Rüthen () is a town in the district of Soest, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river Möhne, approx. 20 km south of Lippstadt and south-west of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

. The highest point is the Wehberg with a height of , the lowest point the valley of the river Pöppelsche at . With an area of more than it is the largest town within the district of Soest.

Neighbouring municipalities

Division of the town

Today Rüthen is the commune largest in area in the district of Soest with an area of . After the local government reforms of 1975 Rüthen consists of the following 15 districts: * Rüthen (5,360 inhabitants) * Altenrüthen (550 inhabitants) * Drewer (780 inhabitants) * Hemmern (170 inhabitants) * Hoinkhausen (170 inhabitants) * Kallenhardt (1,810 inhabitants) * Kellinghausen (90 inhabitants) * Kneblinghausen (310 inhabitants) * Langenstraße-Heddinghausen (460 inhabitants) * Meiste (410 inhabitants) * Menzel (426 inhabitants) * Nettelstädt (111 inhabitants) * Oestereiden (870 inhabitants) * Weickede (25 inhabitants) * Westereiden (530 inhabitants)

International relations

Rüthen is twinned with: *

Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich ...

(

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) – since 1983 * Egeln (

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

) – since 1991

History

The city of Rüthen was first mentioned in a document of the Kloster Grafschaft (abbey earldom) in 1072. The area around Rüthen already belonged to the Erzbistum Köln (archbishopric Cologne) in the High Middle Ages. On 29 September 1200 Rüthen was given town law by the sovereign, the archbishop of Cologne Adolf I. von Altena. Starting in 1375 Rüthen belonged to the

Hanse The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

, an economic alliance of trading cities and their guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe in the later Middle Ages. The merchants of the city had far reaching business connections and because of that were able to ensure wealth. In the following centuries, however, the importance of Rüthen decreased massively. Like many other cities in the duchy of Westfalen, Rüthen held witch trials. From 1573 to 1660, 104 people were tried as witches and wizards, at least 79 being sentenced to death. Freunnd Happen, who had been accused of being a sorcerer, was discharged after two months of torture on 23 September 1660.

Population development

Signs

Buildings

* Catholic Church St. Nikolaus. The church was built in the 13th century after a fire in the city. Its tower received its current top in 1712. * Catholic Church St. Johannes der Täufer. The other Catholic Church in Rüthen was built 1871–1874 with an older tower from 1737. In this tower there is a madonna figure generally considered the oldest piece of art of Rüthen. *Former Abbey of the order of capuchins. What used to be an abbey now houses 13 apartments. The historic garden has been reconstructed. *Former Abbey of the order of ursulines The 1749-built abbey was built exactly where 10 years earlier an abbey of another order burned down. Today it houses a bank. * The old cityhall is a 1726- to 1730-built complex noticeable for its façade and big, curved flight of stairs. *Of the medieval town fortifications, aside big parts of the city wall, only the Hachtor and the ''Hexenturm'' ( witches' tower) still exist. The Hachtor is an old town gate that has also been used as a prison. *The Jewish cemetery from 1625 is the oldest of its kind in Westfalen, located right next to the Hachtor. In the village of Kallenhardt you can find Schloss Körtlinghausen (1714), a small castle surrounded by water, a catholic church from 1722 and an old cityhall from the 14th or 15th century.

Nature

The Hohler Stein in Kallenhardt is a big cave in which archaeological findings from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

were made.

People

* Michael Stappert (around 1585/1590–1663), country priest and critic of witch-hunting * Jürgen Augustinowitz (born 1964), CDU, Politician, Member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

from 1990 until 1998 * Jürgen Haselünne (around 1821–1890), pedagogue * Anton Kopp (1796–1870), vicar general of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, founder of Westphalia (Michigan) * Stefan Gödde (born 1975), TV host * Joachim Winterscheidt (born 1979), Actor and Presenter * Marcel Höttecke (born 1987), footballer * Norman Harras, (born 1996), professional wrestler

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruthen Soest (district)