Werne

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For the suburb of Bochum, see Bochum-Werne.

Location of the town of Werne within Unna district
Werne
Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Unna
Mayor	Rainer Tappe (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	76.08 km² (29.4 sq mi)
Elevation	60 m (197 ft)
Population	31,900 (31/12/2005)
- Density	419 /km² (1,086 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	UN
Postal code	59368
Area codes	0 23 89
Website	www.werne.de
Coordinates: 51°40′00″N 7°37′00″E / 51.666667, 7.616667

Werne is a town in the Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Unna district in Germany. It is located on the southern edge of the Münsterland region near the Ruhrgebiet. The population of Werne is about 32,000.

[edit] History

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c. 800: Liudger, the first Bishop of Münster, built a chapel in Werne and founded the first parish.

834: Werne was mentioned in an official document for the first time.

1253: An alliance was made between Münster, Dortmund, Soest and Lippstadt to defend their rights in relation to a bridge over the Lippe river in Werne (the "Werner Bund").

1400: Count Adolf of the Mark burned the city to the ground. From 1415 the city was fortified with walls, towers and gates.

1512–61: The town hall was built.

1618–1648 (Thirty Years' War): Werne was occupied, looted and burned down several times.

1636/37: Pestilence in Werne - 313 of about 1,000 inhabitants died.

1779: Parts of the city-wall and some of the towers were pulled down.

1815: Werne became a province of Prussia.

1843: "Neutor", the last city-gate, was pulled down.

1873/74: During searches for coal, a brine-spring was discovered. A swimming bath with brine was established.

1899: A coal-mine ("Zeche Werne") was established in Werne.

1928: The railway line Münster - Werne - Dortmund was opened.

1939 - 1945 (World War II): 471 citizens of Werne died and another 500 disappeared without trace. The town accommodated nearly 4,000 refugees.

1975: The coal-mine was closed.