// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did cell say to Selm? You're a great sell.

Selm
Town
Coat of arms
Location of Selm within Unna district
Location of Selm
Selm Selm
Coordinates: 51°41′N 7°29′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Unna
Government
• Mayor (2025–)	Heinz-Georg Mors (CDU)
Area
• Total	60.41 km2 (23.32 sq mi)
Elevation	111 m (364 ft)
Population  (2024-12-31)
• Total	25,969
• Density	429.9/km2 (1,113/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	59379
Dialling codes	02592, 02306
Vehicle registration	UN
Website	www.selm.de

Selm (German pronunciation: [zɛlm] ^ⓘ) is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 kilometers north of Dortmund and 25 kilometers west of Hamm.

Geography

The town belongs to the southern part of the Münsterland. It is surrounded by (beginning in the west) Olfen, Lüdinghausen, Nordkirchen (all in the district of Coesfeld), Werne, Lünen (both in the district of Unna), Waltrop, and Datteln (both belonging to the district of Recklinghausen).

History

The first traces of living people in the area date from the younger half of the Stone Age.

In 858 it was mentioned as Seliheim in the Dreingau.

In the early Middle Ages Selm was ruled by the count of Cappenberg, then by the bishop of Münster. In the beginning of the 19th century it was transferred to Prussia, to which it remained, as part of the province of Westphalia, until 1946.

In 1906 the coal mine Zeche Hermann was established, transferring coal from 1,200 m under underground. The coal miners and their families lived in the Beifang quarter, which had in the origin a very rural landscape. The number of inhabitants increased from 2,000 to 10,000 in only one year, with c. 3,500 coal miners working at the plant. In 1926 the coal mine was closed.

After World War II numerous inhabitants from Beifang found work in Lünen, in a coal mine called Zeche Minister Achenbach. They were brought to that coal mine by buses. After 1965 when the houses in Beifang were sold a lot of people from the south came to Selm to live there.

In 1975 Bork, a village in the southern neighbourhood, was annexed to a part of Selm, which obtained city status in 1977. The Baroque church in Bork, St. Stephanus, was built in the 1720s.

Selm is twinned with Workington in the United Kingdom.

Historical population

The number of inhabitants shown here are from 31 December in the given year.

Year	Inhabitants
1998	26,842
1999	26,967
2000	27,240
2001	27,389
2002	27,448
2003	27,490
2004	27,496
2005	27,472
2010	27,001
2011	26,017
2012	25,697
2022	26,163

External links

• Official website (in German)
• Städtisches Gymnasium Selm – the local grammar/high school (in German)