Hamm

Head of the city Council is the "Oberbürgermeister" (Lord mayor) the chief executive (since 1999) of the administration. The "Oberbürgermeister" is elected diretctly for a five years term, together with the city council. The "Oberstadtdirektor" was the non- elected chief executive bevor the reform of the Northrhine-Westphalian local administration in 1999, the "Oberbürgermeister" in the period bevor 1999 was only the elected representative of a larger town or city.

Hamm has seven quarters (de: Stadtbezirk), each divided into residential areas like City, which actually means the center of the city around the Pauluschurch or like Hövel-Radbod near the former entrance to the coalmine Radbod in the quarter Bockum-Hövel. The following table shows the situation in 2006. Every quarter is named with the prefix Hamm, like Hamm-Bockum-Hövel or Hamm-Mitte.

The former town Bockum-Hövel today forms the quarter with the largest number of inhabitants, closely followed by the centre of the city Hamm-Mitte. The latter is the smallest quarter by metric size.

Several hospital are situated in Hamm. The largest is the Marien Hospital with ist two separate buildings, Marien Hospital I the old building within the centre of the city and Marien Hospital II together 587 beds. Then there is the (EVK Hamm) Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hamm (Protestant Hospital) combined with the children's hospital south of the centre together 493 beds, the St. Barbara Klinik (Clinic) in Heessen with 422 beds and the Malteser Krankenhaus (Hospital) St. Josef in Bockum-Hövel with 260 beds. Additional there are the Klinik für manuelle Therapie (Clinic for manual therapy) within the quarter Bad Hamm (138 beds), the cure district. The Westfälisches Institut Hamm für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und psychotherapie (Westphalian Institute Hamm for Children's- and Youthpsychiatry and psychotherapy) as an Institute of the federal state (158 beds) and the private Klinik (clinic) am Bärenbrunnen. (All Hospitals together have 2058 beds.) Former Hospitals are:

Hamm has six Gymnasien (grammar schools), two comprehensive schools and several Realschulen, Hauptschulen and Grundschulen (elementary schools). The oldest Gymnasium in Hamm is the Gymnasium Hammonense which was established as academic school (small university) with three faculties in 1657. The school declined in its importance and in 1781 merged with the local Latin school and got reformed by Prussia. The new combined school was humanist Gymnasium. In 1867 the "Märkisches Gymnasium" followed as the second Gymnasium of Hamm, in 1902 the "Freiherr vom Stein Gymnasium", in 1924 the "Beisenkamp Gymnasium" - first as "Oberlyceum" (Gymnasium for girls) - and in 1968 the "Galilei-Gymnasium" were established. Additionally in Schloss Heessen there is a private school including the Gymnasium. Both coprehensive schools in Hamm are younger foundations by the city during school reforms of NRW.

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