GEVELSBERG

city, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies along the Ennepe River just northeast of Wuppertal. First mentioned in 1225, the city developed around a Cistercian abbey founded in 1230 and was chartered in 1887. Some ancient buildings survive in the village in the old quarter of the city. The moated Rochholz Castle is a historic landmark. Situated on the edge of the Sauerland, only a few miles from the Ruhr, Gevelsberg is an active commercial centre, with a variety of manufactures including metals, machinery, and automobile parts. Gevelsberg is surrounded by the wooded hills of the Ennepe River valley, and despite the industrialization of the city, the setting retains its natural beauty. Pop. (1989 est.) 32,492.