Meschede

Meschede
View over Meschede
Coat of arms
Meschede
Location of Meschede within Hochsauerlandkreis district
Coordinates: 51°21′N 8°17′E / 51.350°N 8.283°E / 51.350; 8.283Coordinates: 51°21′N 8°17′E / 51.350°N 8.283°E / 51.350; 8.283
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Hochsauerlandkreis
Government
• Mayor	Uli Hess (CDU)
Area
• Total	218.5 km2 (84.4 sq mi)
Elevation	260 m (850 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
• Total	30,119
• Density	140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	D 59872
Dialling codes	0291
Vehicle registration	HSK
Website	www.meschede.de

Meschede is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis.

Education

One of the five branches of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) is located here.

Geography

Meschede is situated in the Ruhr valley, near to the Hennesee, south of the nature-park Arnsberger Wald. Major towns in the vicinity of Meschede are Paderborn (51 km), Kassel (85 km), Siegen (57 km), Hagen, Dortmund (60 km) and Hamm (49 km).

Neighbouring municipalities

• Arnsberg
• Bestwig
• Eslohe
• Schmallenberg
• Sundern
• Warstein

Division of the town

After the local government reforms of 1975 Meschede consists of these districts and villages:

Panorama of Meschede

History

In 1921 the Sauerländer Heimatbund was founded.

Transportation

Meschede is connected with two national roads, the federal roads B 7 and B 55, and the motorway A 46. It has an airfield, the Meschede-Schüren Airfield, with a 900 m runway.

Climate

The city's climate is continental. The lowest temperature recorded was −20 °C (−4 °F), its highest was recorded at 39 °C (102 °F).

Mayors of Meschede

• 1952–1961: Engelbert Dick (CDU)
• 1961–1969: Josef Busch (CDU)
• 1969–1974: Bruno Peus (CDU)
• 1975–1998: Franz Stahlmecke (CDU)
• 1998–1999: Bruno Peus (CDU)
• 1999–present: Hans-Ulrich (Uli) Hess (CDU)

Media

Meschede has its local radio station Radio Sauerland. The Fachhochschule Südwestfalen runs its own radio station called radioFH!. The regional newspapers are Westfalenpost and Westfälische Rundschau. The local newspaper is the Sauerlandkurier.

Notable people

• Karl Lehr (1842–1919), mayor of Duisburg
• August Macke (1887–1914), painter
• Ansgar Nierhoff (b. 1941), artist
• Werner Pieper (b. 1948), author
• Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (b. 1963), author of the Carcassonne games
• Matthias Ungemach (b. 1968), Olympic rower
• Armin Petras (b. 1964), theatre director
• Daniela Bette (b. 1981), actress
• Joseph Hippolyt Pulte (6 October 1811 – died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 24 February 1884) was a homeopathic physician.
• Dieter Wurm, chairman of Sauerländer Heimatbund^[2]

Main sights

• Abbey Königsmünster, built by Order of Saint Benedict
• Hennesee - The Hennesee is a lake near Meschede and the main recreational area of the town. It was built to secure the water supply of the close Ruhrgebiet and is today mainly use to generate hydropower, flood protection and baseflow. Recreational areas are the tanning lawn and bath area, fishing, rowing, sailing, walking and hiking.

International relations

Meschede is twinned with:

• Wińsko, Poland, since 1956
• Le Puy-en-Velay, France, since 1975
• Cousolre, France, since 1965 (twin town of Freienohl)

Also unofficial friendly relations exist with the following towns:

• Coventry, United Kingdom
• Coventry, United States
• Vannes, France
• Neufraunhofen, Germany

References

External links

• Official site (in German)

Meschede in winter 2004

Meschede in winter 2005

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meschede.