Werl

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Werl (disambiguation) .

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 51 ° 33 '  N , 7 ° 55'  E
Basic data
State :	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region :	Arnsberg
Circle :	Soest
Height :	90 m above sea level NHN
Area :	76.35 km 2
Residents:	30,767 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	403 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	59457
Primaries :	02922, 02928
License plate :	SO, LP
Community key :	05 9 74 052
City structure:	10 districts
City administration address :	Hedwig-Dransfeld-Str. 23 59457 Werl
Website :	www.werl.de
Mayor :	Michael Grossmann ( CDU )
Location of the city of Werl in the Soest district

City view of Merian

The pilgrimage city of Werl is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany , and is part of the district of Soest in Arnsberg . Since January 14, 2015, the city of Werl has been allowed to use the official name suffix pilgrimage town .

geography

Geographical location

Werl is located between the Sauerland , Münsterland , Ruhr area and Hellweg in the fertile Bördeland of the Werl-Unnaer Börde . At the end of 2018, Werl had 32,994 inhabitants on an area of ​​76.35 square kilometers; this corresponds to a population density of 432 people / km ² . The highest point in the city is 228.4  m above sea level. NN in the city forest to the south. The deepest point is 73.1  m above sea level. NN in the northern part of the city on the Flerke farm. The city of Werl is located on the southern edge of the Westphalian Bay . Therefore, the terrain profile in the predominant urban area is rather flat. In the southern area the terrain rises sharply. The strand of hair that separates the lowlands from the mountainous Sauerland extends here . In the south the Werler Stadtwald extends over the Haarstrang. This is also the only area densely covered with trees. The design of the lowlands is more determined by agriculture.

The complete circumference of the urban area is 47.5 kilometers. The north-south extension is 9.5 kilometers and the west-east extension is twelve kilometers.

Werl as a middle center

While the surrounding area is more rural, there are mainly industrial, commercial and service industries. As a middle center of the region, Werl provides jobs on the one hand, and on the other hand there is also an extensive range of schools, further training opportunities at the adult education center , a leisure pool, a city library, a painting school, a music school, a city history museum, a nationally important ethnographic museum and a historic old town.

City structure

Districts

The districts belong to Werl

Blumenthal Budberg Buderich Hilbeck Holtum

Mawicke Niederbergstrasse Oberbergstrasse Sönnern Westönnen

A total of 32,994 people live in Werl, 16,177 of them women. Status: end of 2018.

Desolation

• Rithem

Neighboring communities

The city of Werl is located in the west of the Soest district and, with its Holtum district, forms the western boundary of the Unna district with its district town Unna ( Hemmerde district ). In the north, the city borders with the districts Hilbeck and Sönnern on the independent city of Hamm and its district Hamm-Rhynern . Sönnern and Niederbergstraße also share a border with the districts of Scheidingen, Illingen and Flerke in the municipality of Welver . In the east, Mawicke forms the city boundary to the district town of Soest with its district of Ostönnen. Werl's southwestern neighbor is the municipality of Wickede (Ruhr) (district Schlückingen), separated by the Werl city forest, and in the southeast the municipality of Ense (district of Vierhausen) is the neighbor. The southern city limit corresponds roughly to the course of the hair strand .

history

Districts of Werl

Ruin of the electoral prince. Castle

prehistory

The time before Christ

The first traces of settlement date back to around 3000 BC. The importance of transport already existing in prehistory ( two important European trade routes crossed here with the Hellweg and the North-South Road), large oak forests, abundant deposits of water and, last but not least, salty springs favored the development of the settlement area. Band ceramists can be proven to be the first people . They settled on the Salzbach, on today's Salinenring and in the area of ​​today's Unnaer Straße. The extensive settlement is documented by a number of fragments, some tools made of flint and burn marks as well as post holes. The people lived in simple half-timbered houses and operated agriculture, various types of grain were grown. Domestic animals were cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and later horses. Also south of Werl, behind Wulfs Appelhof, a band ceramic settlement has been documented by various excavation finds. Four settlement sites from the Rössen culture were found in the urban area, two of them in the urban forest and on the ridge of the Melsterberg in the direction of Scheidingen and two in the urban area around the Hellwegene. Burial mounds from the Bronze Age also testify to early settlement; they can be found in the Werler Stadtwald area. When building military installations, some of these mounds were removed during emergency excavations, the findings were inventoried and one of the mounds was mapped in layers as an example. During excavations on Bäckerstraße, briquetages from the end of the pre-Roman Iron Age were found. The support feet, which were burned from clay, were placed in a fire and served as a base for clay pots in which salt water was evaporated. They are the oldest evidence of salt production in the city.

The time after Christ

Salt production in Rithem was first mentioned in documents around 850 . The city was on a ledge of the hairline to the north, which made it an ideal location for a castle. The Counts of Werl moved from Meschede to Werl around 900 and built Werl Castle, later they moved on to Arnsberg . Their influence extended into the families of the German emperors. Around 950 a cross-shaped church was built . The builder was Count Hermann I. The foundations could be excavated. The church was given to the Premonstratensian Monastery of Wedinghausen near Arnsberg in 1197 . Count Hermann I was married to Gerberga , a daughter of the Burgundian royal family. After the death of Hermann I, she married the Swabian king Hermann II and became the mother of the future Empress Gisela von Schwaben (990-1043).

middle Ages

Gisela von Schwaben on a panel from the 15th century

View from 1622

City view from 1661

Werl around 1740

The Werler Count Hermann and his mother Gerberga von Burgund were mentioned in 1000 documents. The assembly of the Saxon greats took place in Werl in 1002. After the death of Otto III. a choice became necessary. Heinrich II , Duke of Bavaria, received the solemn and unconditional promise that only he should be elected. The other applicants for the throne, Duke Otto von Carinthia , Hermann von Schwaben and Ekkehard von Meißen , had to give up. The other German tribes also agreed with the choice made in Werl. On June 6, 1002, Heinrich was solemnly anointed and crowned by Archbishop Willigis in Mainz. The future Emperor Heinrich attended a synod held in Werl in 1008. During Lent in 1013 the king was in Werl and issued several documents there. A diocesan dispute between the bishops of Hildesheim and Mainz was also resolved. The Werler Count Bernhard I was present as a witness among others . The king fell ill on this visit and had to spend five weeks here.

In 1024 Werl was first mentioned with the place name Werla . The place was the seat of a powerful dynasty of counts. The second part of the name Werla (la = Loh = oak forest) indicates that the origins of the city lay in an oak forest. In that year, Emperor Heinrich also died. He had chosen Konrad the Salier as his successor. On Heinrich's behalf, Bishop Meinwerk von Paderborn turned to Count Hermann von Werl, who was a sibling of Emperor Heinrich. Hermann von Werl was supposed to gather the Saxon princes in Werler Castle and hold a primary. The following appeared for this election: Bishop Meinwerk von Paderborn, Thiemar, the brother of the Duke of Saxony, Count Siegfried von Stade , Count Benno, Count Amelung and others. The area code for Konrad, who later became Emperor Konrad II, came about. He was the great-grandson of Luitgarde, the daughter of Emperor Otto I. Konrad's wife, Empress Gisela, was the daughter of Count Hermann I from Werl and his wife Gerberge of Burgundy. Count Hermann II von Werl was therefore a cousin of Emperor Heinrich II and brother-in-law of Emperor Konrad des Saliers.

In the investiture dispute between the emperor and the pope in 1085, the count's house sided with the emperor - Count Heinrich II. Von Werl was appointed bishop of Paderborn. Count Heinrich's brothers, Count Liupold and Konrad , divided the county into equal districts: Lupold became Count von Werl, Konrad Count von Arnsberg. The oldest coin minted in Werl, around 1092, shows Count Konrad von Werl-Arnsberg. Count Lupold donated his property to the Cologne church in 1100. The Archbishop of Cologne built a Nikolauskapelle next to the count's parish church. Pastor Albertus was mentioned (earliest mention of a pastor). The Werler parish church was given as a gift to the Wedinghausen Monastery by the Count of Arnsberg in 1197. Until 1803, the canons provided the pastor of Werl.

In 1218 (in July?) The village of Werl was granted city rights by Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne . The Erbsälzer von Werl were first mentioned in 1246. In 1272 the city of Werl was granted the more liberal Rüthen law. Count Engelbert von der Mark destroyed the city in an attack. It was rebuilt on a smaller scale. In the turmoil of the Middle Ages , Werl repeatedly got caught between the fronts of the various sovereigns; therefore the city was destroyed more often, but also tirelessly rebuilt by its citizens. The troops of Count Eberhard I von der Mark took the city of Werl after the Battle of Worringen in 1288 and destroyed it. The city was only rebuilt on a smaller scale, which corresponds to today's historic old town . Numerous destruction by raids and fires caused a permanent renewal of the cityscape. Only a few buildings, including today's Propsteikirche St. Walburga , the Rykenberg House (today the City Museum) and a few other stone buildings were largely spared.

From the end of the 13th century the city was administered according to the council constitution. The council consisted of 2 mayors and 10 councilors. These were chosen from four guilds, heirloom sellers , merchants, bakers and farmers. The Erbsälzer had the privilege of appointing a mayor and five councilors from among their ranks. The resulting tensions were only resolved in 1725 when the Erbsälzer resigned from the city after Adelung. The oldest record of Werler's special law dates from February 25, 1324 (jurisdiction, council election, inheritance law). On March 16, 1326, Werl forced the archbishop's local castle men to pay taxes and perform guard duties, like all other Werl citizens. The Georgshospital in front of the Büdericher Tor was donated by the council on May 2nd, 1326. The Werler town hall was first mentioned on February 15, 1327. A dispute broke out in 1381 between the Erbsälz and the other three guilds; it was about filling the council positions. On February 16, 1382, the dispute of Archbishop Friedrich III. settled. The heed-males were granted the right to have their own jurisdiction, but in return they had to do valuation and guard duty like members of other guilds.

In a feud between the Archbishop of Cologne and the Count von der Mark, the city was destroyed in 1389 and then rebuilt. There is evidence that the first footman took the oath of messenger as a messenger to the Erbsälzerstadt Werl. In the same year he was registered in the created city book. These footmen went z. B. on Flerke and Corvey or even Cologne . The remuneration was often in kind, e.g. B. a pair of new shoes. The messengers wore the so-called Drüsselschild as a sign of their activity . a shield with the city arms on the chest. They were the forerunners of the postal workers. Werler citizen oath 1420: “In den Jaren our leyven Hern Jhesu Chrisit MCCCC twintich up Nygenjars Dach do word dit screened. So wey irst Borgere host: Deme langet men irst dey Borgerscap with the Hant dan stavet eme dey Borgermestere zo den Eyd and secget: Dat ik vormer na dissem Dage wants to trust and fetch wezen the guden Hern sonte Petere in our dear gracious Hern van Colne ind the Stait to Werle ind al the Borgeren dar enbynnen as one Borgere the other to rights sal. Dat my so Got helbe und dey Hilgen ”from the city book of 1419. A thunderstorm on May 4, 1428 caused severe damage with a flood, household items were washed out of the buildings, cattle drowned, and the city wall partially collapsed.

In 1437 the city joined the Hereditary Land Association of the Westphalian Knights and Cities . During the Soest feud from 1444 to 1449, Werl, unlike Soest, remained loyal to the Archbishop of Cologne and suffered great losses and damage. The archbishop rewarded the city in 1450 by moving the spiritual court for Westphalia from Soest to Werl. A market regulation for the six Werler markets came into force in 1460. These were the markets in St. Walburga, the Sunday after the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, the Petri chain celebration, the Exaltation of the Cross, the cattle market on October 30th and St. Nicholas. Mayor Hunold Greve tried in 1481 and 1482 to break the superiority of the Sälzer in the council. On November 10, 1485, the Archbishop of Cologne managed to settle the disputes. On the basis of old custom, he granted the heirs sellers the right to half of the council seats. On March 2, 1486, the city was almost half destroyed by a large fire. The traditional Ulrich procession from Werl to Soest was stopped forever in 1504. The reason was the enmity with Soest during the Soest feud. As a sign of the Reformation , there were riots against Archbishop Drosten on December 7, 1515. Archbishop Hermann executed the leaders (Rudack, Knirfe and Batwinder) . An important social grouping was the Kalandsbruderschaft in Werl .

Early modern age

City view around 1830

Painting depicting Bernhard Tütel, the picture hangs over his grave in the provost church

Urban development in the early modern period was significantly influenced by various events. Archbishop Hermann von Wied built the Werler Grafenschloss around 1522 , in return the city council delivered him a city gate (the bar gate). A plague epidemic broke out in 1518. Another plague epidemic claimed many victims in 1528. On April 22, 1549, the city burned about halfway. The carpenter Gerd Balken set fire to the city on March 13, 1550. 107 houses burned down. The arsonist was executed in the stone cave. Condemned as a common criminal, he was cut in four pieces and hung on half-height gallows on the four sides of the city. You put your head on top of the stone gate. About 2200 people are said to have died during the plague of 1580/81.

Gebhard I. von Waldburg , Archbishop of Cologne, forbade the practice of the Catholic faith in Werl in 1583. The pastor Bernhard Tütel was supposed to be taken prisoner, but he escaped access by fleeing. Later he was pastor again in Werl; his grave is in the provost church. Werl became Catholic again in 1584. In 1586 Martin Schenk von Nideggen took the city. In the battle of Werl he defeated a contingent of the Duchy of Westphalia before he withdrew again. Two more plague epidemics claimed several deaths in 1613 and 1617. Imperial troops under General Johann von Götzen expelled the Hessians on September 29, 1636 and then plundered the city. They brought in the plague again. The Capuchins came to Werl in 1645. On March 4, 1657, a fire broke out in the night and destroyed 125 houses, 42 salt houses and 30 barns and granaries within two hours. Chaired by Mayor Caspar Gödde, the council made a vow on March 21, 1657: a fire procession was to be held on March 4 for eternity.

In 1661 the Capuchins were given the miraculous image of Werl , a statue of the Virgin Mary from the 12th century. The Capuchins immediately began to organize the pilgrimage to this miraculous image, which had been venerated in the Soest Wiesenkirche for centuries . Countless pilgrims have visited the image of Our Lady in the pilgrimage basilica since then . Brandenburg troops besieged the city in 1673, but withdrew again without success. The city was economically very much shaped by salt production; The original salters were decisive here . In addition, the usual handicraft businesses developed, and arable citizens tilled their fields in front of the city walls while they lived in their protection.

Witch trials

During the time of the witch hunts around 1630, witch commissioner Heinrich Schultheiss led the witch trials in Werl.

There is an incomplete list of witch burnings of 20 victims of the witch trials that is received as a memorial and admonition. About 70 women who were accused of being witches were burned. On December 15, 2011, the council of the city of Werl unanimously approved a socio-ethical rehabilitation for the victims of the witch trials.

The miraculous image in a magnificent cloak, around 1930

Description of the cityscape in the 17th century

This city model from 2011 is in the city center

Remains of old sandstone walls

The town church on the site of the former count's castle and the large market square formed the center of the place. The city gates were about the same distance from the town center. The plan of the fortified city was based on two streets intersecting roughly in the middle, each of which led into the city gates. The most important building was the electoral palace built in 1519, this state castle was also part of the city fortifications. A coat of arms was affixed to each of the four city gates. On the free market days and on special occasions, flags were hoisted on the gates and also on the church tower and the town hall, visible from afar. The passing traders, merchants and travelers should be made aware of the special event. Several streets and alleys led to the gates, several paths and alleys crisscrossed the city and ensured quick accessibility. Some streets, like Steinerstrasse, were paved.

The gate tower was accessed via a drawbridge; next to it, outside of the fortifications, stood a little holy house with a figure of the painful mother. The inscription read: "You who go in and out, greet Mary from the bottom of your heart, our mother full of pain." Next to it, on the site of today's kindergarten on Steinerstrasse, was the dead field. At the intersection of Hellweg and the road towards Ense stood the Church of Our Lady, which the people called the Lawrakerk . Possibly the building was a thank you foundation, the first verifiable mention was made in 1563 as leven Frouwen Kerck ; probably the church was much older. It was probably quite large and well equipped. On a pilgrimage picture from 1661 the tower is depicted with three bells hanging in it. In 1629 that of Ursula was named as the patronage ; a Pietà bought in Paderborn had its place here. An extension on the south side offered pilgrims and travelers shelter and resting places. On the occasion of the demolition application, the Archbishop of Cologne made the requirement to then build a picture of a saint on the site of the chapel . The city built a processional station that was "appropriate to the spiritual activities". The road from Hellweg to Steinertor was called Steinersteinweg, it led either into the city or to the small gallows and to the large quarries, the so-called Stenkuhlen. At Kreuzkamp there was probably the old meeting place of the Steinerhofe, the place was designed as an open area with a cross and seating.

On Hellweg, near a barrier, there was a guard's house, whose post collected tolls from carters passing by. To the west stood the Antoniusklause with chapel, it was donated in 1311. The Klausner offered overnight accommodation and food. He brewed beer and gathered fodder for his cattle in town. Until 1935 there was a cross on the corner of Wickeder Strasse and Hellweg, reminiscent of a saint's house with a figurine niche. In the protocol about the modification of the procession of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary from 1667 it can be read: “From the Antoniusklause the prayer goes to St. Georgii Capelle, 700 paces further, where also certain collectives are sung and the poor Sichen or Leprosen are given almoses”. This chapel belonged to the infirmary, which was donated in 1330 to care for sick travelers; after that the building served as an apartment for lepers and other sick people. On the property there was also a multi-purpose and a wash house, a garden and a cemetery and a well; the area was enclosed with a wall. The traffic on Hellweg could be observed from the tower of the chapel.

At the Steinerbrücke, near the castle, there was a cross between two trees, the square later served the Neuerhofe as a Tygge square. The street name Steinerbrücke indicates a former stone bridge over which the path led to the front gate. There was a vineyard in front of the outer wall of Liebfrauenstrasse ; There are no traditions about the quality of the wine. Viticulture probably goes back to the second half of the 14th century; During this time, the climate conditions were milder. The Büdericherhofe's Tyggeplatz was at the Büdericher Tor. Here the little holy house of Our Lady stood in need . According to trivial traditions, a strange rider is said to have mocked the image of the Sorrowful Mother one evening while crossing the gate. No sooner had the last word been said than he fell from his horse and died shortly afterwards. He was buried near the spot. When, after some time, a lily bloomed from the grave, the flower showed the inscription: “From the stirrup to the earth, this sinner was converted.” According to Franz Lotze, “an old chapel used to stand” on the northern part of the Mühlenweg. “Red pillars supported the small roof of the rotunda. One morning the chapel was gone. It had sunk into the depths, a circular pond took its place. The highest point of the roof was just sticking out of the mud in the middle of the pond. Sometimes it sounds from the depths. It is the bells that still call to prayer. "

Mainly craftsmen, carters, traders, hostels and farms had their commercial and residential buildings on the main streets. The dignitaries and castle men, from which the Erbsälzer families emerged, also settled here. Later, the people of Sälzer mainly settled on the Salzplatz and in the outskirts, as there was less crowding here than in the city center and the risk of fire was lower. The castle men acted similarly. The bakers had their businesses on Bäckerstrasse. The tanners, brewers, dyers and drapers were concentrated in the vicinity of bodies of water. In the middle of the market square stood the city fountain with the figure of Peter . The city pillory, a disgrace, served drastic punitive measures. A seesaw, similar to the one in Soest , stood as a mark on the right by the pond in today's Sandgasse.

Several general stores lined the market. A gatehouse separated the market square from the church square. A stone house stood parallel to the church, which, among other things, served as a residence for the last three exemptions of the secret Veme . As is customary in old cities, the guardhouse stood next to the town hall. The hospital with the St. Laurentius and Elisabeth chapel at the Kälbermarkt was first mentioned in 1320 and demolished in 1961. It was where the Fickermann company had its headquarters until 2006. Next to the hospital was a beguinage , the residents of which formed a religious community of women. One of her occupations was making candles. The house was demolished at the end of the 20th century, and there was no documentation for lack of knowledge of the meaning. The infirmary with the St. George's Chapel and its own cemetery as well as the Antoniusklause with a hostel and a chapel stood on Hellweg outside the fortified city. A number of representative city gable houses and hall-floor houses built in a medieval manner were characteristic of the cityscape, the best preserved is the Rykenberg house . Most of these houses stood on large lots, often also on street corners, and were richly designed, for example with special gables. The position or the fortune of the owner was shown to the outside.

Surface water repeatedly flowed from the Haar into the urban area and flooded it; This was supported by a number of richly bubbling springs. In order to protect the residential areas, a sophisticated system of ditches ensured controlled drainage and at the same time ensured the supply of service and extinguishing water. The water flowed into the moats that flowed around the city, the large pond and the salt brook . There were over one hundred and seventy wells to secure the drinking water supply; Since not every house had its own well, well communities were formed. The ponds and drinking troughs in the urban area were used to fight fires and to feed the cattle; there were also several ponds and troughs outside the fortified city. The city operated a water mill and two windmills, one of which is still preserved and is a listed building.

To secure the population with food, the city stored supplies in various buildings. This was especially important during sieges during wartime and after bad harvests. Some massive storage buildings and the municipal scales at the market were built for this purpose. Grain was stored in the attic of the town hall and the church as well as in the Holy Cross tower. Another element of the supply was the planting of vegetable gardens and orchards by the inhabitants; The soldiers of the castle also had their own gardens. The properties were usually fenced in with fences, walls or hedges, some of these walls in the urban area have been preserved to this day.

Outside the city fortifications, the city maintained so-called Vöhden in the fields; they were available to the guarantors as meadows and pastures for the cattle, and the Gänsevöhde is still named after its use at the time. These Vöhden were under the administration of the court rulers, the rifle brotherhood St. Sebastianus and Fabian Werl is divided into courts and is run by court rulers. The Gänsevöhde, opposite the former Melstertor, was also Thygeplatz of the Melsterhofe. There was also a courtroom here; In a letter from 1594 it says: "Hermann Lilie Junior was stabbed to death in the anno 94 at Whitsun by his cousin Hermann Krispen, blessed Krispen's son, behind the scenes in front of the Melster gates on the Gosevöde and died on the Malstadt." According to the old custom, an atonement cross had to be set up at this point. On the Gänsevöhde, the chapel on the Gänsevöhde was one of the four main stations of the processions of that time. The donor was the Canon Baron Johann Heinrich von Gertzen called von Sintzig; his coat of arms is placed on the west side of the chapel.

The salt square was an important place for salt production, the origins of which, according to excavations, go back to the Hallstatt period. The salt was not only used for personal use, but also for regional needs. The square took up almost the entire northwestern area of ​​the urban area. Up to the 17th century, the brine was scooped inside the city walls, then also in the area of ​​today's spa garden, outside the fortifications. The brine was directed to the individual boilers, where it repeatedly flowed over the walls of the graduation towers and lost water through evaporation. The leftovers were cooked in large boiling pans. Twenty salters had the right to boil at that time and each boiled his own share. So there were a large number of graduation towers, boiling houses, storage and drying houses and others at the Salzplatz. The largest of the fountains, the Michaelisbrunnen, stood roughly on the highest point of the square; the well was lined with wood. Other buildings on the Salzplatz were the oil mill on the Salzbach, coal and material stores, sheds and dwellings for the salt workers. Salt was extracted in the months from March to December, and necessary repairs were made in the other months. Where the salt square was not secured by the city wall, palisade fences separated it from the rest of the city; Vehicles could pass through barriers.

The streets in the urban area were only partially paved, in other places there were gravel or sand embankments, ash coverings or even planks. Other streets were only provided with drainage channels and very muddy in rainy weather; Due to the favorable topographical location of the place, residues could be removed relatively quickly by the running water. During this time, several floods occurred in which some of the cattle drowned and crops were destroyed. Rat and mouse plagues occurred at the same time, and keeping cats and dogs was hardly successful either. Food shortages were the result.

18th and 19th centuries

City view with salt pans and graduation towers (1896)

The Erbsälzer received the recognition of the imperial nobility in 1708. With the emergence of the city of Werl in the first quarter of the 13th century. also began the transformation of the Sälzer into a corporation with special rights within the citizenship in Werl. Privileged several times by the emperor and the sovereigns, they brought the salt springs in Werl under their control and, by taking over the Neuwerk saltworks in 1627, prevented the sovereign attempt to break their monopoly. Within the city, the Erbsälzer, who observed a rigid membership control among themselves, formed a patrician element and, due to the special status they claimed, repeatedly got into violent disputes with the rest of the citizenry. These inner-city disputes did not end until the Males heirloom families, ennobled in 1708, left the urban community in 1725 and became the landed gentry.

1738 burned down 43 houses on Steinerstrasse from the bell pharmacy to the bell inn. Another large fire caused further considerable damage, as a result of arson burning down 44 houses in Kämperstrasse on the night of May 17-18, 1744. The arsonist, a twenty-year-old tailor's apprentice, was executed in Olpe . In 1750 a cattle epidemic broke out, which fell victim to 513 out of a population of around 900. The appraisal was waived for five years.

During the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763, the city suffered great damage and losses. During the Battle of Vellinghausen in 1761, Werler Castle was shot and no longer rebuilt. Werl came under the rule of Hessen-Darmstadt in 1803 together with the secularized Duchy of Westphalia. The city became Prussian in 1816.

A development began for Werl in the 19th century that marked a steep upswing. The first industrial operations and the connection to the railway network brought life to the former arable and farming town. The Wulf yeast factory was an important industrial start-up at the time, which grew out of a distillery . It was the city's most important industrial settlement until the early 20th century. The yeast factory was moved to the “F. Wulf AG ”. On the way through the city on the B 1 , the building was until 1973 picture formative. The facilities were temporarily considered to be the tallest brick building in Europe .

In 1855 the city became a railway station on the Soest-Dortmund route.

20th century

Air Force parade at the opening of the air base

National Socialist rule

The time of National Socialism also left its mark on Werl. On May 28, 1933, the Werler brown shirts from Sturmbann 32/98 consecrated their flag on the Gänsevöhde. The SA storms from Soest, Welver, Ostönnen and Bad Sassendorf were guests. The flag unveiling was carried out by Standartenführer Schulte-Hermann from Hagen . When Hitler came to power, Franz von Papen, who was born in Werl, became Deputy Chancellor. One of the biggest events was the granting of honorary citizenship to Adolf Hitler , Paul von Hindenburg and Franz von Papen, who personally attended the celebration. On August 23, 1933, thousands of SA and SS men competed in closed formations on the Gänsevöhde. Almost all the patriotic associations in the area were also deployed. Von Papen appeared around 3 p.m. After the celebration, he was driven through the city to the cheers of the population. The city was decorated with street arches, garlands, flags and swastikas .

In 1933 there were still 37 hereditary farm owners in Werl, only they were entitled to the title of farmer . Large landowners, allotment gardeners and others were only allowed to use the term farmer . In September 1933 the Reichsnährstand was founded, to which everyone belonged who produced, processed or sold agricultural products. The principle was common good over self-interest .

Since the end of the 1920s, citizens who are enthusiastic about sailing have been active as an interest group under the construction course building course of the German Air Sports Association. In 1934 they were given a room on Ober Steinerstrasse in which they could hold theoretical flight training. The club members also built their own gliders. On March 3, 1935, the Elster vom Birkenbaum and the Haarvogel were presented to the public. In 1937 the group was transferred to the National Socialist Air Corps.

On the occasion of the referendum in March 1938 on the connection of Austria, the savings bank building was covered with banners like One People - One Reich - One Fuhrer and Your Vote for the Fuhrer! Yes! been provided. A pile of wood had been piled up in front of the building on the market square, which was to be burned down after the torchlight procession on election night. Of the 5507 votes cast in the city, 5451 were in favor of Hitler, 53 against and 3 abstentions.

Around 2000 prisoners in the Werler prison produce armaments. For this purpose, the so-called Veltrup Hall , the largest self-supporting hall in the German Reich at the time, was built on the prison grounds . Mostly convicted criminals worked on the machines. Political prisoners were not suitable for this type of work on special machines; they were often moved between prisons. After the war the hall was dismantled and taken abroad.

Because of the not insignificant mortality rate among the prisoners and the general shortage of wood, a folding coffin was developed and built. During the funeral ceremony, the coffin was held over the excavated pit, a mechanism was operated by one of the pallbearers, two flaps under the coffin opened and the corpse fell into the pit wrapped in oiled paper or unclothed. The coffin could therefore be used again and again.

Domag on Soester Strasse was a large armaments company with over 1000 employees . The factory was completed around 1941. Fuses and grenades were produced here. Around 600 mostly Soviet foreign workers had to do forced labor here. They were housed in a fenced barrack camp nearby. The camp was popularly called Domag barracks . It was around 1.5 hectares in size and consisted of a total of ten residential, commercial and guard barracks. Each of the six residential barracks was 480 m² in size. There was a shooting range in the guard barrack. The costs for setting up the warehouse, operating costs and catering were borne by Domag. The barbed wire fence was 2.5 m high and attached to concrete posts. Occasionally, the workers were allowed to go out in groups under guard; they then had to wear the badge East visible on their clothing . They were not allowed to contact the population. The population had no access to the camp.

The Union Hall , which was used as a propaganda cinema during wartime, was known to the population . Numerous KdF entertainment events also took place. After the war, the Union factory was housed here. The hall was also used for private events.

Second World War

Werl Air Base

During the Second World War, the city was affected several times. The first bombs fell on July 14, 1940, and several residential buildings on Hermann-Göring-Strasse (today Langenwiedenweg) were damaged. On April 19, 1944, 132 people died and 134 were injured when American bombers attacked the city to take down the Werler military airfield . About 60 planes attacked in three waves and dropped about 2000 incendiary and 1200 high explosive bombs in about ten minutes . Although the majority of the bombs fell on the airport premises or in the open field, a total of 233 buildings were destroyed or more or less severely damaged. On April 22, 1944, a B-17 (Flying Fortress, serial number: 42-39785) of the American Air Force with the name "Thru Hel'en Hiwater", which was flying an attack on Hamm, was shot down by flak and crashed near Werl. Several military hospitals were set up in the city during the war. They were in the Franciscan and Ursuline monastery , the Overberg school, the high school for boys, the Mariannenhospital, the retreat house and the Konvikt . The hospitals were marked by large red crosses painted on the roofs. At the end of the war the high school was hit by a bomb and destroyed.

On April 8, 1945, the city was captured by troops of the 8th US Armored Division. There was no fighting - the few German soldiers capitulated and the Werler Volkssturm threw its weapons into the extinguishing water pond - but 30 people died from artillery fire. After the war ended, the city was taken over by British occupation forces.

The Werler prison was the largest prison in the German Reich at the time . Two tanks pulled up in front of the gate and aimed their cannons at it. The prison administration surrendered. The law enforcement officers were taken to a prison camp in Scheidingen on foot . Before that, they had to put down all weapons and throw all cell keys in a heap. The prisoners were registered on April 11, 1945 by a US Army Military Tribunal. They were asked whether they were detained for criminal or political reasons. Almost all inmates said they were politically persecuted. The Canadian Major Porrier was the first director of the post-war institution.

post war period

In mid-April 1945 Werler Airport was abandoned and abandoned by the German Air Force. Shortly after this became known to the population, the residents streamed in droves with horse-drawn carts, carts and handcarts and plundered the complex. The camps were partly full of blankets, pots, china and parachute silk. All kinds of food were stored in the storage cellars, and everything was stolen in a short time.

On June 15, 1945, the British Rhine Army took command in Werl, and the city was now part of the British zone . City commandant was Major Gething. The British appointed former city inspector Heinrich Lennartz as mayor . The British military government ordered the formation of a committee on September 22, 1945. Under the supervision of the commandant's office, this should determine the political interests of the community.

This committee included:

• 9 members of the Center Party
• 6 members of the SPD
• 4 members of the CDU
• 4 members of the KPD

On September 15, 1946, the first democratic post-war elections were held in Werl. The new city parliament had the following distribution of seats:

• 11 members of the Center Party
• 5 members of the SPD
• 5 members of the CDU

On this day there was also a mayoral election, Theodor Nottebaum was elected, his predecessor Lennartz was appointed city director.

The main problems to be solved at this time were food shortages, housing shortages and the supply of heat, as well as denazification .

Many displaced persons , sometimes up to 400 a day, were assigned to the city in 1945 and 1946, which exacerbated the difficult food situation. In total, around 3,000 refugees and displaced persons were looking for accommodation in the relatively small town. Many were housed in the Domag barracks, in which forced laborers had previously lived, and in the former barracks buildings on the airfield. Former Nazi giants were also obliged to give up unnecessary living space.

Occupying powers

Former American barracks on Langenwiedenweg

Former Canadian and English school, now Norbert school

The Canadian housing estate around 1960

Central heating plant and workshops for the former Canadian and British housing estate

During the Cold War , the city was also a garrison of the Belgian army (18th logistics battalion (Batailjon Logistiek) and 4th repair company (Compagnie Materieel)). The units were stationed at Werl Air Base. The 4th was also. USAFAD USA with a barracks building, a nuclear weapons depot and a transmission tower housed on the site.

In the Werler Stadtwald, Canadian units were stationed from 1953 to 1970 and then from 1970 to 1994 units of the British Rhine Army : 1st Royal-Highland Rgt., 636th Mechanized Corps, Transport Group, 1st Artillery Rgt. (Staff) in Victoria Barracks .

In the northern part of the barracks, the "Albuhera Barracks", also known as Camp 6, the following regiments were stationed:

• 1971-1975: 2nd Battalion the Queens Regiment,
• 1975–1980: 1st Battalion the Queens Regiment,
• 1980–1985: 1st Battalion Black Watch,
• 1985–1991: 1st Battalion the Royal Scots,
• 1991–1994: 1st Battalion the Devon & Dorset Regiment.

In 1971 a total of around 4,500 NATO members lived in Werl. The purchasing power of these people was a significant economic factor for the city.

In an area of ​​the Werler Parkfriedhof a section is laid out as a Canadian part . Here are the graves of 124 Canadian soldiers and 324 deceased relatives.

The relatives of the Canadian and later the British soldiers lived in a specially built housing estate with its own infrastructure. There was a larger department store with goods from the homeland in the settlement. In a smaller row of shops there was a bar (originally a snack bar) and a hairdresser. The military police were also housed here. The estate has been heated by a central heating plant in Lindenallee since the 1960s. Two churches were built in 1953 in the camps in the city forest. At the heating plant were also the workshops for the maintenance and repair of the buildings (carpentry workshop, locksmith workshop, electrical workshop). The administration was taken over by the German Federal Property Office in Soest , the stokers, craftsmen and the caretaker of the school, which is also located in the housing estate, were German workers, for whom an eight-family house was built right next to the heating plant.

On January 10, 1947, a city council meeting took place in the journeyman's house. The quartermaster of the Belgian occupation forces and a German civil servant from the housing office were present. 500 people had to be selected to be evacuated. Space was needed for the Belgian occupation forces. 74 apartments with 349 rooms including inventory were confiscated for Belgian families. Seven 36-room apartments were seized for British staff. 63 rooms were forced to occupy in various hotels. There were eight apartments with 49 rooms in the Domag estate on Soester Str. The Belgian commander moved into the apartment of the former Domag director.

Years later, the family members of the Belgian soldiers moved into apartments and terraced houses built especially for them on Kucklermühlenweg and Brabanter Straße.

The Canadian 22nd Royal Regiment was granted the honor of Droit de Cité by the city of Werl . The law allows the regiment to march through Werl with bayonets attached, waving flags and sounding games . For the first time, a Canadian department made use of this right.

Municipal reorganization

At the suggestion of the Ministry of the Interior, municipalities in the Soest district were restructured on July 1, 1969 : Büderich, Budberg, Holtum, Mawicke, Niederbergstraße, Oberbergstraße and Westönnen as previously independent municipalities of the former Werl office and Blumenthal and Mawicke of the former Bremen office, as well as Sönnern the Unna district were incorporated into the city of Werl.

The urban area increased from 24.78 km² to 66.38 km². There were also 5600 inhabitants. On January 1, 1975, the Hilbeck district, which previously belonged to the municipality of Rhynern, was added with around 850 inhabitants and an area of ​​9.96 km ² .

In 1969, after extensive renovations and extensions, the old Mariengymnasium became the new town hall. Its official handover took place after the completion of the porch on May 15, 1971.

Religions

A large number of religions and denominations are represented in Werl. The list below does not claim to be exhaustive and names the largest groups represented or those who have or had a worship room in Werl.

Christian communities

Franciscan monastery (until 2019)

St. Norbert Church

The majority of the population is Christian , Catholic and Protestant . But there are also other groups here, a congregation of the New Apostolic Church and formerly a Free Evangelical Congregation . All denominations have or had churches or prayer rooms in Werl. Christian churches in Werl:

Catholic churches

• Pilgrimage Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary
• Old pilgrimage church
• Provost church of St. Walburga
• Parish Church of St. Peter
• Parish Church of St. Norbert
• Chapel of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary (Gänsevöhde)
• Chapel of Our Lady in Need (all downtown)
• Joseph's Chapel in Ostuffeln

There are other Catholic churches and chapels in the districts:

• Büderich - Parish Church of St. Kunibert
• Holtum - St. Agatha Church (St. Josefsverein, zu Büderich)
• Budberg - St. Michael Chapel (to Büderich)
• Sönnern - St. Antonius Church
• Niederbergstraße - St. Magdalena (to the Werl-Westönnen parish association),
• Westönnen - Parish Church of St. Cäcilia .

The Catholic parish association with the parish of St. Walburga Werl and the parish of St. Cäcilia Westönnen has existed since April 2005 . This new form of community association was introduced by the Archdiocese of Paderborn, as it can no longer send its own pastor to all communities due to the lack of priests. The second parish association consists of the parishes of St. Norbert and St. Peter in Werl, the parish of St. Kunibert in Werl-Büderich and the parish of St. Antonius in Werl-Sönnern. In the meantime, all parishes in Werl have merged to form the “total parish Propstei St. Walburga Werl”.

Protestant churches

• Paulus Church in Werl, the Paulus Church was consecrated in 1966. Until 1994 there was only a steel bell in the single bell tower. It was replaced by five bronze bells (strikes: d ′, f ″, g ″, a ″, b ″). Also of importance is the organ, which has accompanied the services since 1990 and was built by the Eule company from Bautzen.
• Protestant Church in Hilbeck
• The New Apostolic congregation in Werl has a church in Werl
• The Free Evangelical Congregation maintained a prayer room in Werl
• The former Johanneskirche in Werl was sold and secularized by the Protestant parish of Werl . With the proceeds and the long-term lease for the property, the parish hall of the Protestant parish ( house of encounters ) at the Paulus Church was co-financed.

Islamic community

Mosque of the Islamic community with minaret

According to the Christian denominations, Muslims are represented in Werl with around 1,000 members. The first mosque was the prayer room on Mehlerstrasse. The “Association for the Care of Islamic Culture e. V. “built the Fatih Mosque , in Turkish: Fatih Camii, in 1989 . It is the first mosque in Germany with a minaret .

Alevis

About 100 Alevi families live in Werl who belong to the Alevi Cultural Association Hamm (Haci-Bektasi Veli Alevi Kültür Merkezi Hamm eV).

Jewish community

Memorial stone at the synagogue square

Memorial at the Jewish cemetery

Jewish cemetery in Werl

→ Main article : Jewish community Werl

The Jewish community in Werl maintained a synagogue until the Reichspogromnacht on November 9, 1938 . The prayer house was built by the congregation. After the war, only a small number of Werl's residents remained of Jewish faith, and the synagogue was never rebuilt. In the place of the synagogue there is now a medical center; the square in front of it is marked with a memorial stone and is officially called Synagogenplatz. The cult objects from the Werler synagogue could be saved and are now in the synagogue in Dortmund .

There is a Jewish cemetery in the city .

Persecution of the Jews

On the morning after the Reichspogromnacht (November 10th), the members of the Jewish community had to watch helplessly as National Socialists and SS men living in Werl set the synagogue on fire and looted Jewish shops and houses. The fire brigade received the order from the Werler police chief Hochstuhl to hold back because it was a reported and organized fire. Hochstuhl acted on the instructions of the Deputy District Administrator in Soest. The persecution of fellow citizens with a Jewish background, however, began earlier with planned boycotts of Jewish businesses. On the night of March 27-28, 1939, many shop windows were broken into. For example, two donkeys were being led through Kämperstrasse with posters with the inscription Werler buy nothing from Jews on their backs. At the entrance to Steinerstrasse, members of the local branch of the NSDAP had a banner with the inscription Jews and Jewish servants are not desired to be stretched here. Rosa Feldheim's textile business was devastated and the interior was smashed.

The Jewish landowners were expropriated in early 1939, and the city bought a large part of the land. The Jewish cemetery , which was to be connected to the Gänsevöhde opposite, came into the possession of the city of Werl. Anti-Semitic events were very popular at this time. In the Germania Hall , the deputy Gauleiter Vetter gave a speech on the subject of race, a key to world history . The hall was completely overcrowded and the speech was repeatedly interrupted by frenetic applause.

But there were also a number of citizens in Werl who not only watched, and especially in the Catholic part of the population there was open and also clandestine resistance, which spread particularly at the pilgrimage church and in the attached Franciscan monastery. As a result of the persecution of the Jews, a number of community members fled Werl or were deported to various concentration camps and killed there.

Reports in the local press in Werl

• February 1937 The Jews Heinrich Hesse and Lothar Cohn were brought to the district court from here because of attempted racial disgrace.
• November 1938 Protest acts in Werl too. The news of the demise of the Council of Legation vom Rath also aroused great excitement and indignation among the population in Werl. There were demonstrations and actions. The window panes of a Jewish shop were smashed. The synagogue went up in flames and burned to the ground. The police took the Jews into protective custody for their own safety.
• March 1940 Jewish comrade… An unbelievable incident was discovered last Friday, March 29th. Mrs. Sch. from R. was caught bringing 40 eggs into the house of a Jewish family. The woman seems to have not yet understood the position and the struggle of National Socialism against Judaism. Since she also violated the ordinance on the public management of eggs and egg products of September 7, 1939, according to which eggs must be delivered to the collection points, the Jewish comrade will not escape her just punishment for behavior that is harmful to the people.
• October 1940 Outrageous Jewish cheek: attempted theft at the weekly market. At the last weekly market in Werler, Selma Sarah Cohn was caught trying to steal a cauliflower head from a stall. She was taken into protective custody by the police, as a just outrage took hold among the people present.
• June 1942 Genuine Jewish cheek. Two Jewish women were arrested here who had bought food subject to compulsory cultivation from the producer on Friday without entitlement to purchase. Buyers and sellers are facing punishment.

The Judean Column

Judean column on the Werler market square

In the summer in the middle of the market square, the Werl NSDAP erected a column of shame over three meters high, which named Jewish apartments / houses and Jewish shops and asked to avoid the Jewish shops in Werl. On a third page, the Jewish citizens in Werl were mocked with a caricature and asked to leave Werl with the following text: Jews! 24 hospitable states are waiting for you and look forward to seeing you. Get on your socks! On the fourth page, the Hitler quote was published: What is not race in this world is chaff! After the end of the Second World War , pictures of this column went through the world press , which illustrated Werler's racial madness .

A memorial stone on the former Jewish cemetery commemorates the persecution of the Jews.

politics

Council of the City of Werl

Status: Local election on May 25, 2014

Party / group	Seats	(to 2009)
CDU	17 seats	(−2)
SPD	12 seats	(+4)
BG	04 seats	(−1)
GREEN	04 seats	(+1)
WP	02 seats	(+2)
FDP	01 seat	(−1)
left	00 seats	(−2)

Results of the local elections from 1975

Only parties and voter communities that received at least 1.95 percent of the votes in the respective election are shown in the list.

year	CDU	SPD	BG 1	Green 2	SS 3	FDP	left	DZP 4
1975	59.5	30.6				4.6		5.3
1979	60.4	31.9				3.0		4.5
1984	57.2	27.6		11.0		4.1
1989	45.6	28.8	11.0	09.6		05.04
1994	47.3	31.4	09.3	08.4		3.7
1999	55.2	28.0	09.9	04.0		2.9
2004	54.1	20.7	12.5	06.8		5.4
2009	49.0	19.4	11.9	07.9		7.8	4.0
2014	42.3	30.2	09.5	09.4	5.1	3.5

Footnotes

¹ Bürgergemeinschaft Werl     ² Greens: 1984 and 1989: Greens, from 1994: B'90 / Greens     ³ Werl protest voters     ⁴ German Center Party

mayor

→ Main article : List of mayors of the city of Werl

• January 20, 1943 to April 8, 1945 Walter Riedel
• 1945–1946: Johann Heinrich Lennartz (1896–1975)
• 1946–1949: Theodor Nottebaum (1909–1964) ( center )
• 1949–1952: Wilhelm Löer (1915–1986) (center)
• 1952–1958: Kaspar Wenner (1895–1965) (center)
• 1958–1965: Ferdinand Pöppinghaus (1923–1965) ( CDU )
• 1965–1981: Amalie Rohrer (1922–2014) (CDU)
• 1981–1985: Heinz Sasse (CDU)
• 1986–1994: Elisabeth Böhmer (CDU)
• 1994–1996: Kunibert Becker (1934–2001) (CDU)
• 1996–1999: Friedrich Leopold Graf von Brühl (CDU)
• since 1999: full-time : Michael Grossmann (CDU)

City Directors

• 1946–1955: Johann Heinrich Lennartz (1896–1975)
• 1955–1971: Franz Ludwig
• 1971–1994: Wilhelm Dirkmann († 2016)
• 1994–1999: Manfred Lipphardt ( SPD )

In the local elections in 1999, NRW abolished dual leadership. The full-time mayor has been the city representative and head of administration since then.

coat of arms

Blazon : "In silver a continuous black bar cross, inside a silver key."

Declaration of coat of arms: The black cross in silver represents the coat of arms of the Electorate of Cologne , to which Werl belonged during the Old Kingdom , the silver key in the cross post is the attribute of St. Peter and symbolizes him as the patron saint of Werl and the patron saint of the Archbishopric of Cologne. The oldest evidence of this coat of arms dates back to 1503 (Werl City Archives, Dep. Erbsälzerarchiv, Certificate Sa, 72).

Town twinning

Werl has been twinning with the city of Halle in Belgium since October 6, 1973 .

Economy and Infrastructure

Companies

logistics

During the conversion of the former military site into industrial areas ( KonWerl 2010 ), many medium-sized companies and logistics companies settled in Werl or moved to Werl from the surrounding area.

Autoteile Unger (ATU) operates a distribution center in Werl; from there the ATU branches in northern and eastern Germany as well as internet customers are supplied.

The commercial vehicle and truck parts wholesaler Europart supplies all of its branches and major customers throughout the Federal Republic of Germany from Werl .

The food discounter Aldi- Nord has a regional branch and a central warehouse in Werl.

Industry

A company of great importance for the Werler labor market is Standard-Metallwerke GmbH with over 500 employees.

A company with a worldwide reputation is Heinz Kettler GmbH & Co. KG . The group with worldwide branches has its main business focus in Germany. A large number of the 750 employees work in Werl. The Mersch, Sönnern I and Sönnern II plants are maintained in Werl. The Mersch plant has a large warehouse, a sewing shop and the development department. The administration of the group and another production site are located in the neighboring municipality of Ense in Werl .

Josef Mawick Kunststoff-Spritzgusswerk GmbH & Co. KG employs 230 people in Werl- Sönnern and produces injection-molded plastic parts and the associated tools.

The organ building company Gebrüder Stockmann has existed since 1889.

The companies Wilhelm Reffelmann & Co. KG , which manufactures metal furniture, and Staverma , which supplies refractory ceramic molds for the iron and steel industry, are based in Werl-Büderich ( Prozessionsweg industrial park) .

retail trade

With a sales area of ​​48,300 m², Möbel Turflon is one of the fifteen largest furniture stores in Germany. In addition to furniture, lights, carpets, home textiles and household goods are also offered.

Banks

Sparkasse Werl

The Sparkasse Soest Werl is headquartered in Soest and maintains offices in the urban area Werl Werl Center and Werl- Buederich . The Sparkasse is run by the special purpose association of the Sparkasse SoestWerl - Sparkassenzweckverband of the cities of Soest and Werl and the communities of Bad Sassendorf, Ense, Lippetal, Möhnesee, Welver and Wickede (Ruhr). The Volksbank Hellweg has a branch in Werl and a branch in Westönnen .

Garbage collection

There was no garbage disposal in the city until 1947 . The waste generated was burned in the households in ovens and stoves . Ash and the rest of the waste were stored in the open in a (often brick) pit. This brought unpleasant odors and vermin with it. Several times a year the pits were dug and the garbage was transported by carts to the dumps on Neheimer Strasse or Blumenthaler Weg. On April 12, 1946, the city council unanimously decided to introduce garbage collection with compulsory connection and use .

traffic

Trunk roads

The city lies on the east-west motorway A 44 (Aachen - Düsseldorf - Dortmund - Kassel). The A 445 (Werl - Wickede (Ruhr) - Arnsberg) connects Werl with the Sauerland and intersects with the BAB 44 at the Werl junction. There are four motorway exits in Werl's urban area: AS Werl-Nord, AS Werl-Zentrum, AS Wickede ( all BAB 445) and AS Werl-Süd (BAB 44).

In addition, the historic Hellweg runs through the city with Bundesstraße 1 . Another connection exists with the federal highway 63 to Hamm and Menden and the federal highway 516 across the Sauerland past the Möhnesee to Brilon .

Rail transport

Werl train station and Westönnen stop are on the Dortmund – Unna – Werl – Soest line and are served every half hour from Monday to Saturday and every hour on Sundays and public holidays by the Eurobahn RB 59 .

Werl is in the traffic area of ​​the Ruhr-Lippe transport association . The Westphalian tariff has been in effect since August 2017 .

Bus transport

Werl has several bus routes that all end at Werl train station. There are four main lines (regional buses), three city lines and several school lines. Most of the lines are operated by Busverkehr Ruhr-Sieg GmbH . The regional transport Ruhr-Lippe GmbH is running on three lines. The Hamm-based transport company Breitenbach also operates a line (Werl– Welver ).

Public facilities

State institutions

Prison Werl

The Werl correctional facility with around 900 prison places is one of the largest correctional facilities in Germany and covers an area of ​​ten hectares. Three more hectares were bought in order to be able to build extensions from 2006 onwards. The former "Royal Prussian Central Prison" was built in just two years and put into operation on July 1, 1908. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the prison gained a dubious international reputation. It became Allied Prison . High-ranking generals such as Albert Kesselring , Erich von Manstein and Eberhard von Mackensen were partially imprisoned here until the 1950s. Konrad Adenauer campaigned for their release on the occasion of a Silesian pilgrimage in Werl. After that there were some renaming from “prison and security institution” to “penal institution” to today's penal institution (JVA).

Werl is also the seat of the Werl District Court as well as a motorway maintenance office of the state-owned company "Straßen NRW".

Clinics

• The Mariannen Hospital Werl is a general non-profit hospital with three specialist departments: anesthesia , surgery and internal medicine . Specialization: The "Internal Medicine" department has been upgraded nationwide in recent years through the treatment of diabetic patients (→ diabetic foot). The hospital on Unnaer Straße is supported by the Maria Anna Heeseschen Foundation. In addition to the hospital, the foundation also had a kindergarten in Werl and a children's home until the 1980s. In the rear area is a day care facility from Caritas. In economic terms, the hospital has been affiliated with the Katholische Hospitalvereinigung Hellweg gGmbH together with the Katharinen Hospital Unna since 2000 . The clinic originally had other specialist departments: paediatrics , orthopedics and urology . The last two departments mentioned were document departments .
• Bördeklinik Werl is a private surgical clinic.

schools

Hedwig Dransfeld School

Mariengymnasium

Elementary schools

• Walburgis School (Catholic faith school)
• Paul-Gerhardt-School (ev. Denominational school)
• Petrischule (Catholic denominational school)
• Norbert School (Catholic faith school)
• Marienschule in Werl-Büderich (Catholic denominational school)
• St. Josef School in Werl-Westönnen (Catholic faith school)
• Carl Orff School in Werl-Hilbeck (community school)

Former secondary schools

The Petrihauptschule (community secondary school) expired on July 31, 2014. The remaining students graduated from the Overberg secondary school (Catholic confessional school), which in turn was closed on July 14, 2017. Since then there are no more secondary schools in Werl.

Realschulen

• Private Ursuline Realschule as a department of the Ursuline Schools Werl

The municipal secondary school in Werl was closed on July 14, 2017.

Secondary school

• Sälzer secondary school Werl - opened on August 23, 2012.

High schools

• Municipal Mariengymnasium
• Private Ursuline grammar school as a department of the Ursuline schools in Werl

Special schools

Old Latin school, first school building of the special school

• Peter Härtling School, special needs school of the Soest district , primary level, specialization focus on emotional and social development
• Hedwig-Dransfeld-Schule LWL - special school with special focus on physical and motor development

The Friedrich Froebel School no longer exists. The history of the school: In 1950, the auxiliary school teacher Walter Roesner, who had been expelled from East Prussia, was commissioned by the city to set up a special school. The former Latin school at the provost church was available as a room. 54 students were taught together with a teacher. In 1952 the school was named Friedrich Froebel School. From 1958 to 1976 she was housed in the former preparation shop on Wickeder Strasse. A tenth class was set up in 1974/75 to obtain the secondary school leaving certificate. In this school year, in cooperation with the Overberg secondary school, the students were able to graduate. School operations in the newly built school building on Kucklermühlenweg began in 1976/77. Here the school, an absolute novelty in North Rhine-Westphalia, was incorporated into a school center as a special school for people with learning disabilities. The Froebel School was closed on June 30, 2015. The remaining students have been transferred to other schools.

Other educational institutions

Adult Education Center Werl

• Family education center FEBI
• Painting school Werl
• Music school Werl-Wickede (Ruhr) -Ense
• VHS Werl-Wickede (Ruhr) -Ense
• Kolping Education Center Werl

Sports offer

• In the city center you will find a large sports park with a leisure pool with indoor and outdoor pools , two sports halls , several soccer fields (grass and artificial turf), a multi-purpose stadium , tennis courts , a beach volleyball field , a baseball and softball field , a small skate park , basketball courts and one Shooting range offers.
• In addition, there are school sports halls assigned to schools throughout the entire city ​​center .
• In Werl-Hilbeck there are two grass courts, a small ash court, two tennis courts and a gym.
• In Werl- Büderich there is a sports hall at the primary school, on the outskirts there is an artificial turf soccer field and in the immediate vicinity there is a tennis facility.
• In Werl-Westönnen a sports hall can also be found at the primary school there. There is also a tennis facility in the vicinity of the newly built artificial turf soccer field.
• There is a grass football field in Werl-Sönnern and there is also a sports hall at the Peter Härtling School.
• In the rest of the city there are a number of playgrounds and football fields.
• There is also a 9-hole golf course near the Werler Stadtwald . The obsolete forest trim path has been removed.

sports clubs

• The most famous sports club in the city was the SC Preußen Werl .

Sights and culture

Museums

Rykenberg House

• City Museum Am Rykenberg Wendelin-Leidinger-Haus: City history museum of Werl. The museum is located in an old Burgmannenhaus, which began in the 14th century. Special features are a historical city model, the history of salt production and the pilgrimage to Werl. The painter and honorary citizen of the city of Werl Heinrich von Rustige is honored in the so-called Rustige-Kabinett . Temporary exhibitions and a rich educational program complement the museum's offerings.

• Forum of the Peoples . The Franciscan Ethnological Museum is the largest ethnological museum in Westphalia with over ten thousand objects from non-European art and everyday culture. It shows exhibits that were collected by Franciscans during their missionary work around the world. Outstanding here are an Egyptian mummy , Sumerian cuneiform scripts , the largest Chinese coin collection outside of China and an African gold treasure. The basis of the collection was the mission museum of the Franciscan monastery of Dorsten , which was closed after the Second World War .

Buildings

Pilgrimage basilica

St. Walburga

See also : List of architectural monuments in Werl

Churches and sacred buildings

• Old pilgrimage church . After the pilgrimage to the “miraculous” image of Mary began in 1661, the church was soon too small. A new baroque building was erected in 1786, and it was not until 1906 that the pilgrimage picture moved to the new pilgrimage church .
• Pilgrimage basilica . New pilgrimage church, which was built between 1904 and 1906. In 1953 the church was raised to the rank of papal minor basilica . In the church there is a statue of the Virgin Mary, called the “ comforter of the afflicted ”, a Romanesque ring-post chair Madonna (sedes sapientiae) from around 1170, to which over 250,000 pilgrims make pilgrimages every year. All the papal coats of arms of the popes since 1953 are kept in theforecourt of the basilica.
• Provost church of St. Walburga . Gothic hall building from the 14th century with a 62 meter high late Romanesque tower with a Baroque Welsch dome.
• Chapel on the Gänsevöhde Baroque chapel, which was consecrated to Our Lady in 1680 . It has the shape of an elongated octagon, with a door on each of the three west sides. The capital for the construction of the chapel was donated by Johann Heinrich Freiherr v. Gertzen gen. V. Sintzig, Hereditary Marshal of the Duchy of Jülich and Cathedral Chapter in Paderborn and Münster. He immortalized himself with his coat of arms above the entrance portal. The city made the building site available free of charge.
• Fatih Mosque (Eng .: Conqueror Mosque), a place of worship operated by the Turkish DİTİB . The mosque is named after Fatih Sultan Mehmet , the conqueror of Constantinople . When it was inaugurated in 1990, it was the first mosque in Germany to be built with a minaret . The building is supplemented by meeting rooms and sales rooms, as well as a Koran school .
• Catholic Parish Church of St. Peter
• Catholic parish church St. Norbert
• Chapel of Our Lady in Need
• Chapel Hof Flerke , not to be confused with Flerke

Other structures

Castle ruin

• Castle ruins : Old electoral castle, which wasbuiltfrom green sandstone in the south-western area of ​​the city wall from 1519 to 1522 after unrest in the city. The castle consisted of four mighty towers and wasbadly damagedin the Seven Years' War 1756–1763. In the 1820s the castle was completely demolished except for a tower and the stones for road construction were sold to Hamm . Today the area is owned by the Ursulines , who run a grammar school and a secondary school in the immediate vicinity.
• Old Town Hall : massive building from the 14th to 15th centuries, which was used as Werl's administrative seat until the 20th century. Extensively restored, the building is now used as a music school for the city of Werl and the communities of Wickede (Ruhr) and Ense .
• Haus von Papen : Former town house of the von Papen-Koeningen family, the birthplace of Franz von Papen . Built after 1720 (last town fire) on a medieval basement foundation. Elaborate stucco ceilings from the early and late 18th century adorn the interior of the building at the so-called calf market.

Windmill on Neheimer Strasse

• Former Burgmannshof : Kletterpoth 6. The core of the building probably dates from the 16th century, but was changed in 1830.
• Stadthalle : Large conference and event center on the so-called Gänsevöhde. Festivals are celebrated here and, in addition to conferences, part of the Werler cultural program also takes place here, including theater guest performances.
• Railway station : Building originally from 1889, former station building on the Dortmund-Soest railway line, expanded and rebuilt several times, completely refurbished between 2004 and 2006 and given a new use as a cultural center, advisory facility and club rooms for model railroad fans, rebuilding, among other things, through a project the Kolping training center Werl and by the Xenos program of the European Union funded
• Residential buildings : A large number of half-timbered houses have been preserved in some streets, but many of them have been plastered or spoiled by renovations. The Krämergasse leading to the provost church offers a particularly beautiful and uniform street scene.

The Krämergasse in Werl

• The Krämergasse is an idyllic alley from the Kämperstraße in the direction of the Propsteikirche, it is mainly built with half-timbered houses, most of which are listed. The alley has been depicted by artists on paintings, graphics, art prints and postcards since the 19th century.
• House Koeningen
• Rykenberg House
• Melsterstrasse 14
• Walburgahaus (Werl)

Squares and parks

Marketplace with pilgrimage basilica

• The market square forms the center of the core city. It borders in the south on the old town hall and the provost church of St. Walburga and in the east on the pilgrimage basilica , the western and northern borders are today business buildings, in earlier times there were partly representative town houses. The otherwise car-free square is now touched by Marktstrasse on the southern edge.
• Gänsevöhde place in front of the former Melstertor (city gate) outside the city wall, former herding place for cattle and especially geese. Nowadays, large events such as the rifle festival and pilgrimage services are held here . In 1953 one of the largest church services took place on the occasion of the so-called Silesian pilgrimage with Cardinal Joseph Frings from Cologne , Federal Chancellor Adenauer and an estimated 50,000 displaced persons .
• The Werler spa was named by until the Second World War in Werl be moved spa . The spa park should invite the guests of the Solbad Werl to take a walk. Today the park is the city's green lung. The park is equipped with a 30-meter-long and 8-meter high replica of a graduation tower and a replica boiling hut , in which salt boiling is shown as it was operated in Werl for centuries. The owners and sole authorized operators of the earlier salt production in Werl were the families of the so-called Erbsälzer , who in 1708 received the imperial nobility from the emperor on the basis of a document from 1432. The right to extract salt and the nobility were hereditary. At the end of the 14th century, the Erbsälzer consisted of 48 families. The number of families entitled to boil shrank to eight families by the end of the 16th century. Now there are only the von Lilien and von Papen families , the others died out in the male branch.

The Werler Park Cemetery

The park cemetery was laid out in 1850 in the southeast of the city in the immediate vicinity of the Wulf yeast factory . It was considered a place of rest and was one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Westphalia and it is an example of the change in burial culture and garden design. Many of the ash trees , arborvitae, maples and various types of fir planted near the site are still preserved, most of the former family graves, which were surrounded by elaborate grids, were demolished. Pastor Alterauge inaugurated the complex on July 30, 1850.

Culture

Listed station

• Theater performances in cooperation with the Small Theater Bad Godesberg take place regularly in the town hall.
• An amateur play group called Salzbachbühne Werl e. V. has also been staging a new play every year since 1996 in the theater auditorium of the Mariengymnasium on six evenings.
• Werl station: under the same name there is an event and event center in the listed station building. With the help of the Kultur für Werl e. V. of the city of Werl, the GWS (Society for Economic Development and Urban Development Werl GmbH - as the owner of the property) and as the executing craftsmen the Werl Kolping Education Center, the train station has been another cultural focus in Werl since September 2005. The complex is rounded off by a ticket office on the ground floor and the club rooms with a model layout of the Werler Eisenbahnfreunde on the top floor. Office and seminar rooms for the Kolping Educational Center in Werl will be built on the first floor. The design of the environment is a project that is due soon.
• Bands Around Werl: For several years now, Musikultur Werl e. V. a band festival at which local bands have the chance to demonstrate their musical skills in front of a larger audience.

Events and festivals

• Siederfest - This city festival has been held annually in June on the market square and in Werl's pedestrian zone since 1988. The program consists of a music program on the market square, historical demonstrations of salt boiling and shopping on Sunday.
• Michaelmas Week - This week is the highlight in Werl every year around September 29th (St. Michael). In addition to a fun fair and shopping and flea market, there is an extensive cultural program with music, award ceremonies and interesting lectures during the week. The Michaelis week emerged from the Werler autumn week, which has been held in Werl since 1952.
• Werler Bauernmarkt - Every year for the harvest festival , a farmers market takes place on Werler's market square. Here the farmers of the city and the districts sell their vegetables and show their large and small animals. There are also demonstrations with historical equipment, for example threshing with simple flails. Every five years there is also a move with historical and new agricultural equipment.
• Werler Münzfest - The Münzfest is the youngest of the big Werler festivals. It has been held annually since 2001 and is a reminder of the Werler coin minting law, which existed until the 17th century. The city's merchants use the festival for a Sunday shopping and a flea market rounds off the program.
• Patron feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary - Every Sunday after (or on) July 2nd, the Catholic feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary is a great day of pilgrimage. Pilgrims from Algermissen , Delbrück , Warstein , Arpe , Olpe , Lenhausen and Much as well as a large number of individual pilgrims are in the city of Werl this weekend. Here they pray and celebrate worship together. The several thousand pilgrims take part, among other things, in the light procession on Saturday evening and in the great city procession followed by a festive holy mass on Sunday morning. The group from the Bergisch town of Much covered almost 150 km for the way there and the same distance for the way back on foot over three days. Overall, the number of pilgrims on foot has increased again, and young people in particular are increasingly taking part.
• Shooting festivals - Shooting festivals take place annually in the city center and the districts. The beginning is Holtum (Schützenbruderschaft St. Michael) at the beginning of June, followed by Mawicke in mid-June (Schützenbruderschaft St. Hubertus). On the first weekend in July there is the shooting festival in Büderich (Schützenbruderschaft St. Kunibert), on the third the festival in Sönnern (St. Georg Schützenbruderschaft Sönnern-Pröbsting) and at the end of July Westönnen (Schützenbruderschaft St. Sebastianus Westönnen). Hilbeck (Schützenverein Hilbeck) follows on the second weekend in August and finally Werl (Schützenbruderschaft St. Sebastianus Werl) celebrates on the third weekend in August.
• New Year's Eve run from Werl to Soest . Thefamous New Year's Eve run has been taking placeon Bundesstraße 1 from Werl to Soest since 1982. With over 7,900 participants, it is the largest German New Year's Eve run. The run always starts in Werl at the town hall. The first two runs started from Werler Marktplatz and were moved to the town hall due to the large number of participants. The goal of the 15 km distance is then the market square in neighboring Soest.
• Pilgrimages - As the third largest pilgrimage site in Germany, the city of Werl is visited by a large number of pilgrimage groups throughout the year. In the past, it was primarily the expellees' pilgrimages by Ermlanders, Sudeten Germans and Silesians that attracted many thousands of people to the pilgrimage basilica for the miraculous image of the "comforter of the afflicted". These are now being overtaken in numbers by the pilgrimages of Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese living in Germany. Every Sunday closest to May 13th there is the Catholic procession of the Portuguese community , which ends at the pilgrimage basilica . The nationally visited pilgrimage is based on the Fátima pilgrimage in Portugal and has been taking place since the 1970s. On that day, the social event determines Werl's city center. Furthermore, the Maltese pilgrimage in September deserves special mention, when several hundred disabled people come to the pilgrimage basilica.

Otherwise the pilgrimage has changed a lot and the majority of the pilgrimage groups come to Werl for an evening pilgrimage, which is framed by a mass and a procession of lights.

Culinary specialties

Möppkenbrot

• Möppkenbrot
• Pfefferpotthast
• Werler Klostertropfen (liqueur)
• Werler drops (liqueur)
• Werler salt crust (bread with salt)

Personalities

Honorary citizen

• Bernhard (Johann) Alterauge (born March 26, 1802 in Drolshagen , † January 12, 1882 in Werl), first Werl provost. Honorary citizenship granted on the occasion of his golden jubilee as a priest in 1876. Alterauge was pastor in Werl for 43 years. A street in Werl is named after him.
• Gustav Alterauge (born December 30, 1829 Drolshagen; † April 24, 1895 in Werl), Werl provost, he was granted honorary citizenship on July 14, 1892 "because of his services".
• Hedwig Dransfeld (born February 24, 1871 in Hacheney ; † March 13, 1925 in Werl), politician and publicist, Catholic teacher (only exercised for a short time due to illness), formative federal chairwoman of the Catholic German Women's Association ( KDFB ) from 1912 to 1924, was a determined campaigner for women's suffrage (introduced in 1919), editor-in-chief of the women's magazine Die Christian Frau . In 1919 she became a member of the National Assembly and later also a member of the Prussian state parliament . Her focus was on: morality and housing issues, family and marriage law, school and youth protection. She played a key role in the new social legislation. Honorary citizenship was granted on the occasion of her 50th birthday in 1921 as a sign of honor and as recognition and gratitude for her services to the city of Werl. Another honor came on November 10, 1988; in the value of the character time series "Women of German history" was the then German Bundespost a stamp out of 350 penny with her picture.
• Bernhard Hellmann (born May 10, 1912; † December 28, 1990 in Werl), clergyman and pastor in the parish of St. Peter Werl. On his 75th birthday in 1987, Hellmann was made an honorary citizen because of his services to the community, the deanery and the city.
• Lorenz Cardinal Jaeger (born September 23, 1892 in Halle (Saale), † April 1, 1975 in Paderborn ) was Archbishop of Paderborn and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Werler honorary citizen since 1962 because of his support for the pilgrimage.
• Rudolf Preising (born June 4, 1904 in Dortmund ; † October 3, 1981 in Werl), monsignor , senior director of studies and honorary city archivist. Honorary citizen since 1972 because of his services to scientific homeland research, the establishment of the city archive and the establishment of some series of publications.
• Heinrich von Rustige (born April 12, 1810 in Werl, † January 15, 1900 in Stuttgart ), painter and director of the Royal State Gallery in Stuttgart. Pupil of Schadow in Düsseldorf. Genre and portrait painter . Since 1845 professor at the art school in Stuttgart. Honorary citizen of the city of Werl since 1890 because of his great services to art and science. The title of nobility was linked to his person and not hereditary.

It should also be mentioned that at the time of the Third Reich Paul v. Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler , Franz von Papen and Viktor Lutze were given honorary citizenship. In 1945 all four of them were deprived of their honorary citizenship, although this was only effective for Franz von Papen. The honorary citizenship of Hitler, Hindenburg and Lutzes had already expired with the death of these persons; Nevertheless, there was an order from the district president in Arnsberg that the rights had to be revoked and the street names had to be changed.

sons and daughters of the town

Portrait of Heinrich von Werl

• Heinrich II. Von Werl (around 1050–1127), bishop of Paderborn
• Heinrich von Werl (around 1400–1463) was a provincial of the Franciscan order and professor at the University of Cologne.
• Christoph Brandis (* in Werl † March 10, 1658 in Rüthen in Westphalia) was Mayor of Rüthen and historian.
• Kaspar Reinhard (* 1596 in Werl † 1669), as witch commissioner in Westphalia, was responsible for several hundred cases of witch trials and convictions.
• Franz Michael Florenz von Lilien (born July 30, 1696 in Werl † July 31, 1776 in Vienna), was a Thurn-und-Taxis-Hofmarschall and Werler Erbsälzer.
• Philipp Abraham Rosenthal (* 1774), merchant and porcelain manufacturer
• Joseph von Mellin (1765–1837), landlord and heir alder of Werl, founder of the "von Mellin Foundation"
• Peter Joseph Floret (1778–1836) was a lawyer first in the Cologne-Electorate and later in the Hesse-Darmstadt service.
• Marianne Heese (born Maria Anna Wilhelmina Ley; * March 6, 1788 in Werl; † June 14, 1863 ), was the founder of the Marianne Heese Foundation named after her in Werl.
• Franz Josef Michael von Zelion called von Brandis (1792–1870), forester and member of the Second Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse
• Friedrich von Papen (1839–1906), large landowner and local politician; Father of Franz von Papen
• Anton Steinbach (1844–1918), local poet and teacher
• Ferdinand Krismann (1852–1933), physician
• Philipp Rosenthal (1855–1937), businessman and founder of Rosenthal AG at Schloss Erkersreuth in Selb.
• Leopold Rademacher (1864–1935), German district administrator and member of parliament
• Friedrich Hüttemann (1875–1945), priest, philologist and writer of hymns; from 1914 to 1933 director of the Marien-Gymnasium
• Franz von Papen (1879–1969), politician (Center Party) and Reich Chancellor (1932)
• Hans Sponnier , also: Sponier (artist name) (1889–1970), draftsman and graphic artist
• Heinrich Buchgeister (1891–1977) was born in Westönnen, he was German champion in javelin and discus throwing, and the Heinrich Buchgeister Stadium in Werl is named after him.
• Wilhelm Stahl (1900–1980), born in Hilbeck, was an animal breeder, agricultural scientist and university professor
• Wilhelm Berges (1909–1978), historian
• Joseph Wäscher (1919–1993), sculptor
• Adalbert Leidinger (1926–2019), administrative lawyer
• Karl-Josef Hering (1929–1998), Berliner Kammersänger (hero tenor), actor and hotelier
• Helmuth Euler (1933–2020), non-fiction author , photographer and filmmaker .
• Ulla Wiesner (* 1940) was a singer
• Gerd Preusche (1940–2001), actor
• Theodor Redder (* 1941), national soccer player
• Heribert Arens OFM (* 1942), Franciscan, homileticist
• Hermann Kochanek (1946–2002), missionary and professor
• Eckhard Uhlenberg (* 1948), politician (CDU) and 2005–2010 Environment Minister in North Rhine-Westphalia
• Dimitri Hegemann (* 1954), cultural manager, musician and founder of the “Tresor” club in Berlin
• Gerhard Best (* 1957), Catholic theologian, bell expert for the Archdiocese of Paderborn and author
• Thomas Gemke (* 1957), District Administrator
• Klaus Nierhoff (* 1958), actor, including Lindenstrasse and SK Kölsch .
• Alfred Wendel (* 1958), director of the Duisburg Philharmonic
• Uwe Britten (* 1961), editor and book author
• Martin Auer (* 1963), jazz musician
• Andreas Englisch (* 1963), journalist and Vatican expert
• Ulrich Lampen (* 1963), radio play director, author and speaker
• Klaus Zeppenfeld (* 1963), President of Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences
• Martin Kree (* 1965), football player
• Bernd Mönkebüscher (* 1966), Catholic priest
• Uwe Grauer (* 1970), soccer player and coach
• Eva Klesse (* 1986), jazz musician

Personalities who have worked on site

• Gerhard Kleinsorgen (1530–1591), member of the official court, learned counselor and historian
• Gerhard Caspar Bigeleben (1701–1780) was a secret councilor of the Electorate of Cologne and an official of the ecclesiastical court in Werl
• Kaspar Schwarze (1830–1911), attended perpetual adoration , died in Werl
• Siegfried Schneider OFM (1894–1935), Franciscan; the well-known "Nativity Father" worked as a pilgrimage director at the pilgrimage basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary
• Max Güde (1902–1984), lawyer and politician (CDU); died in Werl
• Joe Bausch (* 1953), doctor and actor; practiced as a doctor in the Werl correctional facility
• Jürgen Tomicek (* 1957), cartoonist
• Ralf König (* 1960), comic artist; grew up in Westönnen

media

Daily newspapers

• Soest indicator

broadcast

In addition to the five WDR specialty transmitters, the private local radio broadcaster Hellweg Radio has been broadcasting its regional program for Werl and the entire Soest district since July 1, 1990 .

literature

Werl in literature

• Annette von Droste-Hülshoff : The Jewish beech. “Margreth, don't worry about that; we want everyone to read three masses, and around Easter we go on a supplication to the Mother of God von Werl. "
• Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen : The adventurous Simplicissimus. The third book: “The hunter from Soest does away with the hunter from Werl. [...] I sent one to Werl [...]. "

Books and writings

• Hermann Josef Berges: Salt from Werl. The saltworks town on Hellweg and its "white gold". Westfälischer Heimatverlag, Hamm 1980.
• Gerhard Best: pilgrimage and veneration of saints in Werl. Edited by the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe, Landesbildstelle. Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe, Münster 1990, ISBN 3-923432-24-0 .
• Heinrich Josef Deisting: Werler Bürgerbuch 1551-1877 (= Writings of the City of Werl, Series A, Issue 18). Aschendorff, Münster 1979.
• Helmuth Euler : Werl. Old photos tell. Sutton, Erfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-86680-116-5 .
• Helmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. Brown everyday life in pictures, texts, documents. Contemporary history 1933–1945. Werl 1983, DNB 860932451 .
• Rudolf Fidler: Rosary and funeral pyre, The Rosary retable in Werl / Westphalia (1631) in the field of denominational politics, Marian piety and the persecution of witches. Margarita, Cologne 2002, ISBN 3-9800413-3-6 .
• Wilhelm Halekotte: City and Cross. Contributions to Werler's town, church and art history. Coelde, Werl 1987, ISBN 3-87163-164-7 .
• Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. The historical city model and further insights into the city's history. In: Contributions to the Werler town history. Volume 1. Edited by the New Home and History Association Werl. Stein'sche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, ISBN 3-920980-97-2 .
• Carl Haase : The emergence of the Westphalian cities. 4th edition. Münster 1984, ISBN 3-402-05867-7 .
• St. Ursula Stift (Ed.): 100 years of the Ursulines in Werl. Festschrift 1888–1988. Coelde, Werl 1988.
• Michael Jolk: Seal and coat of arms of the city of Werl from the 13th to the 20th century. In: Werl yesterday – today – tomorrow 1999. Yearbook. Edited by the city of Werl and the New Home and History Association Werl, pp. 35–45.
• Hans Krusy: The coins from Werl (= news from the Werler city archive, issue 4). Werl 1979.
• Hartmut Laumann : Hallstatt-period salt works in Werl , in: Heinz Günter Horn , Hansgerd Hellenkemper , Gabriele Isenberg , Harald Koschik (ed.): Site of North Rhine-Westphalia. Millions of years of history , Römisch-Germanisches Museum der Stadt Köln, Mainz 2000, p. 250ff.
• Rudolf Preising : 700 years of the city of Werl, becoming, growing and the fate of a Westphalian city on Hellweg. Published by the city of Werl. Coelde, Werl 1972.
• Amalie Rohrer, Hans-Jürgen Zacher (Ed.): Werl. History of a Westphalian city (= studies and sources on Westphalian history, 31; 2 volumes). Paderborn / Werl 1993, ISBN 3-920980-40-9 .
• Schützenbruderschaft St. Kunibert e. V. Büderich from 1654 (Ed.): A village turns blue. Festschrift for the 350th anniversary of the St. Kunibert Büderich Schützenbruderschaft from 1654. Werl 2004, ISBN 3-00-013019-5 .
• Schützenbruderschaft St. Sebastianus Westönnen 1624 (Hrsg.): Festschrift. 1624-1999. 375th anniversary of the Rifle Brotherhood. Werl 1999.
• Hans-Jürgen Zacher: The synagogue community Werl in the period from 1847-1941. Dissertation, University of Dortmund. Werl 1988.
• Heiner Schäferhoff: Werl, Neuerstraße 1. History of its residents from 1943–1947. Paderborn 2006.
• City of Werl (Ed.): Werl yesterday - today - tomorrow. 1995, ISBN 3-920980-44-1 .
• Wendelin and Paul Leidinger: The prehistory and early history of the Werl area. Rocholldruck W. Jahn Verlag, Soest. Reprint in: Soester Zeitschrift, No. 81, December 1969.
• FJ Mehler: History of the City of Werl. A. Stein'sche Buchhandlung, Werl 1891 (reprint from 1971).

Web links

Commons : Werl  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Werl  - sources and full texts

• Website of the city of Werl
• Document registers from the Werl City Archives / Digital Westphalian Document Database (DWUD)
• Documents from the Erbsälzerarchiv Werl / digital Westphalian document database (DWUD)
• Link catalog on Werl at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )
• Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe: Parkfriedhof Werl in LWL geodata culture
• The street naming practice in Westphalia and Lippe during National Socialism
• Werl in the Westphalia Culture Atlas

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population of the municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia on December 31, 2019 - update of the population based on the census of May 9, 2011. State Office for Information and Technology North Rhine-Westphalia (IT.NRW), accessed on June 17, 2020 .   ( Help on this )
2. ↑ Pilgrimage City Werl: Administrative Report 2018. S. 1. digital
3. ↑ Wendelin and Paul Leidinger: The prehistory and early history of the Werl area . Rocholldruck W. Jahn Verlag Soest, special print from Soest magazine No. 81, December 1969, p. 6.
4. ↑ Wendelin and Paul Leidinger: The prehistory and early history of the Werl area . Rocholldruck W. Jahn Verlag Soest, special print from Soester magazine no. 81, December 1969, pp. 7-8.
5. ^ FJ Mehler: History of the City of Werl. Verlag der A. Steinschen Buchhandlung, 1891, p. 21.
6. ^ FJ Mehler: History of the City of Werl . Verlag der A. Steinschen Buchhandlung, 1891, p. 23.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Werl. ed. v. City Director. Dietrich Coelde Verlag.
8. ^ FJ Mehler: History of the City of Werl . Verlag der A. Steinschen Buchhandlung, 1891, p. 26.
9. ^ ^{A b} Rudolf Preising: Guide through Werl's history and streets. 1963, Chapter: An overview of the city's history.
10. ↑ Heinrich Mathias Kruchem: The bridge of Erbsälzer. European and Westphalian postal documentation 1600–1900. Verlag A. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1975, ISBN 3-920980-09-3 , p. 81.
11. ^ Rudolf Preising: Guide through Werl's history and streets. 1963, p. 19.
12. ^ Rudolf Preising: Guide through Werl's history and streets. 1963, p. 6.
13. ↑ ^{a b c d} Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, ISBN 3-920980-97-2 , p. 21.
14. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, ISBN 3-920980-97-2 , p. 11.
15. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, ISBN 3-920980-97-2 , pp. 88-90.
16. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, ISBN 3-920980-97-2 , pp. 90-92.
17. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, ISBN 3-920980-97-2 , p. 29.
18. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, p. 22.
19. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, p. 20.
20. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, pp. 92–94.
21. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, pp. 84, 85.
22. ^ Wilhelm Halekotte: City of Werl 1600–1700. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1999, pp. 93–97.
23. ^ Rudolf Preising: Guide through Werl's history and streets. Ed. Städtisches Kulturpflegeamt Werl, 1963, p. 7.
24. ^ Paul Leidinger: The civil possession of Werl by Hessen-Darmstadt. In: Westfälische Zeitschrift, Vol. 117, 1967, pp. 329-344.
25. ↑ Heinrich Mathias Kruchem: The bridge of Erbsälzer. European and Westphalian postal documentation 1600–1900. Verlag A. Steinsche Buchhandlung, Werl 1975, ISBN 3-920980-09-3 , p. 207.
26. ↑ Helmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. 1983, pp. 19-53.
27. ↑ Helmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. 1983, p. 60.
28. ↑ Helmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. 1983, p. 327.
29. ^ Rudolf Preising : 700 years of the city of Werl. Published by the city of Werl.
30. ↑ Hellmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. P. 256.
31. ↑ Hellmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. Pp. 324-326.
32. ^ City of Werl (ed.): Yesterday – today – tomorrow. 1995, ISBN 3-920980-44-1 , pp. 8, 9.
33. ↑ ^{a b} City of Werl (ed.): Yesterday – today – tomorrow. 1995, ISBN 3-920980-44-1 .
34. ↑ ^{a b} 700 years of the city of Werl from 1272 to 1972. Issue 1, year 1972, p. 15.
35. ↑ Martin Bünermann: The communities of the first reorganization program in North Rhine-Westphalia . Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, Cologne 1970, p. 93 .
36. ↑ Martin Bünermann, Heinz Köstering: The communities and districts after the municipal territorial reform in North Rhine-Westphalia . Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-555-30092-X .
37. ↑ 700 years of the city of Werl from 1272 to 1972. Issue 1, year 1972, p. 34.
38. ↑ Report on the Greens' visit to the mosque  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
39. ↑ ^{a b c} Helmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. Brown everyday life in pictures, texts, documents.
40. ↑ Helmuth Euler: Werl under the swastika. Brown everyday life in pictures, texts, documents. 1983, p. 208.
41. ↑ Directories of the results of the local elections for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (LDS NRW) from 1975 to 2009.
42. ↑ Elective profile of the State Office for Data Processing and Statistics NW ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
43. ↑ Election results 1999  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 5.9 MB)  
44. ↑ 2004 election results  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 7.0 MB)  
45. ↑ Election results 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 3.5 MB)  
46. ↑ 2014 election results
47. ↑ Around 150 employees worked there at the beginning of 2014
48. ↑ www.standard-metall.de
49. ↑ www.moebel-turflon.de
50. ^ Regional Association Westphalia-Lippe: Kurpark Werl in LWL GeodatenKultur
51. ^ Regional Association Westphalia-Lippe: Parkfriedhof Werl in LWL GeodatenKultur
52. ↑ "Portuguese people populate pilgrimage city" , article from May 12, 2013 in the Soester Anzeiger , accessed on March 9, 2017
53. ↑ uni-muenster.de
54. ^ Stadtarchiv Werl, council minutes of July 14, 1892, M IV 10.