Soest ( German pronunciation: [ˈzoːst] , as if it were 'Sohst'; Westphalian : Saust ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany . It is the capital of the Soest district .
25-731: Soest is located along the Hellweg road, approximately 23 kilometres (14 miles) south-west of Lippstadt , roughly 50 km (31 mi) east of Dortmund and roughly 50 km (31 mi) west of Paderborn . The Norwegian Þiðrekssaga from the 13th century, a series of tales about the Gothic King Theoderic the Great , identifies Soest (called Susat) as the capital of Attila 's (?–453) Hunnic Empire . The actual location of Attila's capital has not been determined. Owing to its fertile soil (predominantly brown silty clay loam),
50-535: A large fire underneath, turning it into a thick and murky fluid. Then it is left to cool, leaving solid white salt. In this manner, all white salt is produced in the Slavic countries.” An increasingly confident and powerful Soest liberated itself, between 1444 and 1449, from the Bishop of Cologne , who controlled Westphalia (the so-called Soest Feud ). No longer a capital of Westphalia, Soest aligned itself instead with
75-439: A multitude of historical buildings and attractions. The many medieval churches are built from a greenish sandstone unique to this area. In 960, Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne transferred relics of St. Patroclus from Troyes to Soest. From 964 on, they have been housed in what became the provost church St.-Patrokli-Dom (St. Patroclus' "Cathedral"), a particularly fine example of Romanesque architecture . The cathedral
100-460: A subsidiary in Lüdenscheid . It offers a total of about 52 bachelor and master courses in the fields of Engineering, Natural Sciences, Information Technology, Business management and Agriculture. It offers courses for both full-time students and for those in employment. It also accommodates those who wish to combine vocational training with studies. The oldest forerunner of the university was
125-491: Is Europe's biggest old town fair and was held for the 685th time in 2023. Among the traditional specialities of Soest are Möppken bread and pumpernickel . The Haverland bakery in the city centre, which formerly supplied dark bread to the royal court of Bavaria, has existed since 1570. A more recent speciality is Bullenauge (Bull's Eye), a mocha liqueur, sold mostly at the Allerheiligenkirmes. Another speciality
150-478: Is an example of early medieval Romanesque architecture fashioned from the local greenish sandstone. Its massive squared bell tower or steeple can be seen for many kilometres, rising up out of the city centre of the old town and a landmark of the Soester Boerde. The Allerheiligenkirmes is named for All Saints' Day as it starts every year at the first Wednesday after All Saints' and lasts for five days. It
175-615: Is the Soester beer, also known as Zwiebel-Bier (Onion Beer) as it has been brewed, since 1993, in the Zwiebel (Onion) Inn. The town's coat of arms shows a key, which is the symbol for Saint Peter , the patron saint of Cologne. The key symbol remained unchanged, even after Soest no longer fell within the jurisdiction of Cologne. Soest is twinned with: Circles est. 1500: Bavarian , Swabian , Upper Rhenish , Lower Rhenish–Westphalian , Franconian , (Lower) Saxon Hellweg In
200-452: The Duke of Cleves . This proved to be mostly a Pyrrhic victory , however. Though it had shown itself strong enough to defy the powerful Archbishop of Cologne, the town lost much of its trade as a consequence, with a "liberated" Soest surrounded by territories with other allegiances. When the last Duke of Cleves died in 1609, his dukedom was inherited by Brandenburg and, after a short siege, Soest
225-476: The Hanseatic League . In the geographical work Atar Al-Belad composed by Iranian scholar Mohammad Qazvini (1203-1283), Soest is described for its salt production and referred to as a "Slavic country": “There is a salty spring, while there is no salt to be found in the surroundings. When people make salt they take water from the spring, filling a kettle and placing it in an oven made from stone, lighting
250-664: The Harz mountains and the middle Elbe river, and the lower Weser and lower Elbe rivers, respectively. The Westphalian Hellweg, as an essential corridor that operated in overland transit of long-distance trade , was used by Charlemagne in his Saxon wars and later was maintained under Imperial supervision. In the 10th and 11th centuries this Hellweg was the preferred route of the Ottonian and Salian kings and emperors travelling at least yearly between their main estates in Saxony and
275-572: The Middle Ages , Hellweg was the official and common name given to main travelling routes in Germany . Their breadth was decreed as an unimpeded passageway a lance 's width, about three metres, which the landholders, through which the Hellweg passed, were required to maintain. In German scholarship and literature, however, Helweg , i.e. when employed without an adjective , usually refers to
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#1732787120090300-559: The area around Soest is believed to have been settled well before the village is first mentioned in the Dagobertsche Schenkung in 836. Excavations in recent decades have uncovered signs of habitation stretching back more than 4000 years. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Soest grew considerably, making it one of the largest towns in Westphalia with some 10,000 citizens. It was also, until 1609, an important member of
325-791: The creation of the Soest district in 1817, its influence again began to rise. However, the industrialization of the Ruhr area throughout the 19th century did not reach Soest, which remained a small town. Under the re-drawing of political borders within the Reich by the Nazi Party Soest was placed in Gau Westphalia-South. During World War II , the Stalag VI-E prisoner-of-war camp for Polish, French, Belgian and British POWs
350-656: The eastern edge of the Ruhr Pocket until the Allies ultimately gained permanent control. From 1953 to 1971, a sizable garrison of Canadian soldiers and their families was stationed at Soest (with the Canadian camps located just east of the town in Bad Sassendorf), as well as at Werl and Hemer-Iserlohn and Deilinghofen to the southwest. In addition, an American Nike Battery (66th Battalion) was situated just south of
375-718: The entire university education was disbanded in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Märkische Fachhochschule with the Fachhochschulabschaltungen Meschede and Soest of the former Gesamthochschule Paderborn was united as an equal partner. Seat of the Fachhochschule is Iserlohn. The founding rector was Michael Teusner from 1 January 2002 to 31 August 2004. From 1 September 2004 to the end of 2008 Jörg Liese
400-527: The imperial city of Aachen , when they were not in Italy or on campaign; very important imperial palaces were located in both Duisburg and Paderborn. From the Early Modern period, with the rise of the coal and steel industries, medieval towns founded along the trading route, e.g. Gelsenkirchen , Bochum , Essen or Dortmund , evolved into industrial hubs and absorbed most of the population growth of
425-504: The region. The name Hellweg , connoting the wide "bright" clearway ( heller Weg ) through the forest, derives from Low German helwech with this same significance. Another etymology for Hellweg is from Salzweg , the " Salt road ", on the ancient roots hál-s (Greek), and hal (Celtic), "salt". Yet another meaning connotes a "Way of the Dead"; e.g., in Grimm's Worterbuch , Helvegr is
450-698: The route to Hel , the Underworld . South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences The South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences [German : Fachhochschule Südwestfalen ] is a high-ranked research institution located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany . With more than 14,000 students, it is one of the largest of its kind in North Rhine-Westphalia . The headquarters and one of its four campuses are in Iserlohn . It has three more campuses located in Hagen , Meschede and Soest and
475-676: The town, and was subsequently turned over to the German military. From 1971 to 1993, the former Canadian properties, including the Married Quarters along Hiddingser Weg, south of the B-1, were used and occupied by British military personnel and their families. With the eventual closure of the Belgian and British army facilities, many of these properties were re-purposed for civilian use, abandoned, or demolished. The former Married Quarters area
500-643: The trade school in Hagen , founded by the Prussian reform politician Beuth on 1 December 1824, for the qualification for the Berlin Royal Technical Institute, which later became the State Engineering School for Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, and then the Märkische Fachhochschule, based in Iserlohn and the two locations Iserlohn and Hagen. The Fachhochschule was founded on January 1, 2002, when
525-597: The well-researched Westphalian Hellweg , the main road from the region of the lower Rhine east to the mountains of the Teutoburg Forest , linking the imperial cities of Duisburg , at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, and Paderborn , with the slopes of the Sauerland to its south. At Paderborn, it very probably continued into at least two other main imperial roads leading further east and north to
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#1732787120090550-613: Was converted to civilian housing. The former CANEX (the Canadian Army's food and clothing store for NATO families) was converted to a NAAFI under the British and finally demolished in 2006. The city is home to a major branch of the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) which offers various engineering, and Business Administration programmes. Soest has
575-580: Was incorporated into it. The painter Peter Lely , later to win fame in England, was born in 1618 in Soest to Dutch parents, where his father was an officer serving in the armed forces of Elector Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg . During and after the Thirty Years' War , Soest suffered a tremendous loss of both population and influence; at its lowest point, in 1756, having merely 3,600 citizens. With
600-420: Was operated in the town. Soest was the target of several allied bomber raids targeting the marshalling yard , one of the biggest in the Reich, and the important battery factory Akku Hagen. In early April 1945, Soest suffered from major fighting as Allied forces captured the town. Though retaken by a German counterattack shortly thereafter, destructive front-line combat continued to rage in Soest and its environs at
625-863: Was rector of the university. On 9 December 2008 Claus Schuster was elected as the first president of the University of Applied Sciences Südwestfalen by the University Council, confirmed by the Senate of the university. After a reform by the Senate, the university management was renamed the Rectorate and Claus Schuster was elected Rector of the university on 9 December 2014. The Fachhochschule Südwestfalen and its predecessors The South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences has four campuses located in Iserlohn (seat), Hagen , Meschede and Soest and
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