Schwelm is situated in the southeast of the "Ruhrgebiet", the Ruhr district of Germany, between Westphalia and the "Bergisches Land".

Especially the elderly population is still able to speak Schwelm's original Westphalian tongue, called Schwelmer Platt, which is quite different from standard high German and bears a certain resemblance to Dutch.

In the most recent mayoral election on 13 and 27 September 2020, Langhard advanced to the runoff with 41.85% of votes against Philipp Beckmann of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), who won 30.4%.

The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: Schwelm has got a historical town center with many old houses, some of which date back to the 18th century.

The Altmarkt is a historical market place lying in front of the tall Christuskirche, the town's principal Protestant church.

A historical Jewish cemetery, dating from the late 18th century is located in the countryside about 1.3 km south of the town's center.