Schwelm is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis in the administrative region of Arnsberg within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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.