Balve

Balve
Town
Balve town centre in 2007
Coat of arms
Location of Balve within Märkischer Kreis district <imagemap>File: Balve in MK.svg | 240x240px poly 70 86 72 110 106 120 106 86 Märkischer Kreis poly 0 177 55 177 167 97 167 0 0 0 North Rhine-Westphalia poly 278 468 278 481 0 481 0 299 57 299 52 311 92 323 70 348 132 425 141 447 209 447 229 481 278 462 Oberbergischer Kreis poly 91 323 56 311 59 299 0 299 0 177 33 179 72 204 56 234 72 245 82 216 123 216 123 234 106 245 132 257 141 265 141 271 Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis poly 141 271 141 257 123 257 111 245 123 232 123 212 80 216 72 245 56 232 72 204 33 178 55 178 141 120 180 120 180 232 Hagen poly 167 0 167 37 172 37 193 25 180 0 Dortmund poly 180 120 141 120 167 96 167 37 193 25 180 0 349 0 349 18 288 37 252 25 198 62 209 110 198 130 Unna (district) poly 351 15 351 0 468 0 468 15 441 25 394 0 368 37 Soest (district) poly 368 37 394 0 441 25 468 15 468 271 432 287 421 265 421 216 421 176 410 157 394 110 382 62 Hochsauerlandkreis poly 432 287 468 271 468 481 278 481 288 468 368 470 368 407 351 381 441 340 441 287 Olpe (district) poly 222 257 239 204 264 216 278 204 315 204 307 232 278 232 264 242 264 284 252 286 239 287 222 265 239 265 Altena poly 209 447 264 381 278 397 349 389 368 408 368 469 264 465 229 481 Meinerzhagen poly 278 232 323 204 421 224 421 265 315 247 307 257 290 247 Neuenrade poly 264 381 193 348 132 425 142 447 209 443 Kierspe poly 123 299 193 348 137 425 72 348 Halver poly 278 299 323 299 351 390 278 398 264 381 Herscheid poly 252 25 298 33 351 15 394 110 368 110 278 86 278 62 253 55 Menden poly 222 257 239 196 213 167 213 185 180 180 180 232 Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde poly 323 299 351 381 440 342 441 289 421 265 351 265 Plettenberg poly 180 232 222 257 146 311 123 299 Schalksmühle poly 278 201 315 204 368 110 278 86 Hemer poly 219 257 278 288 264 381 167 332 170 299 Lüdenscheid poly 200 61 249 25 252 59 272 67 278 203 256 216 217 167 211 186 186 181 180 122 196 129 210 110 Iserlohn poly 315 203 366 112 392 110 407 156 421 170 420 196 412 224 Balve poly 320 299 351 257 314 252 301 261 284 232 268 238 264 280 281 283 282 299 Werdohl desc bottom-right </imagemap>
Balve Balve
Coordinates: 51°20′N 07°52′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Märkischer Kreis
Subdivisions	7
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Hubertus Mühling (CDU)
Area
• Total	74.76 km2 (28.86 sq mi)
Highest elevation	546 m (1,791 ft)
Lowest elevation	240 m (790 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)
• Total	11,108
• Density	150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	58802
Dialling codes	02375
Vehicle registration	MK
Website	www.balve.de

Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in Hönnetal, a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpe Dam, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the Sauerland, near Dortmund. The town was established in 1975 with several divisions including Balve, Beckum and Eisborn and Garbeck.

History

Avenue to Wocklum

The first reference to Balve is from around 780, when it was mentioned that a Widukind owned a farm called Ballowa, another name for the town, although this reference has been disputed. The first undisputed reference was in 864, in which a blind girl from Balve was said to be healed at the grave of the Saint Ludger in the crypt of Werden Abbey.

Ballowa is also mentioned in the Thidrekssaga, a chivalric saga written in the mid-13th century in Norway. In the saga, Ballowa is the home of two dwarfs who taught Weyland much about making iron weapons. At the time of writing, Balve belonged to the county of Arnsberg.

In 1358 the town became the property of the Duchy of Westphalia, which belonged to the Archbishops of Cologne. In 1430 it was given the right to be called a city. During the Napoleonic period, it belonged for a short time (1802–1815) to Hesse, after which time it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.

In 1975, following a substantial reorganisation of local government in Germany, the city was enlarged by the addition of the several former independent municipalities from the abolished Amt Balve, including Asbeck, Beckum, and Eisborn.

Organizations, economy and transportation

Building at the station

Local organizations include a Red Cross chapter, and the Schützenbruderschaft St. Sebastian Balve, founded in 1947. Primary schools in the town include Grundschule Balve and Grundschule Beckum. Several international companies have roots in the town, including Balver Zinn, Chemie Wocklum, and Kruse Group.

Train stations in Balve include Binolen, Volkringhausen, Sanssouci, Garbeck and Balve, the latter station part of the Hönnetalbahn (RB 54) line.

Religion

Saint Blaise church

The main religion in Balve is Roman Catholicism. The church Saint Blaise, built in the 12th century and an example of Romanesque architecture, was consecrated to Mary. On February 3 each year a special ceremony is held in the church, called the Blessing of the Throats. The altar servers of Saint Blaise visit other cities every year, for example Georgsmarienhütte in 1982. Bones from Benedict of Nursia and Saint Blaise, and a 400-year-old monument for Hermann von Hatzfeld, are located in the church. Additionally, two Roman Catholic parishes have been present in Balve for several years.

A Lutheran church is located at Hönnetalstrasse near to the Gemeindezentrum.

Culture

Performing arts

Jedermann (2005)

The Männerchor 1860 Balve is the largest choir in Balve. Other choirs include the Männerchor Garbeck and MC Cäcilia Volkringhausen. The town's bands include Musikverein Balve and Musikverein Garbeck.

Until 2005, the organization Festpiele Balver Höhle and the town of Balve have jointly hosted a jazz festival. Acts at the festival have included performances by Jan Garbarek and by Piirpauke. One of the theatre ensembles in Balve is the Kolpingtheatergruppe, directed by Christoph Rapp. Another form of entertainment, the Balver Märchenwochen, involves performing fairy tales at Christmas.

Festivals

Main article: Festspiele Balver Höhle

The Festspiele Balver Höhle is held at the Balver Höhle, a cave in Balve. The festival is a major focus of the culture in and around the town, featuring music and theatre performances. The only marksmen's festival, Schützenfest, is also held in a cave, and is organized by Schützenbruderschaft St. Sebastian.

A large bonfire on Easter Sunday is another tradition in Balve, organized by the Kolpingsfamilie Balve. On May 1 each year the fire brigade of Balve is invited to the Feuerwehrfest, and for 20 years a christmas market has organized by Balver Fachhandel that features a live nativity scene.

Sports

One of the soccer clubs in Balve, SG Balve/Garbeck, won the DFB-Ü 40-Cup in 2007. The town also organizes the Balve Optimum, a competition between horse riders.

Participants in the Balve Optimum have included:

Horse jumping

• Reiner Klimke
• Paul Schockemöhle
• Ludger Beerbaum
• Markus Beerbaum
• Jessica Kürten (2007)
• Hugo Simon (2008)
• Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (2008)
• Eva Bitter (2008)

Dressage

• Isabell Werth (2008)
• Matthias Alexander Rath (2008)

Points of interest

The Hönne at Balve

There are many caves in the Hönnetal, including the Balver Höhle at Helle, a large cave used for cultural events such as concerts, stage acting and the annual marksmen's festival, and the Reckenhöhle, a cave 1,478 ft in length that has flowstone. Experts have found signs of cannibalism in some of the caves.

Other points of interest include

1. The walls of an old Germanic farm, located Garbeck,
2. Beckum, where scientists found bones from eight kind of species of dinosaurs from the cretaceous, and
3. The Luisenhütte, the only surviving 18th-century blast furnace that is still in workable condition, situated close to the 14th-century castle Schloss Wocklum, the home of Count Dieter von Landsberg-Velen.

• 
  Schloss Wocklum
• 
  Luisenhütte

Coat of arms

The town's coat of arms references the history of Balve. The eagle is taken from the arms of Arnsberg, and the black-and-white cross from that of Cologne. Both symbols were present in old seals of the city, of which the oldest known example dates from 1462. The coat of arms was officially granted on June 24, 1911, and confirmed on February 6, 1976, after the local government reorganization of 1975.

The bottom part of the coat of arms of the former Amt Balve is identical Bolve's town arms. The top half showed St. Peter, wearing a red coat and holding in his left hand a golden key and in his right a golden book. This coat of arms was granted on March 5, 1957, and expired when the Amt was dissolved in 1975.

Persons of interest

• Jean-Marc Gaulin (1962–), Canadian ice hockey player born in Balve
• Franz Hoffmeister (1898–1943), Roman Catholic priest
• Theodor Pröpper (1896–1979), composer and church musician
• Hermann Wedekind (1910–1998), actor, opera singer and theatre director

External links

• Official site (in German)