Verl Heap

Verl () is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is approximately 15 km south of Bielefeld and 10 km east of Gütersloh.

History

The name Verl was first mentioned in the expression 'Henricus de Verlo', which can be found in a charter from 1264. The designation probably relates to the farm estate Meier zu Verl, which belonged to a group of four estates that presumably came into existence around the turn of the first millennium. Some earlier documented references to estates in this area can be dated back to the year 1188.

In 1512, a chapel was built in the farming community. This chapel was turned into a parish church in 1577 and, since then, has marked the social center for the communities of Verl, Sende and Bornholte. Count Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg sponsored the building of the church of St. Anna at the location of the former chapel in 1792. The construction of this classical hall church was completed in 1801.

Until the establishment of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807 during the Napoleonic period, Verl belonged to the County of Rietberg. From 1807 on, the county was divided into two administrative districts (called cantons) -- Rietberg and Neuenkirchen—comprising the now independent municipalities of Verl, Bornholte, Sende, Liemke, and Österwiehe. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the districts where incorporated into the newly created district of Wiedenbrück.

On July 1, 1838, the canton administration was moved from Neuenkirchen to Verl and, in addition to the aforementioned municipalities, the village of Kaunitz was added to the newly created canton of Verl. With the introduction of a new local government code in the Kingdom of Prussia on October 31, 1841, the canton's name was changed to Amt Verl (meaning department). By this time, Verl already had 6,786 inhabitants.

Another adjustment to the local government code was carried out on January 1, 1970, constituting the current city limits. Now simply called Verl, the municipality consists of five administrative units (Verl, Bornholte, Sürenheide, Sende, and Kaunitz) and belongs to the district of Gütersloh. Verl is a town as of 1 January 2010. In 2017, the town was declared "culturally significant" by the LWL-Geodaten Kultur organization.

Places of interest

* St. Anna Church
* Timbered houses from the 16th century
* Flea market "Hobbymarkt"—one of the largest flea markets in Germany, every first Saturday of the month

Important companies

* Beckhoff New Automation Technology
* Bertelsmann Financial Services
* Miles and More Traveler loyalty
* Nobilia, the European market leader for kitchen furniture

Sport

SC Verl, an association football club, was founded on 6 September 1924, and since 1970 has consistently played in the higher echelons of amateur football. The club was promoted to the professional national third division in 2020 where it has played ever since.

In 2021, the town of Verl applied to be a host city for an international program as part of the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin. For the occasion of the Olympics, the town was selected to host the Honduran chapter of Special Olympics International. The delegation consisted of 25 people and were to stay in the city for four days total.

Sister cities

Verl has sister city relationships with the following two cities:

* Annaburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (1990)
* Delphos, Ohio, United States (1999)

The sister relationship with Annaburg was established in 1990, shortly after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. In the first few years of the relationship, Verl assisted Annaburg in finding a new administration, which would eventually help create new connections between the two cities.

The sister relationship was Delphos was founded in 1999. The town was founded in the 1800s by pastor Johannes Otto Bredeick, a native of Verl, after a period of famine had struck North Rhine-Westphalia. Periodic visits and a student exchange happen between the two towns every year since the sister relationship went into effect.

Notable people

* Joachim Milberg
* Elmar Brok

References

External links

City website

Verl Local History Society
*

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