Warstein

Infobox German Location
Name = Warstein
Art = Stadt
image_photo = Warstein_Kirche.jpg
imagesize = 300px
image_caption = View of Warstein with church
Wappen = Warstein Wappen.pnglat_deg = 51 |lat_min = 27
lon_deg = 8 |lon_min = 21
Lageplan =
Bundesland = North Rhine-Westphalia
Regierungsbezirk = Arnsberg
Landkreis = Soest
Höhe = 310
Fläche = 157.91
Einwohner = 28340
pop_source =
Stand = 2006-06-30
PLZ = 59581
Vorwahl = 02902 (Warstein),
02925 (Allagen)
Kfz = SO
Gemeindeschlüssel = 05 9 74 044
Gliederung = 9
Straße = Dieplohstraße 1
59581 Warstein
Website = [http://www.warstein.de/ www.warstein.de]
Bürgermeister = Manfred Gödde
Partei = BG

Warstein is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of the Sauerland.

Geography

Warstein is located north of the "Arnsberger Wald" (forest) at the brook "Wester". South of the city is mostly forested, in the north there is the Haarstrang mountain with only little forest. Between these two landscapes is the river Möhne. The highest elevation is 581 m is in the south of the city near the hill "Stimm Stamm", the lowest elevation with 216 m is in the village "Waldhausen" in the north.

Neighbouring municipalities

The following towns bordered to Warstein (clockwise, beginning in the north): Anröchte, Rüthen, Bestwig, Meschede, Arnsberg, Möhnesee, Bad Sassendorf.

Division of the town

Warstein consists of the following 9 districts:

History

Evidence of human life was found in the Bilsteinhöhle cave between Warstein and Hirschberg. Warstein was first mentioned officially in 1072. Historians once thought Warstein was organized as an official town in 1276, but that is wrong. Probably it became a town in the same year as Belecke in 1296. In the Middle Ages Warstein was part of the Hanseatic League, that is a trade association for guilds, a very important international business association at that time. A fire in 1802 destroyed big parts of the town. After that the town centre was moved to the Wester brook. In 1844 the Amt Warstein was founded. It was part of the Archbishopric Cologne till 1902. In 1975 Warstein and the other eight independent villages became the new town 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: 26.629

List of mayors

*Manfred Gödde (BG) - since 2004
*Georg Juraschka (SPD) - 1999 to 2004
*Manfred Gödde - before 1999

Twin towns

* ) -- since 1964
*
* ) -- since November 1995
* ) -- an official friendship since 2001

Economy

The largest employer in Warstein is the Warsteiner Brauerei founded in 1753. It is one of the largest breweries in Germany and famous in the whole world.

Literature

*Heppekausen, Wolfgang; Clewing, Christian: Warstein: Bilder einer sauerländischen Stadt. Selbstverlag, Warstein 2001. ISBN 3-00-008520-3
*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. ISBN 90-288-3363-3
*Bender, Josef: Geschichte der Stadt Warstein. Stein, Werl 1973. ISBN 3-920980-03-4
*Sandgathe, Günther: Die Stadt Warstein im Dreissigjährigen Krieg. Selbstverlag, Warstein 1971.

External links

* [http://www.warstein.de Official site] de icon
* [http://www.warsteiner.de Warsteiner brewery homepage] de icon