Dorsten

Crawley is twinned with Dorsten in Germany. Dorsten is slightly smaller than Crawley, with a population of about 80,000.

Dorsten’s History and Culture

Dorsten was established as a city through the grant of Stadtrecht, or city rights, in the 12th century. Its main tourist attraction is the 17th-century Lembeck Castle, just to the north of the town.

Lembeck Castle contains a large garden, open only between March and November, and a museum, which is open all year round. The castle hosts concerts and art and craft fairs throughout the summer.

Dorsten also contains the Westphalia Jewish Museum and a large swimming complex.

Further Information

The official Dorsten website contains a version in English of its home page only: www.dorsten.de/Sprachen/Englisch.htm.

Location

Dorsten is in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia). The town is close to the Dutch border, and about 20 miles or 30 kilometres north of the industrial city of Essen.

Dorsten is close to the A3/E35 north-south motorway that runs between the Netherlands and Italy. Dorsten has its own small airfield; the nearest large airport is 65 kilometres or 40 miles to the south at Düsseldorf.