Dorsten

Dorsten
Historical town hall and St. Agatha cathedral
Historical town hall and St. Agatha cathedral
Coat of arms of Dorsten
Location of Dorsten within Recklinghausen district
Recklinghausen (district)North Rhine-WestphaliaDortmundBochumHerneGelsenkirchenEssenWesel (district)BottropUnna (district)Coesfeld (district)Borken (district)GladbeckRecklinghausenDattelnOer-ErkenschwickCastrop-RauxelMarlHertenWaltropHaltern am SeeDorsten
Dorsten is located in Germany
Dorsten
Dorsten
Dorsten is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Dorsten
Dorsten
Coordinates: 51°39′36″N 6°57′51″E / 51.66000°N 6.96417°E / 51.66000; 6.96417
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionMünster
DistrictRecklinghausen
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Tobias Stockhoff[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total171 km2 (66 sq mi)
Elevation
74 m (243 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total76,842
 • Density450/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
46282, 46284, 46286
Dialling codes02362, 02369, 02866
Vehicle registrationRE
Websitewww.dorsten.de
Dorsten in 1641

Dorsten (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔʁstən]; Westphalian: Dössen) is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of about 75,000.

Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its historical old town lies on the south bank of the river Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal and was granted city rights in 1251. During the twentieth century, the town was enlarged in its north by the villages of the former Herrlichkeit Lembeck. While Dorsten's northern districts are thus shaped by the rural Münsterland with its many historical castles, just south of the town the Ruhr region begins, Germany's largest urban agglomeration with more than seven million inhabitants.

The exact linguistic derivation of the word "Dorsten" is unknown, leaving the meaning of the town's name unclear.

  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 29 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 20 June 2024.