Warstein () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

with

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

status in the district of Soest, in

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 ...

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 and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located at the north end of

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. ...

Geography

Warstein is located north of the Arnsberger Wald (forest), at a brook called Wäster. The area south of the city is mostly forested; the lightly forested

Haarstrang The Haar () or Haarstrang is a ridge of hills on the southern edge of the Westphalian Basin in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. From a natural region perspective it is the southern, submontane part of the Hellweg Börde, which stan ...

mountain is to the north. The river

Möhne The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen Rüthen () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Rü ...

flows between these two areas. The highest elevation is in the south of the city near a hill called Stimm Stamm; the lowest elevation is in the village Waldhausen in the north.

Neighbouring municipalities

The following

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, some with

status, border Warstein (clockwise, beginning in the north):

Anröchte Anröchte () is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography It is situated approximately 13 km south of Lippstadt and 15 km east of Soest. Neighbouring municipalities * Bad Sassendorf * E ...

Rüthen Rüthen () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river Möhne, app ...

(town),

Bestwig Bestwig is a municipality in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Bestwig is situated on the river Ruhr (river), Ruhr, approx. 10 km east of Meschede. It lies on the German Autobahn Bundesautobahn 46, A 46 ...

Meschede Meschede () is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis. Education One of the five branches of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachhoc ...

(town),

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; ) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Ho ...

(town),

Möhnesee Möhnesee is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography The Möhnesee municipality is situated around the Möhne Reservoir (hence the name), approx. 10 km south of Soest. History On the night of ...

Bad Sassendorf Bad Sassendorf is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History From the 8th century, the area around the Soester plain was under the Merovingian dynasty. The name “Sassendorf” indicates that it was a S ...

. Of these, Bestwig and Meschede are in the district of

Hochsauerlandkreis Hochsauerlandkreis (, ) is a (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest (district), Soest, Paderborn (district), Paderborn, Höxter (district), Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe ...

, on Warstein's (and, thus, Soest district's) southern border.

Subdivisions

While named for the main settled portion within its total area, the town can be roughly divided into the following subdivisions ():

History

The evidence of human life was found in the between Warstein and Hirschberg. Warstein was first mentioned officially in the year 1072. Historians once thought Warstein was organized as an official town in 1276, but its exact charter date is unclear. Likely, it was founded between 1276 and 1296 by the Archbishop of Cologne, Siegfried von Westerburg. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Warstein was part of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

, a trade association for guilds, a very important international trading association at that time. A fire in 1802 destroyed a significant portion of the town. After the 1802 fire the town centre was moved to the Wester brook. In 1844, the Amt Warstein was founded. In 1975, Warstein and the other eight independent villages merged to form the new borough of Warstein. The decrease of population in Warstein since 1998: *1998: 29,102 *1999: 29,084 *2000: 29,028 *2001: 29,007 *2002: 29,012 *2003: 28,762 *2004: 28,629

List of mayors

*1999–2004: Georg Juraschka (SPD) *2004–2015: Manfred Gödde (BG) *2015–incumbent: Thomas Schöne (CDU)

International relations

Warstein is twinned with: *

Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Saint-Pol on Ternoise''; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Saint-Po-su-Térnoèse'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. It is the seat of th ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

- twinned in 1964 *

Wurzen Wurzen () is a town in the district Leipzig (district), Leipzig Land (voting) and Muldental (number plates), in Saxony, Germany. It is situated next to the river Mulde, here crossed by two bridges, 25 km east of Leipzig, by rail N.E. of Leipzig L ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

- twinned 3 October 1990 * Hebden Royd,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

- twinned November 1995 * Pietrapaola,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

- an official friendship since 2001

Economy

Warsteiner Brauerei mit Besucherzentrum FFSN-7601

The largest employer in Warstein is the

Warsteiner Warsteiner () beer is brewed in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park outside of Warstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Warsteiner has been owned by the Cramer family since 1753. Warsteiner is Germany's largest privately owned brewery; its be ...

brewery, founded in 1753. It is one of the largest breweries in Germany. Second largest employer is

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

operator Siepmann-Werke, founded in 1891. In addition to its mills, the overall Siepmann Group head office is located in Warstein.

Notable people

* (born 1921), television actor * Georg Dassel (1852-1934), quarry owner and industrialist * Friedhelm Hillebrand (born 1940), engineer * Karl-Werner Schulte (born 1946), professor * Hugo Siepmann (1868-1950), industrialist * Emil Siepmann (1863-1950), industrialist an namesake of ''Emil-Siepmann-Strasse'' *

Jan-Lennard Struff Jan-Lennard Struff (; born 25 April 1990) is a German professional tennis player. He reached his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles and doubles rankings of world No. 21 on 19 June 2023 and on 22 October 2018 respectively. ...

(born 1990), tennis player notable for becoming the first

lucky loser A lucky loser is a sports competitor (player or team) who loses a match in a knockout tournament or loses in qualifying, but who then enters the main draw. This can occur when another competitor withdraws during the tournament because of illness ...

to reach a Masters 1000 final

Literature

*Heppekausen, Wolfgang; Clewing, Christian: Warstein: Bilder einer sauerländischen Stadt. Selbstverlag, Warstein 2001. *Gerte, Franz im Auftrag der Volkshochschule Möhne-Lippe: Wie war das?: Belecke 1923–1948. Selbstverlag, Belecke 2001. *Bamberg, Fritz: Die neue Stadt Warstein in alten Ansichten. Europäische Bibliothek, Zaltbommel 1986. *Bender, Josef: Geschichte der Stadt Warstein. Stein, Werl 1973. *Sandgathe, Günther: Die Stadt Warstein im Dreissigjährigen Krieg. Selbstverlag, Warstein 1971.

References

External links

Official site

Warsteiner brewery homepage
{{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Soest (district) Members of the Hanseatic League