Werdohl
Werdohl (German pronunciation: [vɛʁˈdoːl] ) is a town in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Werdohl | |
|---|---|
 Town hall | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Werdohl within Märkischer Kreis district <imagemap>File: Werdohl 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> | |
  Werdohl  Werdohl | |
| Coordinates: 51°16′N 07°46′E / 51.267°N 7.767°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Arnsberg |
| District | Märkischer Kreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–25) | Andreas Späinghaus[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 33.35 km2 (12.88 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 448 m (1,470 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 162 m (531 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 17,762 |
| • Density | 530/km2 (1,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 58791 |
| Dialling codes | 02392 |
| Vehicle registration | MK |
| Website | www.werdohl.de |
Geography
Werdohl is located in the hills of the Sauerland, at a double meander of the river Lenne and its confluent, the Verse. The highest elevation is the Hölzerne Klinke with 448.8m above sea level, the lowest is in valley of Lenne at the boundary to the city Altena with 162m. Werdohl shares borders with (clockwise) Altena, Neuenrade, Plettenberg, Herscheid and Lüdenscheid. A large part of the area, about 19.2 km2, is meadows and forests and is used for agriculture and forestry, followed by 3.18 km2 of residential areas and 1.24 km2 are commercial and industrial areas.
Urban districts
The city centre is located at the banks of the river Lenne and at the foot of surrounding hills. The townships are Versevörde, where the river Verse flows into the river Lenne, Königsburg, Rodt and Erlhagen.
Kettling lies upstream of the Lenne at the border to Plettenberg. Ütterlingsen, Dresel and Elverlingsen are downstream of the Lenne towards the border to Altena.
Following the Verse from upstream from Versevörde to Lüdenscheid, the townships Osmecke, Pungelscheid, Kleinhammer, Eveking, Bärenstein and Oberborbecke are located upstream in the valley of the Verse (Versetal) or on the hills forming the valley.
History
The first document which mentions Werdohl dates to the year 1101. Bishop Heinrich II. from Paderborn mentions the church of Werdohl, which was donated by count Erpo of Padberg to the monastery Boke/Flechtdorf. In 1220 the Priorat Berentrop took over the ownership, which in 1300 was bought by count Everhard II. of the Mark.
Werdohl was long administered in the Amt Neuenrade, however at the end of the 19th century the population of Werdohl was higher than those of the other municipalities in the Amt together. On June 1, 1891 Werdohl left the Amt and became self-administered, after it failed to get the seat of the Amt administration to be moved to Werdohl. On April 19, 1936 the municipality received city rights.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Werdohl shows a rose, which was already present in the seal of the church. To the right are three chain segments, the symbol of the family Neuhoff, a noble family which resided in the municipality in the past. The bottom part shows the red-white chequered bordure as the symbols of the counts of the Mark.
The first attempt of Werdohl to receive a coat of arms was started in 1915, when they asked Dr. Hildebrandt of the editorial staff of the Deutscher Herold in Berlin to create a concept for a coat of arms. The draft already resembled the later coat of arms, only the rose was in silver on black ground. However the war and then the end of monarchy in Germany delayed for several years. In 1929 Otto Hupp created two drafts of the coat of arms, one of which was then accepted by the municipality council on August 29, 1929. It later turned out that the coat of arms need to be officially granted, which happened on January 16, 1935.
In 1936 the Landrat of Westphalia lobbied to have the coat of arms changed. He requested a draft from the heraldic Waldemar Mallek, which showed a Zeppelin in the top part, the chain in bottom, separated by the chequered bordure. It was however not accepted by the mayor of Werdohl, and was not pursued further.
Economy
Amongst the biggest employers headquartered in Werdohl are Schaeffler Engineering,[3] a company of Schaeffler Group, nickel alloy producer VDM Metals[4] and the technology company Vossloh, market leader for rail fasteners and switch systems.
International relations
Werdohl is twinned with: Since April 6, 1975 Werdohl has a city partnership with the English district Derwentside. Since August 10, 1990 it has a partnership with the city Stavenhagen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
References
- ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in Deutsch). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
- ^ "Locations". Schaeffler Engineering. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- ^ "Locations". VDM Metals. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
External links
- Official site (in German)