Altena
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- This article is about the town Altena in Germany. For other uses, see Altena (disambiguation).
Altena is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the north of the Sauerland in the Lenne river valley, at . Population: 20,615 (2005). Area: 44.29 km². It belongs to the district Märkischer Kreis.
Altena is twinned with Péronne in France (since 1967), Blackburn in England (since 1972) and Pinsk in Belarus (since 1990).
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[edit] History
The history of Altena starts with the construction of the castle in the 12th century, which was the original seat of the Counts of the Mark. In 1198 the Count of Altena bought the Oberhof Mark near Hamm. This became the family's main seat and thus also their title. The castle in Altena was only rarely used from that time.
In 1308 the County was elevated to the status of a Duchy.
In 1367 the settlement below the castle received the right to become a free trade zone.
In 1609 the whole Duchy became part of Brandenburg, and later of Prussia. Even though Altena never officially acquired city rights, it was then nevertheless the capital of the district Altena.
In 1968 Altena was merged with the municipality Dahle, most parts of Evingsen (formerly part of Hemer), the Rahmede valley and part of Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde to form the present city. The districts of Altena and Lüdenscheid were merged into one district, which in 1975 became the Märkischer Kreis.
[edit] Points of interest
The town's biggest attraction is the castle Burg Altena. After being unused for centuries it was in ruins, although part of the buildings was used as a hospital. A complete reconstruction was undertaken, finished mostly by 1914, to celebrate the 300th anniversary in 1909 of the merging of Mark with Prussia (Brandenburg).
In 1912 the first youth hostel was created by Richard Schirrmann inside the castle. The old rooms are still on display, and new rooms inside the castle area are still part of the hostel now.
The dominant industry in Altena was wire production, and thus it has a museum dedicated to this industry only, the Drahtmuseum.
[edit] Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of the church built in 1310. She is depicted with a sword and a wheel, as she was killed in 307 by these two items. The choice of patron saint goes back to a vow made by Count Engelbert III of the Mark made at the burial place of Catherine in Jerusalem. The red and white checked fess refers to the coat of arms of the Counts of the Mark.
The coat of arms is quite old: a seal from the 15th century already depicts the same elements. In its current design it was created by Otto Hupp in 1938.
[edit] External links
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