Location and extent
Wesel is located on the lower Lower Rhine and is surrounded by various landscapes and cultural areas. On the one hand, the city lies on the edge of the Ruhr area, is a member of the Ruhr Regional Association and is about 25 kilometres away as the crow flies from the city centres of the major cities of Duisburg and Oberhausen to the south. Düsseldorf is about 50 kilometres and Cologne about 85 kilometres to the south. In contrast, the comparatively sparsely populated landscape of the Lower Rhine lies to the north and west beyond the Rhine, and the border to the Netherlands is about 25 kilometres away as the crow flies. To the east and north-east of the city lies the Hohe Mark-Westmünsterland Nature Park, and at the same time the border to the state of Westphalia is located there. The Lippe, which flows into the Rhine there, and also the Issel flow into Wesel.
The urban area covers an area of 122.56 square kilometres, making Wesel the second largest town in the district after Hamminkeln. The maximum north-south extension is 12.0 and the maximum east-west extension is 17.3 kilometres. Since the territorial reform, Wesel with the district of Büderich includes, in addition to its core area on the right bank of the Rhine, an area on the left bank of the Rhine with a surface area of 24 square kilometres. This makes Wesel the town furthest down the Rhine, encompassing areas on both sides of the river. The population density is just under 500 inhabitants per square kilometre, but it is distributed very differently. The most densely populated district of Wesel has almost 1,500 inhabitants per square kilometre, whereas the district of Bislich has only about 70 inhabitants per square kilometre.
In the northwest, Wesel with its district Bislich borders on the area of the city of Rees, also located on the Rhine, which is the only neighboring municipality not belonging to the district of Wesel, but to the district of Kleve. In the north the city area borders on the city Hamminkeln and in the north as well as in the east on the municipality Hünxe. These are both comparatively sparsely populated communities with less than 200 inhabitants per square kilometre. In the south, the Wesel-Datteln Canal forms the border to the town of Voerde. In this direction Wesel is connected to the conurbation of the Ruhr area. In the southwest there is a border to the city of Rheinberg on the left side of the Rhine. To the west there is a land border (district Büderich) as well as a border marked by the Rhine (district Bislich on the right side of the Rhine) to the town Xanten on the left side of the Rhine. The total length of the city border is 61.8 kilometres.
Land use
In 2016, almost half of the urban area was taken up by agricultural land, making it the largest share of the various forms of land use. The share of buildings and open space in the urban area is almost the same as the national average, whereas business, recreational and transport space are all slightly above the national average. Overall, the total share of residential and transport land in the urban area is 24.6 %, slightly above the state average of 22.9 %. This is the sum of the aforementioned types of land, which is, however, calculated in a slightly different way. The share of forest land was significantly lower than the national average in 2016. However, at 14.6 %, the share of forest was only slightly below the average for the Düsseldorf administrative district (15.6 %). At the beginning of 2016, Wesel was the municipality with the largest share of water area among all municipalities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This was 13.3 %, compared to only 1.9 % for the state average. In addition to the Rhine, which is several hundred metres wide, and the rivers Lippe and Issel, larger water areas include several quarry lakes, including the Auesee and the Diersfordter Waldsee. Except for the Auesee, which is very close to the city, all the larger quarry ponds are located in the area of the district Bislich and to a lesser extent in the district Büderich. The neighbouring towns of Rees (12.4 %) and Xanten (11.4 %) also had more than 10 % water areas in 2016.
City breakdown
| Wesel districts |
| Name | Area in km² | Inhabitants
(31 Dec. 2019) | population per km² | Coat of arms |
| Wesel | 26,08 | 38.300 | 1.469 | 
|
| Flüren | 9,15 | 4.792 | 524 | 
|
| Obrighoven-Lackhausen | 26,79 | 11.026 | 412 | 
|
| Bislich | 36,53 | 2.560 | 70 | 
|
| Büderich | 24,00 | 5.823 | 243 | _COA.svg.png)
|
| Total | 122,55 | 62.501 | 510 | |
Spatially, the city is divided into the following five districts, which in turn consist of other districts:
- Bislich: Bergerfurth, Bislich and Diersfordt
- Büderich: Büderich, Ginderich and Werrich/Perrich
- Flüren: Flüren
- Obrighoven-Lackhausen: Lackhausen, Obrighoven and Wittenberg
- Wesel: old town, Blumenkamp, Feldmark, Fusternberg and Schepersfeld
For data also about the individual districts see list of the districts of Wesel.
The subdivision into city and town districts primarily serves statistical purposes, but reflects certain historical circumstances. With the exception of Blumenkamp in the north and Lippedorf in the south, the district of Wesel comprises areas that already belonged to the city in the Middle Ages. The development of the Feldmark, Fusternbergs and Schepersfelds into urban quarters started only around 1890. The districts Obrighoven-Lackhausen and Flüren were both incorporated in 1969, but they were already closely connected to Wesel in their historical development and have a population density close to the average of the whole city area. Bislich and Büderich, on the other hand, were only incorporated in 1975 and have a lower population density and more rural structures.
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