Kettwig is the southernmost borough of the city of Essen in western Germany and, until 1975, was a town in its own right. Kettwig is situated next to the Ruhr river, at a median height of 53 metres above sea level. It is the most recently incorporated borough of Essen and also the largest in size, at 15.3 km². It belongs to the city district Stadtbezirk IX Werden/Kettwig/Bredeney and has 17,760 inhabitants as of June 2006.HistoryKettwig's first mention was in a letter of Pope Innocent III to Heribert II of Werden dated May 19, 1199.A bridge over the Ruhr was first mentioned in 1282 and heavily fought for during the Thirty Years War. The northern parts of the Kettwig parish belonged to the abbey of Werden until 1802, then fell to Prussia from 1802 to 1806. From 1806 to 1814, Kettwig belonged to the earldom of Berg, then was under Prussian administration again until 1929.Kettwig gained town rights in 1857 and first belonged to the district of Duisburg, then to the district of Essen. In 1929, when the district of Essen was dissolved, Kettwig fell to the district Düsseldorf-Mettmann.The part of Kettwig south of the Ruhr, Kettwig vor der Brücke, belonged to the earldom of Berg until 1814, then fell to the district of Düsseldorf until May 15, 1930 when it was merged with Kettwig. Oefte was merged from Heiligenhaus into Kettwig in April 1936.