Gladbeck

castle of Wittringen, Gladbeck

Gladbeck, city, North Rhine–Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies in the Ruhr industrial region. First documented in 1019, Gladbeck was a small rural village until the first coal mine was opened in 1873. Thereafter it developed rapidly, its economy resting almost exclusively on coal. It was chartered in 1919. After World War II the city made a deliberate effort to diversify its economy by expanding into ironworking and the production of chemicals and textiles. Mining has since ceased, and the local manufacturing base is diversified, producing chemicals, glass, fabricated materials, and pollution-abatement equipment. The city suffered heavy damage in World War II, but the moated castle of Wittringen survived (along with its museum) in some 250 acres (100 hectares) of municipally owned woodland. Pop. (2003 est.) 77,166.