Soest (, as if it were 'Sohst') is a
town in
North Rhine-Westphalia,
Germany. It is the
capital of the
Soest district. After
Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district.
Geography
Soest is located along the
Hellweg road, approximately 23
kilometres south-west of
Lippstadt, roughly 50 kilometres east of
Dortmund and roughly 50 kilometres west of
Paderborn.
Neighbouring places
History
Because of the fertile soil the area around Soest was occupied long before 836 when the village is first mentioned in the
Dagobertsche Schenkung, although the origin of this document is historically uncertain. But there is no doubt that Soest has been inhabited for a long time; excavations in the last two decades have uncovered signs of habitation stretching back more than 4000 years. In the 11th and 12th century Soest grew considerably, making it one of the biggest towns in
Westphalia with some 10,000 citizens. It was also an important member of the
Hanseatic League until 1609.
A self-confident Soest from 1444 to 1449 liberated itself from the
Bishop of Cologne, who controlled
Westphalia (the so-called
Soester Fehde). Being no longer capital of Westphalia, the city aligned itself with the
Duke of Cleves. This was a
Pyrrhic victory, however; the city had shown itself strong enough to defy the powerful Archbishop of Cologne, but lost much of its trade: the "liberated" town was two-thirds surrounded by territories with other allegiances. When the last Duke of Cleves died in 1609 that dukedom was inherited by Brandenburg and after a short siege Soest was incorporated into it.
The painter
Peter Lely, later to win fame in England, was born in 1618 to Dutch parents in Soest, where his father was an officer serving in the armed forces of the
Elector of Brandenburg.
During and after the
Thirty Years' War, Soest suffered a tremendous loss of both population and influence; at the lowest point in 1756 it had only 3,600 citizens.
With the creation of the
Soest district in 1817 its influence slowly rose. However, the industrialization of the
Ruhr area did not reach Soest, which remained a small town.
The
Nazi Party placed Soest in
Gau Westphalia-South.
World War II struck Soest with greatest fury in early April 1945, starting when Allied forces captured the town at the beginning of the month. They were soon evicted by a German counterattack. Destructive front-line combat raged in Soest and its environs through the first week of April until the Allies gained a permanent upper hand.
From approximately 1953 to 1971 there was a sizeable garrison of Canadian soldiers and their families stationed at Soest (with the Canadian camps located just east of the town in Bad Sassendorf) as well as Werl and Hemer-Iserlohn and Deilinghofen to the southwest. There were also several Belgian Kasernes located in Soest itself. There was also an American Nike Battery (66th Battalion) situated to the south, which was subsequently turned over to the German military, and still exists.
From 1971-1993 the former Canadian properties, including the Married Quarters along Hiddingser Weg, south of the B-1, were used and occupied by British military and families. Upon the closing out of Belgian and British army facilities many of these military facilities either became used for civilian purposes or were abandoned or demolished. The former Married Quarters area was converted to civilian housing. The former CLFEX (the Canadian Army's food and clothing store for NATO families) was converted to a NAAFI under the British and finally demolished in 2006.
Specialties of Soest
Among the old specialties of Soest are the Möppkenbread and the
Pumpernickel. The Bakery Haverland at the town center, former royal Bavarian court supplier of the dark bread, has existed since 1570. A newer specialty is the “Bullenauge” (Bull's eye), a mocha liquor, sold mostly at the Allerheiligenkirmes. Another specialty of Soest is the Soester Beer, also called Onion beer, brewed since 1993 in the Zwiebel (Onion) inn.
St Patroclus's Cathedral
In 960,
Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne transferred
St Patroclus's relics from
Troyes and buried them in 964 at St Patroclus's Cathedral in Soest, where he is still today venerated.
The Cathedral is a beautiful example of early medieval Romanesque architecture fashioned from the local greenish sandstone. Its massive squared bell tower or steeple can be seen for many kilometers, rising up out of the town centre of the old town and a landmark of the Soester Boerde.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows a key, which is the symbol for
Saint Peter, the patron of Cologne. The coat was not modified even after Soest no longer fell within the jurisdiction of Cologne.
Twin towns
