Moers

Moers (German pronunciation: [ˈmœʁs] ⓘ; older form: Mörs; Dutch: Murse, Murs or Meurs) is a German city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel.

History

Known earliest from 1186, the county of Moers was an independent principality within the Holy Roman Empire.

During the Eighty Years' War it was alternately captured by Spanish and Dutch troops, as it bordered the Upper Quarter of Guelders. During the war it finally fell to Maurice of Orange. As it was separated from the Dutch Republic by Spanish Upper Guelders it did not become an integral part of the Republic, though Dutch troops were stationed there.

After the death of William III of Orange in 1702, Moers was inherited by the king of Prussia. All Dutch troops and civil servants were expelled.

In 1795 it was annexed by France. At the Congress of Vienna, in 1815 it was returned to Prussia and in 1871 it became part of the German Empire.

A target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the Steinkohlenbergwerke (English: coal mine) Rheinpreussen synthetic oil plant in Moers, was partially dismantled post-war.

Mayors

1815–1820: Wilhelm Urbach
1822–1830: von Nievenheim
1830–1850: Friedrich Adolf Vinmann
1850–1859: Karl von Strampff
1860–1864: Gottlieb Meumann
1864–1897: Gustav Kautz
1898–1910: August Craemer
1910–1915: Richard Glum
1917–1937: Fritz Eckert
1937–1941: Fritz Grüttgen
1943–1945: Peter Linden
1945–1946: Otto Maiweg
1946: Karl Peschken
1946–1952: Wilhelm Müller
1952–1977: Albin Neuse (SPD)
1977–1999: Wilhelm Brunswick (SPD)
1999–2004: Rafael Hofmann (CDU)
2004–2014: Norbert Ballhaus (SPD)
2014-2025: Christoph Fleischhauer(CDU)
2025–0000: Julia Zupancic (CDU)

Sports

In 1985, the Moers Sports Club (volleyball) was formed, winning the 1989 Bundesliga championship.

Notable people

Gerhard Tersteegen (1697–1769), lay preacher, mystic and poet.
Georg Perthes (1869–1927), surgeon and radiologist (Perthes disease)
Anna Erler-Schnaudt (1878–1963), contralto
Hans Dammers (1913–1944), Luftwaffe ace
Walter Niephaus (1923–1992), chess master
Hanns Dieter Hüsch (1925–2005), comedian, writer
Hubert Hahne (1935–2019), racing driver
Helmut Kelleners (born 1939), racing driver
Herman Weigel (born 1950), film producer and screenwriter
Armin Hahne (born 1955), racing driver
Jürgen Renn (born 1956), physicist and historian of science
Helga Trüpel (born 1958), politician (Alliance 90/The Greens)
Jörg van Ommen (born 1962), racing driver
Katja Nass (born 1968), fencer
Stephan Paßlack (born 1970), footballer
Christian Ehrhoff (born 1982), ice hockey player
Timo Weß (born 1982), field hockey player
Benjamin Weß (born 1985), field hockey player
Regina Abelt (born 1954), first First Lady of Ethiopia (1995–2001)

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Moers is Christoph Fleischhauer of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

Candidate	Party	First round	Second round
Votes	%	Votes	%
	Christoph Fleischhauer	Christian Democratic Union	15,313	38.4	17,457	57.9
	Ibrahim Yetim	Social Democratic Party	12,208	30.6	12,679	42.1
	Diana Finkele	Alliance 90/The Greens	4,534	11.4
	Torsten Gerlach	Independent	4,350	10.9
	Claus Küster	Die Grafschafter	1,518	3.8
	Dino Maas	Free Democratic Party	1,238	3.1
	Markus Helmich	Independent	706	1.8
Valid votes	39,867	98.6	30,136	99.3
Invalid votes	553	1.4	214	0.7
Total	40,420	100.0	30,350	100.0
Electorate/voter turnout	80,950	49.9	80,906	37.5
Source: City of Moers (, )

City council

The Moers 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:

Party	Votes	%	±	Seats	±
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	12,431	31.3	3.2	17	2
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	11,593	29.2	8.5	16	4
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	6,563	16.5	7.5	9	4
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	2,548	6.4	New	3	New
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	1,860	4.7	0.3	2	1
	Die Grafschafter (Graf)	1,544	3.9	2.9	2	2
	Die PARTEI	1,302	3.3	New	2	New
	The Left (Die Linke)	1,125	2.8	3.5	2	1
	Free Citizens' List Moers (FBM)	733	1.9	New	1	New
Valid votes	39,699	98.2
Invalid votes	710	1.8
Total	40,409	100.0		54	±0
Electorate/voter turnout	80,950	49.9
Source:

Twin towns – sister cities

Moers is twinned with:

France Maisons-Alfort, France (1966)
France Bapaume, France (1974)
England Knowsley, England, United Kingdom (1980)
Israel Ramla, Israel (1987)
Nicaragua La Trinidad, Nicaragua (1989)
Germany Seelow, Germany (1990)
Italy Stazzema, Italy (2019)

External links

(in German)