Kalkar

Kalkar
Marktplatz in Kalkar
Kalkar
Location of the town of Kalkar within Kleve district
Coordinates	51°44′20″N 6°17′33″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Düsseldorf
District	Kleve
Town subdivisions	13
Mayor	Gerhard Fonck (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	88.2 km2 (34.1 sq mi)
Elevation	14 m  (46 ft)
Population	13,829 (31 December 2010)
- Density	157 /km2 (406 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	KLE
Postal code	47546
Area codes	0 28 24
Website	www.kalkar.de

Kalkar is a municipality in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the Rhine, approx. 10 km south-east of Cleves. The most famous building of Kalkar is its church St. Nicolai, which has one of the most significant sacral inventory from the late Middle Ages in Europe.

History

St. Nicolai church.

Kalkar was founded by Dirk VI of Cleves in 1230 and received city rights in 1242. It was one of the seven "capitals" of Cleves (called Kleve), until the line of the Duchy of Cleves died out in 1609, whereupon the city went over to the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Marie of Burgundy, Duchess of Cleves retired to Monreberg castle in Kalkar, where she founded a Dominican convent in 1455. Under her influence the city bloomed and artists were attracted to the favorable climate for cultural investment. She died at Monreberg castle in 1463.

Reactor

Kalkar is the site for the failed SNR-300 Fast breeder-type Nuclear Reactor. The plant has since been turned into Kern-Wasser Wunderland [1], an amusement park with a rollercoaster and several other rides and restaurants.