The town of Wetter is first documented in the year 1214 in relation with the Castle Wetter and the knights Bruno and Friedrich. Another famous castle ruin is the Castle Volmarstein which was built in the 11th century by the
archbishop of Cologne Frederick I. The castle is located on the other side of the
Ruhr in the district of Volmarstein which has been part of Wetter since the municipal community-reform in 1970. In 1819
Friedrich Harkort founded the first industrial workshop at Castle Wetter, producing steam engines and gas light equipment. Thus he did not just develop education and social policy but also laid the cornerstone of the early industrialization of the
Ruhr area and Germany. The reservoir between Wetter and
Herdecke, Harkortsee, and the highest mountain in the area, Harkortberg, were both named after him. Due to the lowering bombardments in 1944/45, during the
Second World War, the town became the domicile of the
Reichsgau south-Westfalia, originally residing in
Bochum. ==Politics==