| Type: | Stadt |
| Image Coa: | DEU Gummersbach COA.svg |
| Coordinates: | 51.0333°N 41°W |
| Image Plan: | Gummersbach in GM.svg |
| State: | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Region: | Cologne |
| District: | Oberbergischer Kreis |
| Elevation: | 154 - 519 |
| Area: | 95.3 |
| Postal Code: | 51643, 51645, 51647 |
| Area Code: | 02261, 02266 (Berghausen), 02354 (Lieberhausen), 02263 (Elbach) |
| Licence: | GM |
| Gemeindeschlüssel: | 05 3 74 012 |
| Website: | www.gummersbach.de |
| Mayor: | Frank Helmenstein[1] |
| Leader Term: | 2020 - 25 |
| Party: | CDU |
Gummersbach (in German pronounced as /ˈɡʊmɐsˌbax/) is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, being the district seat of the Oberbergischer Kreis. It is located 50km (30miles) east of Cologne.
In 1109 Gummersbach was mentioned in official documents for the first time. The document in question concerned the lowering of the episcopal tax for the church in Gummersbach by Archbishop Frederick I. At that time the name of the town was spelled as Gumeresbracht. In 1855 Gummersbach's industrial history began with the foundation of the company Steinmüller. With the company's success the little village began to grow to a town. Gummersbach received town privileges in 1857. For decades to come many inhabitants found work at Steinmüller. In 2002 the new parent company Babcock Borsig AG went out of business and so Steinmüller was shut down, too. After most of the premises were no longer in use, the town bought the property in order to develop it. The premises played a key role for the municipality, as it made up half of the downtown area by then. In the following years, among other things, an arena, a shopping mall and a new university campus were built.
The arms were granted on July 27, 1892. Gummersbach developed rapidly from a small village to a large town during the early 19th century, due to the metal and textile industry. The right part of the arms thus show a spindle as a symbol for the textile industry. The left part shows the arms of the Counts of the Mark, as the area belonged to the Mark since 1287.
Apfelbaum – Becke – Berghausen – Bernberg – Birnbaum – Börnchen – Bracht – Bredenbruch – Brink – Bruch – Brunohl – Berghausen – Deitenbach – Derschlag – Dieringhausen – Drieberhausen – Dümmlinghausen – Elbach – Erbland – Erlenhagen – Flaberg – Frömmersbach – Grünenthal – Gummeroth – Hardt – Hardt-Hanfgarten – Helberg – Herreshagen – Hesselbach – Höfen -Hömel – Hülsenbusch – Hunstig – Kalkuhl – Karlskamp – Koverstein – Lantenbach – Lieberhausen – Liefenroth – Lobscheid – Lützinghausen – Luttersiefen – Mühle – Neuenhaus – Neuenschmiede – Niedergelpe – Niedernhagen – Niederseßmar – Nochen – Oberrengse – Ohmig -Peisel – Piene – Rebbelroth – Recklinghausen – Reininghausen – Remmelsohl – Rodt – Rospe – Schneppsiefen – Schönenberg – Schusterburg – Sonnenberg – Steinenbrück – Straße – Strombach – Unnenberg – Veste – Vollmerhausen – Waldesruh – Wasserfuhr – Windhagen – Wörde – Würden
Gummersbach is connected by regional trains to Cologne and Lüdenscheid, where a direct connection to Hagen and Dortmund exists. Trains heading towards Cologne run every 30 minutes during the week and continue every 60 minutes to Lüdenscheid. Besides the station in downtown, there is another station in the district of Dieringhausen.
South of Gummersbach runs the A 4 motorway from Cologne to Olpe. In the north-east the A 45 motorway, which stretches from Dortmund to Frankfurt, connects to Gummersbach via the exit of Meinerzhagen.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany. Gummersbach is twinned with:[2]
Afantou, Greece (2001)
La Roche-sur-Yon, France (1968)The men's team VfL Gummersbach was one of the most successful handball teams of Europe in the 1970s and 1980s.