Meschede () is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

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

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for th ...

(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 2 ...

(85 km),

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semeste ...

(57 km),

Hagen Hagen () is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (met by t ...

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 th ...

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

* 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 *

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 approximat ...

* 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, es ...

. 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. 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 tradin ...

, many inhabitants of Meschede died in at least two

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

s of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complication ...

. Both in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Meschede was notorious as a location where the Germans exploited POWs 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 Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

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 w ...

* 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 Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It h ...

, 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 ...

, and is connected via the Sauerland Net, RB 57, to

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 (1887–1914), painter * Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (born 1963), board game creator, author of the

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

* 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 , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. *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 Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ...

, 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