Arnsberg


Arnsberg 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 Hochsauerlandkreis district.

Geography

Location

Arnsberg is located in the north-east of the Sauerland in the Ruhr river valley. The river Ruhr meanders around the south of the old town of Arnsberg. The town is nearly completely encircled by forest, and the nature park Arnsberger Wald lies to the north".
Arnsberg is connected by Federal Motorway 46 Brilon in the east and Werl in the west. It is also connected by several railroad stations, which provide a connection to the major city Dortmund and the Ruhrgebiet. There is also a regional airport, located in the city district of Vosswinkel, which is exclusively used for small private aircraft.
The municipal territory spans a distance of up to from the southern to the northern limits.

Neighbouring municipalities

After the local government reforms of 1975 Arnsberg consists of 15 boroughs :
  • Neheim
  • Arnsberg
  • Hüsten
  • Oeventrop
  • Herdringen
  • Bruchhausen
  • Müschede
  • Voßwinkel
  • Niedereimer
  • Holzen
  • Rumbeck
  • Wennigloh
  • Bachum
  • Breitenbruch
  • Uentrop

    History

Beginnings

Arnsberg was first mentioned in 789 in the Carolingian records as belonging to the abbey of Werden.
Arnsberg was the seat of the from around 1070 and received city rights in 1238. In 1368 Gottfried IV, the last Count of Arnsberg, handed over the city and county to the Electorate of Cologne as he had no heir, wherafter it was incorporated into the Duchy of Westphalia.
They built Arnsberg Castle there, whose remains can still be visited and are occasionally used for public celebrations.
In the 12th century, old Arnsberg became the seat of Westphalian jurisdiction. Later, the city lost its independence and was subject to the Electors of Cologne.

18th/19th Century

was reconstructed by Johann Conrad Schlaun as a residential palace and hunting lodge for Elector Clemens August of Bavaria. It was destroyed in the Seven Years' War in 1769.
In 1794 the French attacked Cologne, so parts of the treasure of the Cologne Cathedral were brought to safety in Arnsberg, along with the relics of the Biblical Magi. In 1804, the treasure was returned to Cologne, as commemorated by a plaque in the Propsteikirche.
In 1816, Arnsberg came under Prussian rule and was made a local administrative centre.

World War Two

Neheim and Hüsten were merged in 1941.
During the Second World War, Arnsberg first suffered widespread destruction and catastrophic loss of lives when RAF Lancasters breached the dam of the Möhne Reservoir in the night of the 16 to 17 May 1943. The nearby Abbey Himmelpforten was completely washed away.
Later, dozens of Arnsberg's citizens were killed in several British air raids aimed at destroying the railway viaduct. The targets were finally destroyed on 19 March 1945 using a 'Grand Slam' bomb.

Contemporary history

The current city of Arnsberg was created in 1975 by merging 12 surrounding municipalities into one city.
Old Arnsberg itself and Neheim-Hüsten are the two main urban areas, while the other parts are mainly rural areas.

Demographics

Religion

Arnsberg's population is mostly Roman Catholic. Arnsberg belongs to the Archdiocese of Paderborn. Catholic churches include the "Propsteikirche" or the "Heilig-Kreuz Kirche" and the "Auferstehungskirche", which is a Protestant church. There is also a New Apostolic congregation.
In recent years Arnsberg's Muslim minority grew considerably. The town has a mosque.
The cemeteries are mostly Catholic but there is also a Jewish cemetery.

Arts and culture

The Kunstverein Arnsberg operates in Arnsberg. Founded in 1987 and devoted to contemporary art, Kunstverein Arnsberg has presented solo exhibitions by artists including Georg Baselitz, Thomas Ruff, Karin Sander, Dan Perjovschi, Boris Mikhailov, Gregor Schneider, Erwin Wurm, the Turner Prize winner Susan Philipsz and the Marcel Duchamp Prize winner Laurent Grasso.

Government

City arms

The arms of the city depict a white eagle on a blue field. Earlier it was a white eagle on a red field, introduced in 1278 and as used by the counts of Arnsberg. In the 17th century the red was changed to blue, reflecting the Bavarian blue of the House of Wittelsbach.

Mayors

Mayors of the new town Arnsberg

Twin towns – sister cities

Arnsberg is twinned with:
  • Alba Iulia, Romania
  • Deventer, Netherlands
  • Bexley, England, United Kingdom
  • Olesno, Poland
  • Caltagirone, Italy

    Notable people

  • Franz von Fürstenberg, statesman and reformer school in Archbishopric Münster, founder of the Münster University
  • Wilhelm Hasenclever,, politician
  • Karl Brüggemann, honorary district in Kreis Arnsberg from 1961 to 1969
  • Franz Stock, since 1934 pastor of the German Catholic community in Paris, during the German occupation chaplain for French prisoners, 1945 head of a prisoner of war seminar in Chartres
  • Hans Bernd Gisevius,, diplomat
  • Fritz Cremer,, artist
  • Betsy von Furstenberg,, actress
  • Günter Wewel,, operatic bass and television presenter
  • Franz Müntefering,, politician
  • Mike de Vries,, brand and business manager
  • Andrea Fischer, politician and journalist, former Federal Minister of Health
  • Meinolf Finke,, poet
  • Jens Beckmann, scientist
  • Helena Fromm, taekwondo athlete, Olympic medalist
  • Georg Poplutz, tenor

    People related to Arnsberg

  • Paul Moder, politician, Freikorps member and SS officer
  • Walther Neye, jurist and rector of the Humboldt University in Berlin
  • Fritz Cremer, sculptor
  • Lothar Collatz, mathematician
  • Günter Keute, footballer
  • Friedrich Merz, attorney and politician, member of the CDU
  • Meinolf Finke, poet
  • Stephan Kampwirth, theatre actor, film actor and voice actor
  • Rouven Schröder, footballer
  • Philipp Hofmann, footballer