Ahaus (German pronunciation: [ˈaːhaʊs] ; Westphalian: Ausen) is a town in the district of Borken in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, lying some 20 km south-east of Enschede and 15 km south from Gronau. Ahaus is the location of one of Germany's interim storage facilities for radioactive spent fuel.[3]

Ahaus
St George's Fountain in Ahaus
St George's Fountain in Ahaus
Coat of arms of Ahaus
Location of Ahaus within Borken district
Borken (district)North Rhine-WestphaliaKleve (district)Wesel (district)Coesfeld (district)Coesfeld (district)Lower SaxonySteinfurt (district)NetherlandsRaesfeldHeidenRhedeBocholtBorkenRekenVelenStadtlohnHeekAhausGescherLegdenSchöppingenGronauVredenSüdlohnIsselburg
Ahaus is located in Germany
Ahaus
Ahaus
Ahaus is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Ahaus
Ahaus
Coordinates: 52°4′N 7°0′E / 52.067°N 7.000°E / 52.067; 7.000
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionMünster
DistrictBorken
Subdivisions6
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Karola Voß[1] (Ind.)
Area
 • Total
151.22 km2 (58.39 sq mi)
Highest elevation
70 m (230 ft)
Lowest elevation
36 m (118 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total
40,580
 • Density270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC 01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC 02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
48683
Dialling codes02561, 02567
Vehicle registrationBOR, AH, BOH
Websitewww.ahaus.de

History

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The first written mention of the aristocratic seat of Haus an der Aa dates from around 1030. Around 1120, Bernhard von Diepenheim had Ahaus Castle built where Ahaus Castle stands today. In 1154 his son Lifhard called himself von Ahaus for the first time.[4]  The lords of Ahaus belonged to the smaller noble dynasties in Westphalia in the wider environment of the Munster bishops. They got into a fight with them in 1176 when the nobleman Johann von Ahaus gave his castle as a fief to the Archbishop of Cologne. In 1177, however, John had to surrender to Prince Bishop Hermann II of Munstersubdue. The castles of Ahaus and Diepenheim, which belonged to the noble lords of Ahaus, were destroyed. Nevertheless, the noble lords remained in possession of their rule.[5]

In 1389 the noble lords of Ahaus granted the castle settlement an excise privilege. Two years later, Ahaus received city rights. In 1406, the Prince-Bishop of Munster, Otto IV von Hoya, bought the lordship of Ahaus and incorporated it into the Bishopric of Munster.[4] It was combined by the Bishopric of Münster together with 24 parishes, which extended over large parts of West Münsterland, to form the Amt of Ahaus . It lasted until it was dissolved by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803.

Climate

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Ahaus has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb; Trewartha: Dobk).

Climate data for Ahaus, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 2006–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.1
(61.0)
19.3
(66.7)
24.5
(76.1)
28.5
(83.3)
32.3
(90.1)
35.9
(96.6)
39.5
(103.1)
36.6
(97.9)
32.2
(90.0)
28.0
(82.4)
19.8
(67.6)
16.5
(61.7)
39.5
(103.1)
Mean maximum °C (°F) 11.7
(53.1)
12.4
(54.3)
17.7
(63.9)
23.9
(75.0)
27.1
(80.8)
30.9
(87.6)
33.3
(91.9)
31.4
(88.5)
27.3
(81.1)
22.1
(71.8)
16.3
(61.3)
12.6
(54.7)
34.9
(94.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7)
6.5
(43.7)
10.0
(50.0)
15.4
(59.7)
18.8
(65.8)
21.9
(71.4)
24.0
(75.2)
23.0
(73.4)
19.5
(67.1)
14.7
(58.5)
9.6
(49.3)
6.3
(43.3)
14.6
(58.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6)
3.5
(38.3)
5.8
(42.4)
10.1
(50.2)
13.7
(56.7)
16.8
(62.2)
18.6
(65.5)
17.7
(63.9)
14.5
(58.1)
10.9
(51.6)
6.9
(44.4)
4.2
(39.6)
10.5
(50.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.6
(33.1)
0.5
(32.9)
1.7
(35.1)
4.3
(39.7)
8.0
(46.4)
11.2
(52.2)
12.8
(55.0)
12.3
(54.1)
9.5
(49.1)
7.1
(44.8)
3.9
(39.0)
1.7
(35.1)
6.1
(43.0)
Mean minimum °C (°F) −7.3
(18.9)
−5.5
(22.1)
−4.3
(24.3)
−2.2
(28.0)
1.1
(34.0)
5.8
(42.4)
6.9
(44.4)
7.0
(44.6)
3.8
(38.8)
0.6
(33.1)
−2.9
(26.8)
−5.3
(22.5)
−9.4
(15.1)
Record low °C (°F) −17.1
(1.2)
−16.0
(3.2)
−9.1
(15.6)
−5.7
(21.7)
−1.0
(30.2)
3.4
(38.1)
4.9
(40.8)
5.0
(41.0)
0.7
(33.3)
−4.0
(24.8)
−7.2
(19.0)
−14.3
(6.3)
−17.1
(1.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 76.2
(3.00)
56.7
(2.23)
57.6
(2.27)
29.7
(1.17)
49.6
(1.95)
64.1
(2.52)
75.8
(2.98)
97.5
(3.84)
58.9
(2.32)
65.1
(2.56)
65.5
(2.58)
78.1
(3.07)
774.9
(30.51)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) 3.5
(1.4)
1.2
(0.5)
0.1
(0.0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.3
(0.1)
2.9
(1.1)
4.7
(1.9)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 19.8 15.9 15.9 11.9 13.4 13.7 15.8 17.4 13.3 15.7 18.1 20.7 191.8
Average relative humidity (%) 87.8 83.8 78.0 70.7 70.0 72.6 73.3 77.1 81.4 85.3 88.3 89.1 79.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 43.8 70.4 128.6 191.0 207.1 202.9 218.2 188.5 147.8 100.7 56.4 40.8 1,596.3
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst/SKlima.de[6]

Twin towns – sister cities

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Ahaus is twinned with:[7]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  3. ^ Interim Storage of Spent Fuel in Germany History, State and Prospects, Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, June 2015.
  4. ^ a b "www.ahaus.de: Geschichte". 2016-01-19. Archived from the original on 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2023-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Internet-Portal 'Westfälische Geschichte'". www.lwl.org (in German). 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  6. ^ "Monatsauswertung". sklima.de (in German). SKlima. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". stadt-ahaus.de (in German). Ahaus. Archived from the original on 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2021-02-04.