Walk to Canossa
Borlinghausen was first mentioned in a document on 8 December 1065 under the name "Burchartinchusen" in German King, later Emperor, Henry IV's (1050–1106) time, which was also marked by his "Walk to Canossa" in 1077. In the aforesaid year, Henry donated to his old teacher, the Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen, a forested lordly estate in the "gau" of Engern. The document in question laid out the boundaries of the estate in question quite thoroughly, mentioning several local centres, including "Burchartinchusen".