Warstein

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 mountain is to the north. The river Möhne flows between these two areas. The highest elevation is 581 m in the south of the city near a hill called Stimm Stamm; the lowest elevation is 216 m in the village Waldhausen in the north.

Neighbouring municipalities

The following municipalities, some with town status, border Warstein (clockwise, beginning in the north): Anröchte, Rüthen (town), Bestwig, Meschede (town), Arnsberg (town), Möhnesee, Bad Sassendorf. Of these, Bestwig and Meschede are in the district of Hochsauerlandkreis, on Warstein's (and, thus, Soest district's) southern border.

Subdivisions

While named for the main settled portion within its 157.91 km2 total area, the town can be roughly divided into the following subdivisions ():

• Allagen
• Belecke
• Hirschberg
• Mülheim
• Niederbergheim
• Sichtigvor
• Suttrop
• Waldhausen
• Warstein

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, Warstein was part of the Hanseatic League, 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

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Warstein is twinned with:

• [[Image:Flag of France.svg|25px]] Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, France - twinned in 1964
• [[Image:Flag of Germany.svg|25px]] Wurzen, Saxony, Germany - twinned 3 October 1990
• [[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|25px]] Hebden Royd, United Kingdom - twinned November 1995
• [[Image:Flag of Italy.svg|25px]] Pietrapaola, Italy - an official friendship since 2001
• [[Image:Flag of USA.svg|25px]] Tazewell, Tennessee, USA - friendship circa 1997, the hometown of Warsteiner's most loyal beer afficionado, Eugene Neyland Watkins

Economy

The largest employer in Warstein is the Warsteiner brewery, founded in 1753. It is one of the largest breweries in Germany. Second largest employer is steel mill 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 (born 1990), tennis player notable for becoming the first lucky loser to reach a Masters 1000 final

References

References

1. [https://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw/kommunalwahlen/2020/index_bm.shtml Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020], Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 30 June 2021.
2. "Warstein - City - ILC".
3. "About {{!}} Quality From the Heart of Warstein". Siepmann-Werke GmbH & Co. KG.