{{Infobox German place |type = Stadt |image_coa = DEU Bergkamen COA.svg |coordinates = {{coord|51|37|N|7|38|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |image_plan = Bergkamen in UN.svg |state = Nordrhein-Westfalen |region = Arnsberg |district = Unna |elevation = 68 |area = 44.9 |Gemeindeschlüssel = 05978004 |postal_code = 59192 |area_code = 02307, 02389, 02306 |licence = UN |website = [https://www.bergkamen.de/ www.bergkamen.de] |image_caption=Bergkamen city hall |image_photo=Bergkamen Rathaus.jpg |mayor = Thomas Heinzel |leader_term = 2025–30 |party = CDU }}
'''Bergkamen''' ({{IPA|de|bɛʁkˈkaːmən|-|De-Bergkamen.ogg}}; Westphalian: ''Biärgkoamen'') is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated south of the river Lippe, approx. {{convert|15|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north-east of Dortmund and {{convert|15|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} south-west of Hamm.
Bergkamen, a fairly new town in the east part of the Ruhr Area and south of the Münsterland, was founded in 1966 by the merging of at first five smaller communities. The town's history, however, reaches back to ancient Roman times - this can be experienced by visiting the Bergkamen Municipal Museum, which has a large Roman department, and the nearby archeological site, the “Roemerlager“.
==Main sights== *''Westphalian Sports Boat Centre - Marina Ruenthe'' *The neighbouring national trust area, “Beversee“, and the wooded hill, “Grosses Holz“, a renaturalized former slag heap, provide an inviting atmosphere for relaxation.
==Cultural events== *Harbour Festival ("Hafenfest") in June *Light Festival ("Lichtermarkt") in October.
Bergkamen is home to theatre performances at the “studio theater bergkamen“ and numerous exhibitions in the town's own art gallery “sohle1“ or the “Stadtmuseum“
== History == thumb|upright|Memorial to the victims of the mining disaster on Grimberg 1946 In February 1946, a coal mine in the city suffered a dust explosion that killed 418 miners. This was the worst mining accident in German history.<ref>Exorcising Hitler; The Occupation and Denazification of Germany, Frederick Taylor, Bloomsbury Press</ref>
==Politics== The current mayor of Bergkamen is Thomas Heinzel of the CDU, who has been serving as mayor since 2025. In the 2025 local election he was elected with 53,4 % of the vote in the runoff election against former mayor Bernd Schäfer of the SPD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ergebnis |url=https://wahlen.kreis-unna.de/kwahl2025/05978004/praesentation/ergebnis.html?wahl_id=45&stimmentyp=0&id=ebene_3_id_2 |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=wahlen.kreis-unna.de |language=de}}</ref>
===City council=== After the 2025 local elections, the Bergkamen city council is composed as follows:
{{election table}} ! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- |- | bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 6,556 | 34.3 | {{decrease}} 8.6 | 19 | {{decrease}} 2 |- | bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 5,221 | 27.3 | {{decrease}} 0.6 | 15 | {{increase}} 1 |- | bgcolor={{party color|Alternative for Germany}}| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 4,194 | 21.9 | New | 12 | New |- | bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 1,208 | 6.3 | {{decrease}} 10.6 | 4 | {{decrease}} 4 |- | bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}| | align=left| The Left (Linke) | 1,033 | 5.4 | {{increase}} 2.3 | 3 | {{increase}} 1 |- | bgcolor=#D93027| | align=left| Uphill (BergAUF) | 584 | 3.1 | {{decrease}} 2.8 | 2 | {{decrease}} 1 |- | bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 346 | 1.8 | {{decrease}} 1.8 | 1 | {{decrease}} 1 |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 19,142 ! 98.4 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 310 ! 1.6 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ! 19,452 ! 100.0 ! ! 56 ! {{increase}} 6 |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 37,647 ! 51.7 ! ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: [https://wahlen.kreis-unna.de/kwahl2025/05978004/praesentation/ergebnis.html?wahl_id=46&stimmentyp=0&id=ebene_3_id_2 City of Bergkamen] |}
==Twin towns – sister cities== {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}} Bergkamen is twinned with:<ref>{{cite web|title=Städtepartnerschaften|url=https://www.bergkamen.de/staedtepartnerschaften-rat.html|website=bergkamen.de|publisher=Bergkamen|language=de|accessdate=2021-02-08|archive-date=2019-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701172223/https://www.bergkamen.de/staedtepartnerschaften-rat.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> *{{flagicon|GER}} Hettstedt, Germany (1990) *{{flagicon|TUR}} Silifke, Turkey (1994) *{{flagicon|FRA}} Gennevilliers, France (1995) *{{flagicon|POL}} Wieliczka, Poland (1995)
==Notable people== thumb|150px|Ernst von Bodelschwingh * Ernst von Bodelschwingh-Velmede (1794–1854), Prussian Minister of Interior and Cabinet * Carl von Bodelschwingh (1800–1873), Prussian Finance Minister * Ernst von Bodelschwingh (1906–1993), politician (Member of Bundestag, CDU) * Josef Ledwohn (1907–2003), anti-Nazi resistance activist * Hans Sennholz (1922–2007), economist * Dietrich Schwanitz (1940–2004), best-selling author, grew up in Rünthe * Eugen Drewermann (born 1940), theologian, church critic, best-seller author * Peer Steinbrück (born 1947), politician (SPD), Member of Landtag, for Bergkamen 2000–2005 * Konrad Ott (born 1959), philosopher and ethicist * Heiko Antoniewicz (born 1965), cook * Frauke Petry (born 1975), politician (independent, former AfD), lived in Bergkamen and went to school there
==See also== *TuRa Bergkamen
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== {{Commons}} {{Wikivoyage}} * {{Official website}} {{in lang|de}} * [http://www.roland-schaefer.de/ Website of Roland Schäfer, the former mayor of Bergkamen]
{{Cities and towns in Unna (district)}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Unna (district)