Online-Card - Attendorn

Every old town has its big and its small history. On the one hand, it is affected by the fate of the country; on the other hand it is influenced by the particular events in town, which are typical of its specific situation, its people, its traditions. Even if the technical developments and the reconstruction after World War II gave Attendorn a new outer appearance, the flair of the town, which was significant already in the medieval, has been preserved. Especially the efforts of the town council and administration, but also of its citizens, to give the town center an attractive design as a part of urban improvement measures have helped to enhance its historical appeal. This aspect and the excellent recreational opportunities make up the image of this town - an old but at the same time young town which is worthwhile to live in, also with respect to the increased demands of modern life.

History of foundation

Attendorn was founded not only because of a random decision by an Arch Bishop from Cologne, rather several factors speaking for the creation of a settlement at this place were so crucial that no ruler of a country could overlook them. The Attendorn hollow has advantages over neighboring areas thanks to its climate, soil and good traffic links and attracted people even in prehistoric times. There is proof of relatively concentrated settlement from the early medieval on.

 

The town developed out of a village-like settlement located at the crossing of two long-distance roads. An Early Parish was founded as early as the reign of Charlemagne. The foundations of a simple mission church from these times still rest beneath the floor of the Gothic nave of St. John’s Church. The Christianization of the surrounding areas started out from here. When Arch Bishop Anno of Cologne established the Grafschaft Monastery in the year of 1072, the church and a farm in Attendarra became part of its possessions. Later on, with respect to canon law , Attendorn received an outstanding position as the capital town of a deanery.

As a member of the German Hanseatic League, Attendorn was especially renowned in the field of cloth trade. There is much evidence of merchants from Attendorn in the area of the Baltic Sea. There even was a permanent representative only for the town of Attendorn in the London Stalhof. The closest relations were those with Lübeck, where merchants from the Hanseatic Sauerland town settled and achieved both a good reputation and wealth.

Attendorn was a mediate member of the German Hanseatic League and was represented by the town of Soest at the major league meetings. Attendorn itself had supremacy over the towns of Olpe, Drolshagen and Menden. Attendorn presumably was a member of the Hanseatic League until the league was dissolved. This is proven by its regular attendance at the Hanseatic meetings in Soest.

Attendorn was an Archbishop’s Mint already around 1200. The coins of the 13th and 14th centuries are worth special mention. Medieval coins from Attendorn can be found from Brussels to Lubnice in Poland and up to the island of Gotland.

The town’s wealth allowed significant foundations in the late Medieval. From the early 14th century on until recent times, a charity hospital with a church and cemetery was located right outside the city walls. In 1391, Archbishop Friedrich III of Cologne opened the Cross Chapel located at the north side of the tower of St. John’s Church. It was sponsored by the von der Becke family. In 1420, Heinrich Weke founded the Ewig Monastery and added to it a hospital for the poor in 1429. The numerous vicarages which used to exist at the churches were established thanks to private initiative. At times, the town was so rich that it was even in a position to grant the archbishop of Cologne loans. It also supported the bishop in his dispute with Soest. In the so-called Feud of Soest, the citizens of Attendorn helped to conquer the castle and area of Bilstein in 1444/45.

In the late 15th century, the town’s wealth diminished, but the sciences thrived under the humanists Mulläus, Rivius and Daberkusius at the local grammar school founded in 1515.

 

Setbacks

The town was hit by the plague four times in the years 1464, 1597, 1598 and 1613. Almost at the same time as the last plague, a large fire broke out, and another one in 1623. In 1656, half of the town burned down. Further fires in the years of 1710, 1737 and 1742 also destroyed large parts of the town. The last large fire in 1783 destroyed 246 houses, St. John’s Church with the tower and chancel, the town hall, the monastery church and St. Francis’ monastery.

Attendorn also suffered wars, pillage and billeting, e.g. in the Limburg War of Succession (1280), in the Feud of Soest (1444-1449), in the Truchsessian Turmoil (1583/84) and in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). During the Napoleonic era, the town reached its lowest point from which it did not recover until the middle of the 19th century. In the last World War, Attendorn suffered great destruction as late as March 28, 1945 by bombs and on June 15 of the same year by a major ammunition explosion.

 

Traditions

A wide variety of local customs gives proof of the town’s old tradition. The custom of celebrating Carnival, coming to a powerful revival and filling the streets every year, deserves special mention. Especially the Parade on each Tuesday before Ash Wednesday that has been held for over 150 years attracts people from all over Sauerland.

The Easter traditions observed in Attendorn are probably unique. The tunes of a centuries-old horn played from the church tower, the blessing of bread on Easter Saturday, the putting up and burning of the Easter Fires at the four town gates, the processions from there to St. John’s Church, the display of unusual Easter lanterns: all this has remained alive and can be traced back far into the past, although the origins are not exactly known.

Clubs and brotherhoods organizing annual fairs featuring shooting matches can be found in all of Westphalia. But hardly any of these can compare with Attendorn’s Schützengesellschaft 1222 e.V., which keeps up medieval traditions such as the trill and bow dances. The marksmen of Attendorn celebrate their annual historical Schützenfest on the first weekend of July.

In the medieval, there were St. Nicolas brotherhoods in many places as associations of travelling merchants. In Attendorn, the Nicolai Confraternity, founded in the 14th century, still exists today. A full archive contains all the details. The guilds of the smiths and builders still also exist, keeping up their traditions, which are celebrated chiefly in the first half of the year. While they are meant mainly to preserve and pass on traditions, the population also sees them as an important instrument of bridging gaps and meeting on common ground. The great variety of traditions in Attendorn can be compared to a copiously illustrated book: The individual pictures are shown from ever-new perspectives, but in the end they form a fabulous whole on the basis of a sound community.

Tourist Attractions

Yet today the Sauerländer Dom (Parish Church St. Johannes Baptist) with its Romanesque tower from around 1200 and its Gothic nave dating back to the 14th century, the Hospital Church from the 14th century, two towers which used to form part of the town’s defensive wall and other buildings give testimony of the varied history of the town. The former town hall, the only secular Gothic building still existing in southern Westphalia, now houses the Südsauerlandmuseum. Since the discovery of the Atta Cave (Attahöhle) in 1907, the biggest and most scenic limestone cave with stalactite and stalagmites in Germany, Attendorn has turned into Sauerland’s most popular destination for day trippers. There are also many attractions in the area surrounding the town, e.g. Schnellenberg Castle, where the famous Westphalian Droste von Fürstenberg family resided since 1594. The chapel and Waldenburg castle ruin are also notable. The latter was restored with great ideal efforts and cost in recent years as the oldest architectural monument (11th century) and the administrative germ cell of the Olpe district.

The Biggesee with a campground and the beach at Waldenburger Bucht before the town gates is an ideal recreational area. The huge dam of this largest and most beautiful reservoir of the Sauerland – with nearly 150 million cubic meters of water – is situated close to the town along with the Lister Reservoir and the Ahauser Reservoir. Guests can have a pleasant stay in modern hotels and inns. An indoor swimming pool, riding halls, sporting fields, shooting ranges, tennis courts and skittle alleys are available. The Stadthalle, which was expanded to a multifunctional hall for festivals and the arts in 1996-97, is suitable for cultural events, congresses, conferences, exhibitions and social events and company parties.