Kerken

Kerken
Municipality
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Kerken within Kleve district
Interactive map of Kerken
Location within Germany Location within North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°27′26″N 6°22′26″E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Düsseldorf
District	Kleve
Subdivisions	4
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Dirk Möcking (Ind.)
Area
• Total	58.17 km2 (22.46 sq mi)
Elevation	32 m (105 ft)
Population  (2025-12-31)
• Total	13,042
• Density	224.2/km2 (580.7/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	47647
Dialling codes	0 28 33
Vehicle registration	KLE
Website	www.kerken.de

Kerken (German pronunciation: [ˈkɛʁkn̩] ^ⓘ) with the towns of Aldekerk, Eyll, Nieukerk and Stenden, is a municipality in the district of Kleve in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, approx. 15 km north-east of Venlo.

Kerken includes Nieukerk, which has the Haus Lawaczeck Museum. This is believed to have the best exhibition of work by Alfred Mailick.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1965	9,572	—
1970	9,893	+0.66%
1975	10,280	+0.77%
1980	10,277	−0.01%
1985	10,528	+0.48%
1990	11,290	+1.41%
1995	12,060	+1.33%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2000	12,553	+0.80%
2005	12,830	+0.44%
2010	12,650	−0.28%
2015	13,262	+0.95%
2020	12,638	−0.96%
2025	13,042	+0.63%

Source: Landesdatabank Nordrhein-Westfalen

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the city

• Herman op den Graeff (1585-1642), Mennonite community leader of Krefeld
• Johannes Ackermanns (1887-1962), municipal politician
• Franz Grobben (1904-1994), CDU politician
• Guido Winkmann (* 1973), football league judge

Personalities who have worked on the ground

• Fritz Lewerentz, (1878-1945), SPD politician and victim of the Nazi dictatorship