Gescher

Gescher
Gescher
Municipality
	Townhall of Gescher
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Gescher within Borken district
	Gescher Gescher
	Coordinates: 51°57′25″N 7°0′20″E / 51.95694°N 7.00556°E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Borken
Subdivisions	6
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Anne Kortüm (Ind.)
Area
• Total	80.78 km2 (31.19 sq mi)
Elevation	59 m (194 ft)
Population (2023-12-31)
• Total	17,467
• Density	220/km2 (560/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	48712
Dialling codes	02542; 02863 (Hochmoor)
Vehicle registration	BOR
Website	www.gescher.de

Gescher is a municipality in the district of Borken, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands. It is most often known for its bell work, and it includes a Museum of Bells.

Geography

Gescher is surrounded by farming communities and can be seen as more of a rural town.

Farming Communities and Suburbs

Farming Communities and suburbs belonging to Gescher include:

Harwick
Estern
Büren
Tungerloh-Capellen
Tungerloh-Pröbsting
Hochmoor

Location

Gescher is located in the western half of the Regierungsbezirk, Münsterland. It finds itself within the District of Borken, just to the south of Stadtlohn. To the east lies the District of Coesfeld, and the Dutch border can be found to the west.

The river, Berkel runs through Gescher and used to be used extensively to deliver goods between Dutch towns and Münster.

History

The early history of Gescher starts as a connecting stop on a postal route running from Muenster to the Netherlands. In 1570, Gescher suffered an enormous village-wide fire that destroyed the entire town. During the time of reconstruction, many looters came over from the Netherlands to take advantage of the unfortunate situation. After the Second World War, Gescher was under the control of Mr. Ball and the British sovereignty in Germany. Gescher was under the authority of Kreis Coesfeld up until 1975 when Gescher was pulled into Kreis Borken.

Population Changes over the Years

Year	Population
1834	3,784
1846	3,807
1849	3,790
1855	3,876
1858	3,806
1864	4,002
1871	3,912
1885	3,962

Year	Population
1890	4,048
1900	4,206
1905	4,486
1914	5,219
1926	5,943
1939	7,223
1950	10,177
1961	10,795

Year	Population
1981	14,397
1990	15,092
1995	16,154
2000	16,851
2005	17,146
2010	17,164
2011	16,869
2012	16,889

Local council (Rat)

Elections in 2014: Vote share and seats

CDU 41,7 %=14 seats
SPD 24,2 %= 8 seats
UWG 14,6 %= 5 seats
The Greens 13,1 %= 5 seats
FDP 6,3 %= 2 seats
Total 34 seats

Infrastructure

Transportation

Private

The Bundesautobahn 31 connects Gescher with the Ruhr Region and the North Sea.

The Bundesstrasse 525 connects Gescher with the Dutch border and Nottuln/Bundesautobahn 43.

Public

Bus

Westfalenbus operates a few scheduled bus services through Gescher:

Line	Route
R51	Coesfeld - Gescher – Hochmoor - Velen – Borken - Rhede - Bocholt
R61	Vreden - Stadtlohn - Gescher - Hochmoor - Coesfeld
776	Ahaus - Gescher - Hochmoor
N7	Stadtlohn - Gescher - Rosendahl - Billerbeck - Havixbeck - Münster

Rail

Up until 1985, Gescher was on the railroad offering services between Empel and Muenster. The old train station building can still be seen on the southside of Gescher.

Air

The closest general aviation airport is Stadtlohn-Vreden Airport, located about 15 kilometers from Gescher. The closest airport with scheduled commercial traffic is Münster Osnabrück Airport, which is located about 50 kilometers away from Gescher. A way bigger alternative is the Düsseldorf Airport, which is located about 85 kilometers from Gescher.

Sons and daughters of the city

Heinrich Hörnemann (1906-1977), farmer and German politician (CDU), Member of Bundestag 1961-1969
Peter Schmidt (born 1944), German writer, multiple recipient (first and second place) of the Deutscher Krimi Preis
August Wessing (1880-1945), Catholic clergyman and NS victim, died in Dachau concentration camp
G. Mescher (2000), Naamgenoot van de stad