Rüthen
Encyclopedia
Rüthen is a town in the district of Soest
, in North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany
.
, approx. 20 km south of Lippstadt
and 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) south-west of Paderborn
. The highest point is the Wehberg with a height of 528.9 metres (1,735.2 ft), the lowest point the valley of the river Pöppelsche at 130 metres (426.5 ft). With an area of more than 310 square kilometres (119.7 sq mi) it is the largest town within the district of Soest.
with an area of 158 square kilometre. After the local government reforms of 1975 Rüthen consists of the following 15 districts:
with:
Like many other cities in the duchy of Westfalen, Rüthen held witch trials. From 1573 to 1660, 104 alleged witches and wizards had their trials with at least 79 of them 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.
class="wikitable">
Date
Population
1864
1.827
1867
1.794
1871
1.700
1875
1.652
1880
1.783
1885
1.723
1890
1.859
1895
2.018
1900
2.072
1905
2.218
1910
2.295
17. Mai. 1939
2.622
13. September 1950
3.541
6. Juni 1961
4.160
27. Mai 1970
5.177
class="wikitable">
Date
Population
30. Juni 1985¹
10.925
31. Dezember 2000¹
11.500
31. Dezember 2005¹
11.143
31. Dezember 2006¹
11.019
31. Dezember 2007¹
10.894
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.
and Bronze Age
were made.
Soest (district)
Soest is a Kreis in the middle of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Warendorf, Gütersloh, Paderborn, Hochsauerland, Märkischer Kreis, Unna and the district-free city Hamm.-History:...
, in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Geography
Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river MöhneMöhne
The Möhne is a small-size river in western Germany , right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen, Warstein. There is large articifical lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, used for hydro power generation and leisure activities....
, approx. 20 km south of Lippstadt
Lippstadt
Lippstadt is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest.-Geography:Lippstadt is situated in the Lippe valley, roughly 70 kilometres east of Dortmund and roughly 30 kilometres west of Paderborn...
and 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) south-west of Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
. The highest point is the Wehberg with a height of 528.9 metres (1,735.2 ft), the lowest point the valley of the river Pöppelsche at 130 metres (426.5 ft). With an area of more than 310 square kilometres (119.7 sq mi) it is the largest town within the district of Soest.
Neighbouring municipalities
|
Geseke Geseke is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:It is situated approx. 12 km south-east of Lippstadt and 20 km south-west of Paderborn.- Neighbouring municipalities:* Büren* Erwitte* Lippstadt... Lippstadt Lippstadt is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest.-Geography:Lippstadt is situated in the Lippe valley, roughly 70 kilometres east of Dortmund and roughly 30 kilometres west of Paderborn... Olsberg, Germany Olsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the river Ruhr, approx. 15 km east of Meschede. It is bordered by Arnsberg Forest Nature Park, on the northern fringe of the Rothaargebirge... Warstein 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 :... |
Division of the town
Today Rüthen is the commune largest in area in the district of SoestSoest
-Places:* Soest, Netherlands* Soest, Germany** Soest , a district around the location in Germany-Organizations:*SOEST, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa...
with an area of 158 square kilometre. 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 twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
-
DerehamDerehamDereham, also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, some 15 miles west of the city of Norwich and 25 miles east of King's Lynn. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of...
(United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) – since 1983 -
EgelnEgelnEgeln is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Bode, approx. 15 km northwest of Staßfurt, and 25 km southwest of Magdeburg....
(Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) – 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, 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 alleged witches and wizards had their trials with at least 79 of them 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
| class="wikitable"> | Year/Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1819 | 1.739 |
| 1822 | 1.799 |
| 1825 | 1.823 |
| 1828 | 1.951 |
| 1831 | 1.899 |
| 1834 | 1.860 |
| 1837 | 1.863 |
| 1840 | 1.938 |
| 1843 | 2.040 |
| 1846 | 2.026 |
| 1849 | 2.006 |
| 1852 | 1.941 |
| 1855 | 1.896 |
| 1858 | 1.830 |
| 1861 | 1.899 |
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 AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
were made.
People
- Michael Stappert (around 1585/1590–1663), countrypriest and critic of witch-hunting
- Jürgen Augustinowitz (* 1964), CDUChristian Democratic Union (Germany)The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
, Politician, Member of the BundestagBundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
from 1990 until 1998 - Jürgen Haselünne (around 1821–1890), pedagogue
- Anton Kopp (1796–1870), vicar general of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, founder of Westphalia (Michigan) - Stefan Gödde (*1975), TV-host
- Marcel HötteckeMarcel HötteckeMarcel Höttecke is a German football goalkeeper for 1. FC Union Berlin.-Career:Höttecke played mainly for Borussia Dortmund II but has played in the first team due to injuries of regular keepers Roman Weidenfeller and Marc Ziegler. His first match in Bundesliga was on April 16, 2008 losing to...
(*1987), footballer