Plettenberg

Plettenberg is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.GeographyPlettenberg is located to the east of the Sauerland hills. The highest elevation of the city area is in the Ebbegebirge with 663 m above sea level, the lowest elevation with 194 m near Teindeln. The city is spread out between the four valleys of the rivers Lenne, Else, and Grüne.Division of the townPlettenberg consists of 5 districts: Plettenberg (city center) (14,012 inhabitants) Eiringhausen (4,905 inhabitants) Holthausen/upper Elsetal (3,985 inhabitants) Oestertal (3,055 inhabitants) Ohle (2,825 inhabitants)HistoryProbably the first written proof of Plettenberg was made in a document from Grafschaft Abbey of Anno II, archbishop of Cologne, at that time named Heslipho. The name was later changed to Plettenberg, as the name of the noble family von Plettenberg, who owned virtually all of the city and surrounding lands.The Dukes of the Mark bought the town from Cologne, who in 1301 built the castle Schwarzenberg (which was destroyed by fire in 1864). In 1387, Count Engelbert III granted the town some privileges, it received full city rights in 1397 from Count Dietrich von der Mark. At the same time, the city was fortified. The city blossomed in the following centuries thanks to mining and iron casting, as well as trading with the Hanseatic League.