Rüthen
Rüthen () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography. Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river Möhne, approx. 20 km south of Lippstadt and south-west of Paderborn. The highest point is the Wehberg with a height of , the lowest point the valley of the river Pöppelsche at . With an area of more than it is the largest town within the district of Soest. Division of the town. Today Rüthen is the commune largest in area in the  district of Soest with an area of . After the local government reforms of 1975 Rüthen consists of the following 15 districts: International relations. Rüthen is twinned with: History. The city of Rüthen was first mentioned in a document of the Kloster Grafschaft (abbey earldom) in 1072. The area around Rüthen already belonged to the Erzbistum Köln (archbishopric Cologne) in the High Middle Ages. On 29 September 1200 Rüthen was given town law by the sovereign, the archbishop of Cologne Adolf I. von Altena. Starting in 1375 Rüthen belonged to the Hanse, an economic alliance of trading cities and their guilds  that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe in the later Middle Ages. The merchants of the city had far reaching business connections and because of that were able to ensure wealth. In the following centuries, however, the importance of Rüthen decreased massively. Like many other cities in the duchy of Westfalen, Rüthen held witch trials. From 1573 to 1660, 104 people were tried as witches and wizards, at least 79 being sentenced to death. Freunnd Happen, who had been accused of being a sorcerer, was discharged after two months of torture on 23 September 1660. Signs. Buildings. In  the village of Kallenhardt you can find Schloss Körtlinghausen (1714), a small castle surrounded by water, a catholic church from 1722 and an old cityhall from the 14th or 15th century. Nature. The Hohler Stein in Kallenhardt is a big cave in which archaeological findings from the Stone Age and Bronze Age were made.