Castrop-Rauxel (German pronunciation: [ˌkastʁɔpˈʁaʊksl̩]), often simply referred to as Castrop by locals, is a former coal mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.

Castrop-Rauxel is located in Germany between Dortmund to the southeast, Bochum to the southwest, Herne to the west, Recklinghausen to the northwest, Datteln to the north and Waltrop to the northeast.

The lowest point is located on Pöppinghauser Straße (Poppinghausen Street), besides house number 264, with an elevation of 50.2 m (164.7 ft) above sea level.

The city is divided into 15 districts, from north to south and within one line from west (southwest) to east (northeast):[4] The total area of the city divided into different uses (31 December 2010): Population figures for the individual districts (Stand: 2005): Castrop-Rauxel was first mentioned in 834 as "Villa Castorpe",[citation needed].

The first coal mine (Zeche Erin) was inaugurated by William Thomas Mulvany, an Irish industrialist living in Germany, close to the village in 1869.

Between 1874 and 1878 another railway line was built between Duisburg and Dortmund with two train stations in the south of Castrop which developed into a mining town at the end of the 19th century.

During World War II, a plant at Castrop-Rauxel used the Bergius process to produce synthetic (German: Ersatz) oil products.

During World War II Castrop-Rauxel suffered 35 air raids and 24% of the city was destroyed by bombs.

[10] Another Saint Lambert Church built around 1450 in a late gothic style can be visited in Henrichenburg which became a part of Castrop-Rauxel in 1975.

The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: Castrop-Rauxel has access to three major highways, the Emscherschnellweg A 42, the Sauerlandlinie A 45 and the A 2.

Connecting Castrop-Rauxel to the western Ruhr cities like Duisburg, Oberhausen, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne and in the east to Dortmund and Hamm.