Bottrop is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives, chemicals, textiles, and machinery. Bottrop grew as a mining center beginning in the 1860s, was chartered as a city in 1921, and bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. In 1975, it unified with the neighbouring communities of Gladbeck and Kirchhellen, but Gladbeck left it in 1976, leading to Kirchhellen becoming a district of Bottrop as Bottrop-Kirchhellen. It is also twinned with Blackpool, England.

Boroughs

The total area of the municipal territory is about 101 km2. The longest north-south distance is 17 km, and from west to east 9 km. The highest peak within the city's territory is 78 m, the lowest one being 26 m above sea level. Bottrop is divided into three boroughs: Bottrop-Mitte (Bottrop-Center), Bottrop-Süd (Bottrop South) and Bottrop-Kirchhellen, each having a borough representation and a borough ruler. These boroughs are further subdivided into city parts, partly named after their traditional names, while the newly built parts are only recently named: For statistical reasons, Bottrop is also divided into statistical boroughs. They are (with their official numbering):

Kirchhellen

From 1919 until 1976, Kirchhellen was its own town. Following a communal reorganization reform in 1975, both Kirchhellen and Gladbeck joined the city of Bottrop. This resulted in the nickname "GlaBotKi". Gladbeck left the city in 1976, and became part of the district of Recklinghausen. Most of Kirchhellen is Catholic (around 65%). It has three churches, including one Lutheran church.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Bottrop is Bernd Tischler of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2009. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2| Candidate ! Party ! Votes ! % ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 43,493 ! 97.5 ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 1,114 ! 2.5 ! colspan=3| Total ! 44,607 ! 100.0 ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,241 ! 48.4

City council

The Bottrop 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: ! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 43,912 ! 98.5 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 672 ! 1.5 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 44,584 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! 4 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,241 ! 48.3 ! 0.2 ! !

Culture and attractions

Theaters, museums, and buildings

Attractions

Periodic events

Religion

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Bottrop is twinned with: