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: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) is located here.

Geography

Meschede is situated in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , 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 2,800/km ...

valley, near to the Hennesee, south of the nature-park Arnsberger Wald. Major towns in the vicinity of Meschede are Paderborn (51 km),

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

(85 km), Siegen (57 km),

Hagen Hagen () is the Largest cities in Germany, 41st-largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany. The municipality is located in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the R ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

(60 km) and

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

(49 km).

Neighbouring municipalities

* Arnsberg * Bestwig *

Eslohe Eslohe is a municipality in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Eslohe is situated approximately 25 km south-west of Meschede. Neighbouring municipalities * Finnentrop * Lennestadt * Meschede ...

Schmallenberg Schmallenberg ( Westphalian: ''Smalmereg'') is a town and a climatic health resort in the High Sauerland District, Germany. By area, it is the third biggest of all cities and towns of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the second biggest o ...

Sundern Sundern is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name Sundern is common in Westphalia, as it means "ground given away for private usage" in the Westphalian dialect. Geography Sundern is situated approximate ...

* Warstein

Division of the town

After the local government reforms of 1975 Meschede consists of these districts and villages: Meschede 2009 Stadt

History

Meschede was founded as a settlement around a convent, the ''Walpurgis-Stift'' , in the

10th century The 10th century was the period from 901 ( CMI) through 1000 ( M) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the last century of the 1st millennium. In China the Song dynasty was established. The Muslim World experienced a cultural zenith, ...

. In

1572 Year 1572 ( MDLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 16 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is tried for treason, for his part ...

, it became a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

. In the

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...

, many inhabitants of Meschede died in at least two epidemics of dysentery. Both in World War I and in World War II, Meschede was notorious as a location where the Germans exploited

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s in labour camps. In February, 1945, the town was destroyed by Allied air raid bombings, because of its strategically important railway station, but rebuilt after the war. In 1921, the Sauerländer Heimatbund was founded. In 1970, Meschede's St. Walberga Hospital was the site of a smallpox outbreak, as described in the book ''

The Demon in the Freezer ''The Demon in the Freezer'' is a 2002 nonfiction book on the biological weapon agents smallpox and anthrax and how the American government develops defensive measures against them. It was written by journalist Richard Preston, also author of t ...

'' by Richard Preston.

Economy

Meschede is the seat of three major companies: * a department of

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...

* the Veltins Brewery * the Honsel factory, founded in

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

, that produces car parts and other products from aluminum, owned by the Canadese company Martinrea. An industrial zone is located near the crossing of the A 46 with the B 55 (see below). Tourism also is important to the town's economy.

Transportation

Meschede is connected with two national roads, the federal roads B 7 and B 55, and the motorway A 46. Meschede has a

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

, and is connected via the Sauerland Net, RB 57, to Arnsberg and other towns. It has an airfield, the Meschede-Schüren Airfield, with a 900 m runway.

Climate

The city's climate is continental. The lowest temperature recorded was , its highest was recorded at .

Culture

Spanish fricco Spanish Fricco, also spelled as Spanish frikko, is a stew of Westphalian cuisine in Germany. It is a hearty dish prepared primarily using diced beef, potatoes and onions, typically in a cream soup base prepared using butter and sour cream. Pork and ...

is a traditional stew dish of Meschede.

Mayors of Meschede

*1952–1961: Engelbert Dick (CDU) *1961–1969: Josef Busch (CDU) *1969–1974: Bruno Peus (CDU) *1975–1998: Franz Stahlmecke (CDU) *1998–1999: Bruno Peus (CDU) *1999–2015: Hans-Ulrich (Uli) Hess (CDU) *2015–present: Christoph Weber (CDU)

Notable people

* Joseph Hippolyt Pulte (1811–1884), homeopathic physician *

August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly act ...

(1887–1914), painter * Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (born 1963), board game creator, author of the Carcassonne * Matthias Ungemach (born 1968), rower, trained here

Main sights

Abbey Königsmünster An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The ...

, built by the Order of Saint Benedict. *Lake Hennesee near Meschede is the main recreational area of the town.

Twin towns – sister cities

Meschede is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Cousolre, France (1965) * Le Puy-en-Velay, France (1975) Meschede also has friendly relations with: *

Neufraunhofen Neufraunhofen is a municipality in the district of Landshut in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia ...

, Germany

References

External links

Official site
Meschede im winter2004

{{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Hochsauerlandkreis