MARL

city, North RhineWestphalia Land (state), western Germany, situated in the Ruhr industrial district, just northwest of Recklinghausen. First mentioned about 800 as a relatively large settlement, the Marl district was sold to the archbishops of Cologne about 1000 and thereafter was part of the Vest Recklinghausen of the prince-electors. After 1802 it passed to the dukes of Arenberg, who held it as a fief of Prussia from 1815. It grew with the development of coal and iron-ore mining in the late 19th century, and the town was chartered in 1936. Chemical factories supplement its mining economy. Pop. (1992 est.) 91,864.