OBERHAUSEN

city, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It is situated on the Rhine-Herne-Kanal, within the densely developed Ruhr industrial belt, and it adjoins Essen (east), Mlheim (south), and Duisberg (southwest). Oberhausen is an important rail junction, and the city also has good autobahn connections with The Netherlands. It is the centre of a network of lines radiating into the Westphalian coal and limonite iron-ore fields that were the foundation for its rapid industrial development; this network began in the mid-19th century with the establishment of a railway station (named after the old Oberhausen Castle on the banks of the Emscher River) on the uninhabited but mineral-rich Lipperheide (heath). Oberhausen was chartered in 1874, and in 1929 it incorporated the older neighbouring towns of Sterkrade and Osterfeld. The city's heavy industries are based on the production of steel and bituminous coal. The St. Anthony Iron Works (17581876) was the first to be built in the Ruhr. Oberhausen also has zinc-smelting refineries, dye works, railway workshops, and a large thermoelectric plant, and its manufactures include steam boilers, wire rope, glass, chemicals, sugar, porcelain, and cigars. Historic landmarks include Sterkrade Abbey (1150), Holten Fortress (1307), and the 16th-century moated castle of Vondern. Among the notable modern buildings are the Rathaus (town hall; 1930), the main railway station (1938), Euripahaus (195657), and a notable modern Stadthalle (city hall; 1962). Oberhausen has several technical schools as well as a civic theatre and an art museum. Pop. (1998 est.) 222,870.