Schwelm has got a historical town center with many old houses, some of which date back to the 18th century. The
Altmarkt is a historical market place lying in front of the tall
Christuskirche, the town's principal Protestant church. From the
Altmarkt, the decorative street
Kölner Strasse leads uphill and is part of the former road to Cologne. Until 2011, Schwelm was home to the
Brauerei Schwelm, the "Schwelm Brewery", one of few remaining private breweries in North Rhine-Westphalia. Established in 1830 by Haarmann & Kathagen, the brewery was one of the first worldwide to switch from wooden to metal storage containers. The original administration building, the ''Rietz'sche Haus'' built in 1701, is an appealing house in the town center. Most of the brewery's historic production site, however, was torn down in 2012. The oldest piano manufacturer in the world is located in Schwelm. Since 1794,
Rud. Ibach Sohn has been building pianos and, until 1904, organs in Schwelm. Europe's biggest fair-trade organisation "GEPA" was founded in Schwelm in the 1970s, but is now located in
Wuppertal. A historical Jewish cemetery, dating from the late 18th century is located in the countryside about 1.3 km south of the town's center. It is maintained by the municipality and volunteers. ==Twin towns – sister cities==