Lennestadt (occasionally also ''die Lennestadt'') lies in the
Sauerland
The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of the States of Germany, German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.
...
in southeast
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
and is a community in
Olpe district. It is the district's most populous municipality.
Lennestadt itself is not an actual town but a community which comprises several towns and villages.
Geography
Lennestadt lies at the common point of the Ebbegebirge (in the west), Homert and Rothaargebirge (in the east) Nature Parks and is crossed by the river
Lenne
The Lenne () is a tributary of the river Ruhr in the Sauerland hills, western Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north a ...
, a tributary to the
Ruhr
The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...
. Besides the Hundem, which empties into the Lenne in the outlying centre of Altenhundem, the Veischede also feeds this river.
Lennestadt's position is 51° 03' to 51° 12' N, 7° 58' to 8° 15' E. The town's highest point is the Härdler (756 m), and its lowest is on the Lenne near Borghausen (239 m).
Neighbouring communities
Lennestadt borders in the north on the communities of
Eslohe and
Finnentrop, in the east on
Schmallenberg
Schmallenberg (; ) is a town and a Luftkurort, climatic health resort in the Hochsauerlandkreis, High Sauerland District, Germany. By area, it is the :de:Liste der 100 flächengrößten Städte und Gemeinden Deutschlands, third biggest of all cit ...
and
Bad Berleburg
Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest of ...
, in the south on
Kirchhundem, and in the west on the towns of
Attendorn and
Olpe.
Constituent communities

Within Lennestadt's municipal area lie the following centres:
Altenhundem, Altenvalbert, Bilstein, Bonzel, Bonzelerhammer, Brenschede, Bruchhausen, Burbecke, Elspe, Elsperhusen, Einsiedelei, Germaniahütte, Gleierbrück, Grevenbrück, Habbecke, Hachen, Haus Hilmecke, Haus Valbert, Halberbracht, Hengstebeck, Hespecke, Kickenbach, Kirchveischede, Kracht, Langenei, Maumke, Meggen, Melbecke, Milchenbach, Oberelspe, Obermelbecke, Obervalbert, Oedingen, Oedingermühle, Oedingerberg (formerly Berge), Saalhausen, Sporke, Stöppel, Theten and Trockenbrück.
The fact that there is not a physical town of Lennestadt, but that Lennestadt is an aggregation of the smaller towns listed above, often leads to confusion among visitors.
History
The town of Lennestadt was founded on 1 July 1969 as legal successor to the ''
Amt'' of Bilstein out of seven former communities and outlying centres.
The earliest traces of settlers in the current municipal area date to the Early Middle Ages. The centres of Elspe and Oedingen were first mentioned in a document in 1000 that
Emperor Otto III had issued. This makes them the oldest places in Olpe district.
In the 19th century, parts of the current town area were characterized by
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
,
ironworking and
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...
.
Amalgamations
In 1975, Milchenbach was joined with Lennestadt. It had formerly belonged to the community of Lenne (now part of
Schmallenberg
Schmallenberg (; ) is a town and a Luftkurort, climatic health resort in the Hochsauerlandkreis, High Sauerland District, Germany. By area, it is the :de:Liste der 100 flächengrößten Städte und Gemeinden Deutschlands, third biggest of all cit ...
).
Population development
Politics
Town council
Mayor
Until 1997, Lennestadt's chief administrator bore the title ''Stadtdirektor'' (“Town Director”). The ''Bürgermeister'', or Mayor, was an honorary office and was mainly ceremonial. The current mayor is Tobias Puspas, of the CDU.
National and regional elections
Coat of arms
The town's
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
were conferred on 31 December 1971. The gold and green bars in the background were taken from the arms formerly borne by the ''Amt'' of Bilstein. The wavy bend stands for the river Lenne, the town's namesake, and the rose comes from the outlying centre of Oedingen.
Town patron
Town council decided in 1995 to name Sir
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...
as the town's patron. Since 2001, the town has been awarding the ''Thomas-Morus-Preis'' to citizens “who in their acts have let themselves be led by the convictions of their conscience and who without regard to possible personal disadvantages through bravery and moral courage have thereby become examples to the good of others and our society.”
Twin towns – sister cities
Lennestadt is
twinned with:
*
Otwock
Otwock (Yiddish: אָטוואָצק) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland, some south-east of Warsaw, with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is situated on the right bank of the ...
, Poland (1992)
*
Çaycuma, Türkiye
Culture and sightseeing
Theatre
The ''Kulturgemeinde Hundem-Lenne'', founded in 1946, offers a cultural programme in the ''Pädagogisches Zentrum'' (PZ, “Educational Centre”), a venue with 480 seats at the
Anne-Frank-
Hauptschule
A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
in Meggen.
Museum
In Grevenbrück is found the town
museum
A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
, the ''Museum der Stadt Lennestadt'' in whose building the town's homeland and regional studies
library
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
and the town
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...
are also to be found.
Since 1998, the ''Förderverein Bergbaudenkmäler Lennestadt'' (“Lennestadt Mining Monument Development Association”) has run the ''Bergbaumuseum Siciliaschacht'' (“Sicilia Mineshaft Mining Museum”) in Meggen, which recalls the town's mining tradition.
Buildings
Among well known buildings in Lennestadt are
Bilstein Castle (''Burg Bilstein''), the Peperburg castle ruins, many
timber frame houses, the so-called ''Sauerlandpyramiden'', the ''Sicilia'' Mineshaft and the Hohe Bracht viewing tower. On ''
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
'' 55 between Oedingen and Eslohe, the ''Madonna der Straße'' (“Madonna of the Road”) roadside shrine is to be found.
Image:Museum der Stadt Lennestadt.jpg, Museum of Lennestadt
Image:Madonna der Straße.jpg, Madonna der Straße
Image:Burgruine Peperburg.jpg, Peperburg castle ruins
Image:Siciliaschacht.jpg, Siciliaschacht mining museum
Image:Alte Schmiede Altenhundem.jpg, Old smithy in Altenhundem
Image:St. Agatha Altenhundem.jpg, Church of St. Agatha in Altenhundem
Parks
A spa is to be found in the outlying centre of Saalhausen, which is a recognized ''Luftkurort'' (“air spa resort”).
Regular events
The
Elspe Festival in
Elspe (Lennestadt), based on the stories by
Karl May, attracts about 200,000 spectators every year. The festival area (12 hectares) includes an indoor festival hall, a copy of a
Western saloon
A Western saloon is a kind of bar particular to the Old West. Saloons served customers such as fur trappers, cowboys, soldiers, lumberjacks, businessmen, lawmen, outlaws, miners, and gamblers. A saloon might also be known as a "watering tro ...
and some restaurants.
Among the town's regular events is the traditional Schützenfest (“fair featuring shooting matches”) that is held in all of the bigger centres each year. Furthermore, every August there is a town festival lasting several days which since 2005 has been held together with the ''Sauerländer Straßenmusiker-Festival'' (“Sauerland Street Musicians’ Festival”) in Altenhundem.
Economy and infrastructure
Economy
Lennestadt is home to a variety of small and middle-sized businesses, mainly in the manufacturing field. Most prevalent are companies in the metal-working, machine building, automotive parts supply, and electrical industry.
Public institutions
Lennestadt's town hall is located in the central constituent community of Altenhundem.
The local court, the ''Amtsgericht Lennestadt'', is located in the outlying centre of Grevenbrück.
Transport
Local public transport
With its ''Altenhundem'', ''Grevenbrück (Westf.)'' and ''Lennestadt-Meggen'' stations, Lennestadt lies on the
Ruhr-Sieg line from
Hagen
Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...
to
Siegen
Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.
It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...
.
Furthermore,
buslines of the ''Verkehrsbetriebe Westfalen-Süd'' (VWS, “Westphalia-South Transport Services”) and ''Busverkehr Ruhr-Sieg'' (BRS, “Ruhr-Sieg Bus Transport”) run to Kirchhundem, Olpe, Hilchenbach, Finnentrop, Schmallenberg, Meschede and Attendorn.
= Historical
=
Until 1944 there was another railway connection to
Erndtebrück by the Altenhundem–Birkelbach railway line, whose bridges, however, were blown up by retreating units of the German army in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Parts of the tunnels are still preserved.
The line to Wenholthausen was still run until the mid-1960s. At this time, Altenhundem was said to be a railway village.
Private transport
The Federal Highways (''
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
n'') B 55 and B 517 run through the town.
Cycle transport
Lennestadt is connected to the North Rhine-Westphalia Cycle Transport Network (''Radverkehrsnetz NRW'') and furthermore lies on the ''Lenneroute'' running from the Lenne's source on the
Kahler Asten
The Kahler Asten () is an 841.9-metre-high mountain in the Rothaar Mountains, Rothaar range in the district of Hochsauerlandkreis, Hochsauerland, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a popular destination, receiving more than 500, ...
down to its mouth at the Hohensyburg (castle).
Media
The ''Westfalenpost'' and the ''Westfälische Rundschau'' each have a local edition in Lennestadt and appear as daily
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
s. As well, the advertising sheets ''Sauerlandkurier'' and ''Sauerländer Wochenanzeiger'' come out on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Lennestadt belongs to the ''Westdeutscher Rundfunk''
Siegen
Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.
It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...
studio area. News from the South Sauerland is broadcast on
WDR 2 and in local broadcasts on
WDR Fernsehen.
Education
Lennestadt is home to many
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s, one special school whose emphasis is on learning,
Hauptschule
A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
n,
Realschule
Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
n and two
Gymnasien. Both the Gymnasium der Stadt Lennestadt as well as the Gymnasium Maria Königin
are located in Altenhundem. Moreover, there is a
folk high school
Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...
and a professional college. Lennestadt furthermore lies in the feeder area of the
University of Siegen.
Notable people
*
Karl Joseph Schulte (1871–1941), Archbishop and Cardinal
*
Adolf Hennecke (1905–1975), activist in
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
*
Irmgart Wessel-Zumloh (1907–1980), painter and graphic artist
Honorary citizens
* Paul Tigges, writer
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Olpe (district)