Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. It is located on the Lippe River, in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railway station is an important hub for rail transport and renowned for its distinctive station building.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms has been in use in its present form for about 750 years. It shows the markish chessboard ("märkischen Schachbalken") in red and silver on a golden field. Originally it was the founders' coat of arms, i. e. the Counts of Mark. The chessboard and the colours are often displayed in the coats of arms of further towns founded by that family line. Similarly, the colours of the city are red and white.

Overview

The name Ham means "corner" in the old Low German dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name thom Hamme would be used, which evolved slowly into its modern form Hamm. The name derives from the description of the Hamm's location in the corner of the Lippe river and the narrow Ahse affluent, where it was founded on Ash Wednesday in March 1226 by Count Adolf I of the Mark.

• 1350 The Black death killed nearly all of the citizens. Only seven families survived.
• 1469 Hamm became a member of the Hanseatic League. It was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the today's Ruhr area still were only tiny villages.
• 1614 The Treaty of Xanten ends the conflict about the heritage of Cleve-Mark, the Electorate Brandenburg (later Prussia) inherited the Ducal Cleve and the counties Ravensburg and Mark (with Hamm)
• 1618-1648 Thirty Years' War, Hamm was taken several times by different armed forces and had to endure changing garrisons. Almost all buildings were destroyed, except for the main church St. Georg (today: Pauluskirche) and St. Agnes church.
• 1657 Establishment of the Gynasium illustre (later named Gymnasium Hammonense) with three faculties (theology, jurisprudence and philosophy).
• 1753 Establishment of the regional court (Landgericht)
• 1767 "Märkische Kammerdeputation" established
• 1769 Brewery Isenbeck founded
• 1787 Changing of the "Märkische Kammerdeputation" into the "Märkische Kriegs- und Domänenkammer" by the Prussian "Generaldirektorium".
• 1818 Hamm has 4,688 inhabitants.
• 1820 The regional appeal court moves from Cleve to Hamm.
• 1847 First train stops at the main station Hamm
• 1853 Westfälische Union (later Thyssen Draht AG) was founded
• 1856 Westfälische Draht Industrie was founded (later Klöckner Draht GmbH, today Westfälische Draht Industrie (WDI))
• 1901 30,000 inhabitants, the district Hamm is split up into the urban district of Hamm (City) and the district of Unna.
• 1901 Coal-mine de Wendel in Herringen starts mining (later Heinrich-Robert, now Bergwerk Ost) (first coal output 1904)
• 1902 Coal-mine Maximilian in Werries/Ostwennemar starts mining (first coal output 1907)
• 1905 Coal-mine Radbod in Bockum-Hövel starts mining (first coal output 1905)
• 1912 Coal-mine Sachsen in Heessen starts mining (first coal output 1914)
• 1914 Datteln-Hamm-Canal is completed including the new city port
• 1938 The A2(motorway)reaches Hamm
• 1939-1945 55 air raids destroy nearly 60% of the old city and leave only a few historical buildings.
• 1944 Coal-mine Maximillian closes after several problems with water drainage of the hole mine (completely flooded in 1914).
• 1945 First meeting of the city council after the war
• 1946 Establishment of the industrial court and the industrial court of appeal by the Allied Control Council.
• 1956 Sport airfield founded in the Lippe meadows.
• 1965 A1(motorway)reaches Hamm.
• 1976 Coal-mine Sachsen closes