# Moers

Moers (German pronunciation: ; 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)
* 2014–0000: Christoph Fleischhauer (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 | Candidate | Party | First round | First round | Second round | Second round |
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | 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 | Valid votes | Valid votes | 39,867 | 98.6 | 30,136 | 99.3 |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 553 | 1.4 | 214 | 0.7 |
| Total | Total | Total | 40,420 | 100.0 | 30,350 | 100.0 |
| Electorate/voter turnout | Electorate/voter turnout | Electorate/voter turnout | 80,950 | 49.9 | 80,906 | 37.5 |
| Source: City of Moers (1st round, 2nd round) |||||||

### 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 | 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 | Valid votes | 39,699 | 98.2 | | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 710 | 1.8 | | | |
| Total | Total | 40,409 | 100.0 | | 54 | ±0 |
| Electorate/voter turnout | Electorate/voter turnout | 80,950 | 49.9 | | | |
| Source: City of Moers |||||||

## Twin towns – sister cities

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