Where is Castrop-Rauxel?

Altstadt of Castrop-Rauxel, photo by Ludger1961, license: CC-BY-SA-3.0, original URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Altstadt_Castrop_mit_Foerderturm_Erin.jpgMarket fountain in Castrop-Rauxel, photo by Arnoldius, license: CC-BY-SA-3.0, original URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castrop-Rauxel_fountain_at_marketplace.jpgWith a population of 75,000 inhabitants, Castrop-Rauxel is a medium-sized city in the northwest of Germany. It borders on the major cities Dortmund and Bochum and all three are part of the Ruhr area with over 5 million inhabitants - the biggest metropolitan area of Germany and the fifth-biggest of Europe. The region is outstanding in regards to infrastructure, culture and knowledge synergies.

History

Based on settlements from Germanic times and first mentioned in 834, the villages Castrop and Rauxel relied mostly on agriculture for centuries. The rise of heavy industry in the 19th and early 20th century let Castrop-Rauxel's coal mines and chemical plants flourish. Ever since most of the heavy industry mostly vanished in the late 20th century, the city is in transition to become a place for service industries and knowledge-based employers. Also, the city is surprisingly green and lots of formerly industrial locations have been transformed into e.g. parks with industrial monuments (like the headframe of the former coal mine "Erin" you see on the photo top left).

Sights

Apart from the sights the other cities of the Ruhr metropolitan can offer, Castrop-Rauxel boasts several industrial monuments like the one mentioned above, several small moated castles dating back to medieval times (see Schloss Bladenhorst at the lower right), historic churches and a 27-hole golf course.

Moated castle Bladenhorst, photo by Ilgom, license: CC-BY-SA-2.0, original URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schloss_Bladenhorst.jpgTParkbad Süd, a restored former open air swimming pool now restaurant, photo by Arnoldius, license: CC-BY-SA-2.5, original URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castrop-Rauxel_Parkbad_Sued.jpgransportation

The city is well-connected to the German Autobahn network (A2, A42 and A45) with exits just 5 minutes to the north and the south of the school.

It can also be easily reached via regional Dortmund airport (DTM) and the third-biggest German airport, Düsseldorf International (DUS). These aiports are just 30 minutes (DTM) and 50 minutes (DUS) from us by car, respectively.

Additionally, Castrop-Rauxel has three train stations serviced by regional trains as well as a well-functioning public bus transport system. From the train hub Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, a stop for most long-distance trains through the Ruhr area, it takes just about 15 minutes to get to our schools using regional trains and buses.

To be able to place Castrop-Rauxel within the context of Europe, here an interactive Open Street Map.


View Larger Map