HERNE

city, Nordrhein-Westfalen Land (North Rhine-Westphalia state), western West Germany, at the junction of the Rhine-HerneKanal and the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal, about 10 mi (16 km) west of Dortmund, in the industrial Ruhr district. Known as Haranni in the 10th century, it remained a small village until the discovery of coal in the 19th century stimulated its rapid growth. It was chartered in 1897 and is now an industrial centre with coal mines, foundries, and textile factories. In 1975 Herne incorporated the neighbouring city of Wanne-Eickel, which had been formed in 1926 through the amalgamation of the towns of Wanne and Eickel. An important traffic centre of the Ruhr, the area that was formerly Wanne-Eickel has coal mining, ironworking, brewing, and chemical industries. Pop. (1983 est.) 178,9ll.