kurt-Schumacher-Str.) was established.
1872 – The coal mining is catching on
About until 1870 the urban area had a rural imprint. The entering of the coal mining in the year 1872 activated a rapid development and the population increased by leaps and bounds.
Today the garden settlement built up about 1910 in Bertlich is still obtained in its structure.
With the first ground-breaking to the pit I of the coal mine Schlägel & Eisen on the 01. June in 1874 for Disteln started a steadily development from the agrarian landscape to industrial landscape. After sinking of the second pit in the year 1890 an enormous economical boom of the mining set in, so that in Langenbochum, Scherlebeck and Herten-Süd more pits were attached.
The first coal mining employees hailed from Herten and the closer proximity. Together with the enormous economical boom of the mining at the end of the 19th century, the labour offer of the surrounding, wasn´t sufficient. Labours were hired purposefully. They came mainly out of German municipalities. But also a lot of foreigners, especially Polands, Slovenes immigrated to Herten. The population increases till 1926 fort about thirtyfold. Herten became one of the biggest mining towns of Europe.
1901 – The first tram in Herten
To provide enough living space for the many immigrants the construction activity of flats was very brisk. The sanitary circumstances were primitive in the beginning. There were no drinking water supply and canalization till 1896. Open channels served for the run off of the sullages.
In the year 1882 a street lighting – four cloudy petroleum lanterns – were installed for the first time. An enormous progress was the construction of a gas works. It was built up at the Herner Str. On the today´s area of the “Hertener Stadtwerke” and was opened up on the 29th of September in 1900. On the 10th of May in 1901 the first tram drove through Herten and displaced the “Pferde-Omnibus”, which was the single public transport till then.
Because there was no electricity during the foundation of the tram association in Herten a power station for the electric power supply had to be built. The Betriebsbahnhof was located in the south of Herten.
1926 – First municipal reorganization
By the law of the municipal reorganization in the Rhenish-Westfalian industrial area the farming communities Ebbelich, Disteln, Langenbochum and Scherlebeck were redeemed from the department Recklinghausen on the first of April in 1926 and affiliated to Herten. The population increased thereby from 14.991 to 35.500, the municipal area expanded from 1.500 to 2.900 ha.
The municipal Herten in the district Recklinghausen, who hold an urban characteristic because of its population the size of its area, its economical importance and the occupational structure and living ways of the citizens conditional upon that, the transport connection, the cultural and social institutions, I am awarding hereby due to the § 9 of the German Municipal Code the authorization to bear the appellation town.
1936 – Herten receives town ordinances and privileges
The town ordinances and privileges gained Herten on the 20th April in 1936. The authorization was awarded, because “
In connection with the award of the town on the 8th of June 1936 the authorization was also awarded by the Oberpräsident of the province Westphalia to hold an own city arms. After extensive negotiations with the public record office of Minster and many Heraldry, the mayor and the alderman decided one coat of arms on the 30th april / 02. May 1936. The actual coat of arms goes back at a seal of the Gerlach van Herten anno 1392 and the seal of Westerholt.
At the head of the field is a silver deer antler with green background. It indicates the origin of the name - "hert" meant Middle Low German "deer". Concerning the in the left bottom of the field located red rose, a historical reference couldn´t be proved till today. The public record office Münster argues that it is in no case a lippesche (of the former county Lippe), but is simple a heraldic (servers for decoration) rose. In the course of the municipal reorganization in 1975 the city arms of Herten was amended with a chessed symbol in the bottom of the right field, which is taken from the city arms of messieurs and the later count of Westerholt.
1975 - Town marriage between Herten and Westerholt/Bertlich
Because of the refugee and displaced inflow after the second worldwar and the attraction of mining, the population increased in 1960 up to 53.000. On the 01. January 1975 the coalition with the city Westerholt and the local centre of Polsum Bertlich to the actual whole town takes place within the municipal reorganization.
Already in 1970 politician dealt with the, of the land planned municipal reorganization, which envisions the union Herten / Recklinghausen and Westerholt / Gelsenkirchen. Finally bigger and stronger administration units should be developed. But neither Herten nor Westerholt wanted to be "swallowed" by the big partner Recklinghausen and Westerholt, but alone they wouldn´t have survived.
A hard engagement time begun and the former local politician had to show a lot of negotiation skills till the marriage was realized. On the 26th March 1973 it happened: area amendment contract of Herten, Westerholt and the community Polsum was signed and came into force on the first January in 1975. The exact wording of the area amendment contract said:"The town Herten is with the coming into force of the reorganization legal successor of the town Westerholt. The arrangement comes into force with the reorganization law for the Ruhr area. Today Herten has together with the urban districts Westerholt and Bertlich a size of 37,31 square kilometer and count on the due date 31th December 2000 exact 67.191 inhabitants.