Herdecke (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛʁˌdɛkə] ⓘ) is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.

Its location between the two Ruhr reservoirs Hengsteysee and Harkortsee has earned it the nickname Die Stadt zwischen den Ruhrseen (lit.

The historic center with its many half timbered houses and the 30-metre-high railway viaduct across the Ruhr valley are two more landmarks.

Herdecke is located at the foot of the Ardeygebirge, the northwestern part of the Sauerland, between Dortmund in the North and Northeast, Hagen in the South, Wetter (Ruhr) in the Southwest and Witten in the West and Northwest.

The latter covers the former town of Ende with its farming communities Kirchende, Ostende, Westende and Gedern as well as the "mansion district" Ahlenberg.

The former monastery church (Stiftskirche), which was rebuilt in the second half of the 13th century, still retains parts of the original Carolingian construction.

In the following centuries the regionally important corn market developed thanks to the good connection to trading roads from Cologne to the Weser area, Münsterland and Siegerland.

The Fourth Edition of Meyers Konversations-Lexikon noted in 1888: „Herdecke, town in Prussian government district Arnsberg, Hagen, 104 meters above sea levels.

Lies at the navigable Ruhr and the lines Hagen-Witten, Hagen-Dahlhausen and Schwelm-Dortmund of the Prussian State Railroad Company.

Has an evangelic and catholic church, great sandstone quarries as well as factories for fabrics, tobacco, leather paper and hardware, dye works and beer brewing.

In World War II the town was godfather to the U 751, a submarine that was sunk in the Atlantic by British planes on 17 July 1942.

Because of the population grow Herdecke is a town with the most sealed surfaces in the Government District of Arnsberg.

The Herdecke emblem is a silvern oak on a hill bearing yellow fruit upon a red shield.

The current mayor of Herdecke is Katja Strauss-Köster, an independent politician endorsed by the CDU, The Greens, and FDP.

[1] In the most recent mayoral election on 13 September 2020, Strauss-Köster was re-elected again with 66.0% of votes, defeating Jan-Christoph Schaberick of the SPD.

The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: There is a town partnership with Blankenburg (Harz).

Al-Dulaimi belonged to the Iraqi Communist Party in 1948, and in 1959 she assumed the Ministry of Municipalities in the government of Abdul Karim Qasim.

Naziha al-Dulaimi played an important role in issuing the Personal Status Law in Iraq in 1959.