Velbert (Low Rhenish: Vèlbed) is a town in the district of Mettmann, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings. Geography Velbert is located on the hills of 'Niederberg' (meaning Lower Mountain), part of the Berg region, approx. 20 kilometres north-east of the capital of North Rhine Westphalia, Düsseldorf, and 12 kilometers north-west of Wuppertal on the south side of the Ruhr river. Velbert stands on the highest part of the Niederberg region and also in its centre. Its average elevation is around 230 metres above sea level; its highest point, at 303 metres, is the Hordt-Berg, and its lowest, at around 70.6 metres, is in Nierenhof am Deilbach. The highest point in Velbert itself is 263 metres above sea level, at the corner of Friedrichstraße and Langenberger Straße. Incorporation As part of the reform of local government districts in North Rhine-Westphalia that came into effect on 1 January 1975, the formerly independent cities of Velbert, Neviges and Langenberg were merged to form the present city of Velbert. History Velbert was first mentioned in AD 875 as Feldbrahti and was ruled by the abbey at Werden. Administration Velbert is divided into three administrative areas, reflecting the three former cities: Velbert-Mitte (Central Velbert), Neviges and Langenberg. There are also numerous suburbs, including Tönisheide, Losenburg, Nordpark, Langenhorst, Birth, Röttgen and Hefel. Politics The current mayor of Velbert is Dirk Lukrafka of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2014. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round |- ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Dirk Lukrafka | align=left| Christian Democratic Union | 12,730 | 40.9 | 12,352 | 50.4 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Esther Kanschat | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens | 6,686 | 21.5 | 12,132 | 49.6 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Rainer Hübinger | align=left| Social Democratic Party | 5,148 | 16.5 |- | | align=left| August-Friedrich Tonscheid | align=left| Velbert Differently | 1,915 | 6.2 |- | | align=left| Cem Demircan | align=left| Independent Velbert Citizens | 1,862 | 6.0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Helmut Stiegelmeier | align=left| Pirate Party Germany | 1,262 | 4.1 |- | bgcolor=| |