Unna

Unna is a city of around 59,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district.GeographyUnna is situated on an ancient salt-trading route, the Westphalian Hellweg. Trade on this route and during the period of the Hanseatic League came from as far as London. The city is located at the eastern extremity of the Ruhr district, about 15km east of the centre of Dortmund.DistrictsUnna consists of the following districts: Unna Afferde Massen Billmerich Hemmerde Kessebüren Königsborn Mühlhausen and Uelzen Lünern and Stockum Massen and Königsborn are former industrial and mining areas; the other districts have a more rural character.HistoryThe history of human settlement in what is now the city of Unna can be traced back to the Neolithic Era.In the Middle Ages, Unna gained significance as a way station on the Hellweg. It is first recorded by name in an ecclesiastical document of 1032. Around 1200, Count Friedrich von Altena-Isenberg was invested with the fiefdom of Unna, among other estates, by the archbishop-electorate of Cologne. Over the next few hundred years the town was repeatedly fought over, and burned down several times. In the 14th century the town became wealthy: a mint was established and regional trade blossomed. This is documented by the discovery of around 70 gold coins during excavation works in 1952. The coins originated from various countries and are thought to have been buried around 1375.