Lünen

Lünen
Lünen
Town
	View with the bridge on the River Lippe
	Coat of arms
	Location of Lünen within Unna district
	Lünen Lünen
	Coordinates: 51°37′N 7°31′E / 51.617°N 7.517°E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Unna
Subdivisions	14 Stadtteile
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Jürgen Kleine-Frauns
Area
• Total	59.18 km2 (22.85 sq mi)
Elevation	58 m (190 ft)
Population (2022-12-31)
• Total	86,868
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	44532, 44534, 44536
Dialling codes	02306, 0231
Vehicle registration	UN, LÜN
Website	www.luenen.de

Lünen is a town with around 86,000 inhabitants in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund, on both banks of the River Lippe. It is the largest town of the Unna district and part of the Ruhr Area.

In 2009 a biogas plant was built to provide electric power to the city. Lünen is the first city in the world to receive electricity via public utility companies that is generated on the base of animal waste.^[3] The plant produces up to 6.6 MW, supplying 26,000 homes with heat and electricity.^[4]

Culture and main sights edit

Structure

Saint George's Church
Saint Mary's Church
Chateau of Schwansbell
Colani-UFO
Freiherr-vom-Stein School
Town hall of Lünen
Geschwister-Scholl School
Industrial Monument "Moor Crane"

Museum

Museum of the town Lünen
Mining Museum in Lünen South
Mining residential Museum in Lünen Brambauer

Theatre

Heinz-Hilpert theater

Politics edit

The current mayor of Lünen is independent politician Jürgen Kleine-Frauns since 2015; he was originally elected as a member of Together for Lünen (German: Gemeinsam für Lünen = GFL), but later left the party. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:


Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
Candidate		Party	Votes	%	Votes	%
	Rainer Schmeltzer	Social Democratic Party	10,864	40.9	9,824	48.9
	Jürgen Kleine-Frauns	Independent	9,767	36.7	10,282	51.1
	Christoph Tölle	Christian Democratic Union	4,341	16.3
	Sascha Gottwald	Free Voters Lünen	1,624	6.1
Valid votes			26,596	97.7	20,106	98.9
Invalid votes			641	2.3	215	1.1
Total			27,237	100.0	20,321	100.0
Electorate/voter turnout			66,291	41.1	66,247	30.7
Source: City of Lünen (1st round, 2nd round)

City council edit

The Lünen 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:


Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	9,066	33.9	7.0	19	3
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	5,895	22.1	2.5	12	1
	Together for Lünen (GFL)	3,835	14.4	1.1	8	1
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	3,690	13.8	6.4	8	4
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	1,816	6.8	New	4	New
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	922	3.5	0.7	2	±0
	The Left (Die Linke)	846	3.2	0.9	2	±0
	Free Voters Lünen (FW Lünen)	501	1.9	New	1	New

	Independent Fohrmeister	85	0.3	New	0	New
	Independent Rosenkranz	85	0.2	New	0	New
	Independent God	19	0.1	New	0	New
Valid votes		26,730	98.2
Invalid votes		480	1.8
Total		27,210	100.0		56	2
Electorate/voter turnout		66,291	41.1	3.4
Source: City of Lünen

Twin towns - sister cities edit

Lünen is twinned with:^[5]

Bartın, Turkey
Demmin, Germany
Kamień Pomorski, Poland
Panevėžys, Lithuania
Salford, England, United Kingdom
Zwolle, Netherlands

Notable people edit

Jens Beutel (1946–2019), SPD politician, mayor of Mainz 1997–2011
Markus Brzenska (born 1984), footballer
Karl-Heinz Granitza (born 1951), footballer
Björn Höcke (born 1972), AfD politician, Member of Landtag in Thuringia
Theodor Kleine (1924–2014), sprint canoer, Olympic medalist
Friedhelm Konietzka (1938–2012), football player and coach
Wilhelm Kuhne (born 1926), priest (Monsignore) and former rector of the Hardehausen Abbey
Michael Mendl (born 1944), actor
Max Raabe (born 1962), singer and conductor of the Palast Orchester in Berlin
Berndt Röder (born 1948), CDU politician, former president of the Hamburgische Bürgerschaft
Rollergirl (born 1975), singer
Rüdiger Sagel (born 1955), politician Alliance 90/The Greens, later The Left, Member of Landtag North Rhine-Westphalia 1998–2012
Max Simon (1899–1961), SS officer and war criminal
Andreas Thiel (born 1960), handball player
Eckhart Tolle (born 1948), spiritual teacher and author
Clara Vogedes (1892–1983), artist
Ernst Waldschmidt (1897–1985), orientalist and indologist
Wolfgang Wendland (born 1962), singer, politician of the Pogo party
Dieter Zorc (1939–2007), footballer

References edit

^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 30 June 2021.
^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2022 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
^ Pidd, Helen (28 May 2009). "Poo power to the people". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
^ "German city uses waste to generate green energy". Building. Building Sustainable Design. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
^ "Städtepartnerschaften". luenen.de (in German). Lünen. Retrieved 2021-02-19.

[1] Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 30 June 2021.

[2] "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2022 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 20 June 2023.

[3] Pidd, Helen (28 May 2009). "Poo power to the people". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2021.

[4] "German city uses waste to generate green energy". Building. Building Sustainable Design. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2021.

[5] "Städtepartnerschaften". luenen.de (in German). Lünen. Retrieved 2021-02-19.

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