Kempen

• Type — Stadt • Name — Kempen • State — Nordrhein-Westfalen • Region — Düsseldorf • District — Viersen • Elevation — 30-68 • Area — 68.8 • Postal Code — 47906 • Area Code — 02152 / 02845 • Licence — VIE / KK • Gemeindeschlussel — 05 1 66 012 • Divisions — 4 • Website — https: www.kempen.de/ • Mayor — Christoph Dellmanns • Leader Term — 2025–30

• 1186: First mention in official documentation of Kempen as a place – the sovereign until 1794 is the Archbishop (electoral prince) of Cologne • around 1290: Kempen is rebuilt as a fortified town • 11 March 1294: First confirmation of Kempen as a town in official documentation • 15th century: town blooms economically and culturally (population of approx. 4,200) • 1542–1543: Kempen is the centre of the Reformation for the Lower Rhine • 1579: The plague costs the town almost half of its inhabitants • 1642: Kempen is conquered and destroyed by the allied French, Hessian and Weimar troops during the "Hessen War" (Thirty Years' War) • 1794–1814: Kempen is under French rule. In the département of Roer established in 1797, Kempen becomes a canton seat in 1798 and a French town in 1801. • 1815: After the Congress of Vienna, Kempen becomes Prussian and is the county seat • 1929: Due to local reforms, Kempen becomes the administrative seat of the county of Kempen-Krefeld • 1966 onward: Restoration of the old town • 1970: Communal restructuring: The communities of Hüls, St. Hubert, Tönisberg and Schmalbroich join Kempen along with the localities of St. Peter and Unterweiden to form a single town • 1975: In further local reforms, Hüls is assigned to the city of Krefeld. The county of Viersen is formed and Kempen becomes part of "Kreis Viersen" • 1984: The county seat is transferred from Kempen to Viersen. • 1987: A cultural forum is opened in the Franciscan monastery after comprehensive restoration and renovation work. • 11 March 1994: Date of the 700-year jubilee of the confirmation of Kempen as a town

The current mayor is Christoph Dellmanns who has been serving since 2020. In the 2025 local elections, he was reelected with 89 % of votes. His only opponent was Joachim von Contzen of Die PARTEI.

Kempen is twinned with: • Wambrechies, France (1972) • Orsay, France (1973) • East Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom (1978) • Werdau, Germany (1990)

• Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471) • John Brugman (?–1473), Franciscan friar and preacher in Flanders • Wilhelm Hünermann (1900–1975), priest and writer • Adolph Moses Radin (1848–1909), rabbi • Udo Schiefner (1959–2025), politician • Isabel Varell (born 1961), actress and singer • Bernhard van Treeck (born 1964), psychiatrist and author • Tobias Koch (born 1968), pianist • Daniel Altmaier (born 1998), Tennis player • Luca Witzke (born 1999), Handball player • Jordan Beyer (born 2000), Football player

• Illustration — View in a street • Illustration — Church • Illustration — Towngate (Das Kuhtor) • Illustration — Lutheran church (Thomas Church) • Illustration — Hessenmühle • Illustration — Kempen Castle