Meschede () is a town in the

Hochsauerland Hochsauerlandkreis (meaning “High Sauerland District” in German) is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest, Paderborn, Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, M� ...

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 inha ...

, Germany. It is the capital of the district

Hochsauerlandkreis Hochsauerlandkreis (meaning “High Sauerland District” in German) is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest, Paderborn, Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, M� ...

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 The Arnsberg Forest Nature Park (german: Naturpark Arnsberger Wald) is a nature park in the districts of Hochsauerlandkreis and Kreis Soest, Soest within the administrictive region of Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg, Arnsberg in the German state of No ...

. 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 t ...

(51 km), Kassel (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 semest ...

(57 km), Hagen, Dortmund (60 km) and Hamm (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 Hoch ...

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

* Eslohe * Schmallenberg * Sundern *

Warstein Warstein () is a municipality with town status in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of Sauerland. Geography Warstein is located north of the Arnsberger Wald (forest) at a brook called Wäs ...

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. 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, 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 ...

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. Complications ...

. Both in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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) c ...

outbreak, as described in the book '' The Demon in the Freezer'' by

Richard Preston Richard Preston (born August 5, 1954) is a writer for ''The New Yorker'' and bestselling author who has written books about infectious disease, bioterrorism, redwoods and other subjects, as well as fiction. Biography Preston was born in Cambri ...

Economy

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

Veltins Brewery Brauerei C & A Veltins () is a brewery in the west German city of Meschede-Grevenstein. In 2015, Veltins ranked fourth among Germany's best selling beers. The small guesthouse brewery of Franz Kramer opened its simple wooden gates i ...

* 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 4 ...

, 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 ha ...

, owned by the Canadese company

Martinrea Martinrea International Inc. is a Canadian auto parts manufacturer based in Vaughan, Ontario. Its principal focus is on North America but it also operates in Europe and Asia. Principal activities Design and development of lightweight structures an ...

. 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, 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 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 Joseph Hippolyt Pulte (born in Meschede, Westphalia, Confederation of the Rhine, October 6, 1811 – died in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 24, 1884) was a homeopathic physician. Biography He was educated in the gymnasium of Soest and received his ...

(1811–1884), homeopathic physician * August Macke (1887–1914), painter *

Klaus-Jürgen Wrede Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (born 1963 in Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German board game creator, the creator of the best-selling ''Carcassonne'' and ''Downfall of Pompeii''. Early life Born to music-teacher parents in Meschede, Germany, Wrede g ...

(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 Au ...

Matthias Ungemach Matthias Ungemach (born 21 May 1968 in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German rower (6'6"; 100 kg), double World Champion and Olympian. Ungemach, Armin Weyrauch, Armin Eichholz, Bahne Rabe and Jorg Dederding won the 1991 ...

(born 1968), rower, trained here

Main sights

* Abbey Königsmünster, 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 with: *

Cousolre Cousolre () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. The nearest major city is Charleroi in Belgium (the village is very close to the Belgian border). It is about southwest of Charleroi and east of Maubeuge. Heraldry See a ...

, 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 c ...

, France (1975) Meschede also has friendly relations with: * Neufraunhofen, Germany

References

External links

Official site
Meschede im winter2004

{{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Hochsauerlandkreis