Warstein

Warstein is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of the Sauerland.GeographyWarstein is located north of the Arnsberger Wald (forest) at a brook called Wäster. The area south of the city is mostly forested; the lightly forested Haarstrang mountain is to the north. The river Möhne flows between these two areas. The highest elevation is 581m in the south of the city near a hill called Stimm Stamm; the lowest elevation is 216m in the village Waldhausen in the north.Neighbouring municipalitiesThe following towns border Warstein : Anröchte, Rüthen, Bestwig, Meschede, Arnsberg, Möhnesee, Bad Sassendorf.Division of the townWarstein consists of the following 9 districts:HistoryEvidence of human life was found in the Bilstein Cave between Warstein and Hirschberg. Warstein was first mentioned officially in 1072. Historians once thought Warstein was organized as an official town in 1276, but that is incorrect. It probably became a town in the same year as Belecke in 1296. In the Middle Ages Warstein was part of the Hanseatic League, that is a trade association for guilds, a very important international trading association at that time. A fire in 1802 destroyed big parts of the town. After that the town centre was moved to the Wester brook. In 1844 the Amt Warstein was founded. It was part of the Archbishopric of Cologne until 1902. In 1975 Warstein and the other eight independent villages merged to form the new borough of Warstein.