Engelskirchen

Engelskirchen
Saint Peter and Paul Church
Coat of arms
Engelskirchen
Location of Engelskirchen within Oberbergischer Kreis district
Coordinates: 50°59′N 7°25′E / 50.983°N 7.417°E / 50.983; 7.417Coordinates: 50°59′N 7°25′E / 50.983°N 7.417°E / 50.983; 7.417
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Oberbergischer Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Dr. Gero Karthaus (SPD)
Area
• Total	63.07 km2 (24.35 sq mi)
Elevation	124 m (407 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	19,307
• Density	310/km2 (790/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	51766
Dialling codes	02263
Vehicle registration	GM
Website	www.engelskirchen.de

Engelskirchen is a municipality in Oberbergischer Kreis, Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Cologne. The neighbouring municipalities are (clockwise from the west) Overath, Lindlar, Gummersbach, Wiehl and Much.

Engelskirchen is an old Bergisches Land settlement mentioned for the first time in 1353 as Engellerskerken. On 1 January 1975, the independent municipalities of Engelskirchen and Ründeroth, formally known as 'Runde Rode' were combined to form the modern-day Engelskirchen.

The coat of arms, granted on 24 March 1976, contains the lion of the Counts of Berg and the chequered bar of the arms of the Counts of the Mark. Historically the municipality was part of both counties.

The municipality Engelskirchen consists of the following settlements: Bellingroth, Bickenbach, Buschhausen, Dörrenberg, Engelskirchen, Grünscheid, Hahn, Hardt, Hollenberg, Kaltenbach, Loope, Miebach, Müllensiefen, Neuremscheid, Oesinghausen, Oetterstal, Osberghausen, Papiermühle, Remerscheid, Rennbruch, Rommersberg, Ründeroth, Schnellenbach, Stiefelhagen, Thal, Wahlscheid, Wallefeld and Wiehlmünden.

The origin of the parish church with the name Saints Peter and Paul in Engelskirchen lies in the 13th century. The massive west tower dates back to this time. It became an independent parish following its separation from Saint Severinus parish in Lindlar in 1554. The number of parishioners outgrew the capacity of the church in the 19th century. Then a new three-aisle long house on round pillars with transepts and separate main choir was established. From 1943 to 1945 homeless inhabitants of Cologne and foreign civilian prisoners were housed here. Nonetheless, an air raid on the last day of the war resulted in two bombs destroying part of the church. The bombs hit the aisle and tower, and the vault collapsed. Three years later, a minimal renovation was done. In the 1970s, there was a more thorough renovation. Later a new sacristy was built.

Each year from November 15 until December 22, the Engelskirchen postal office answers letters to the infant Jesus. In 2009, over 160,000 letters arrived from all over the world.