Balve
 |
Map of Germany showing Balve |
Balve is a town in
North Rhine-Westphalia,
Germany. It is located at the north end of the
Sauerland on the
Hönne river, at . Population: 12,377 (2001). Area: 74.75 km². It belongs to the district
Märkischer Kreis.
The first mention of Balve was probably made around
780, when
Widukind owned a farm called "Ballowa", although the first undisputed reference was in the
9th century. Balve belonged to the county of
Arnsberg at that time. In
1358 it became the property of the Duchy of
Westphalia, which belonged to the
Archbishops of Cologne. In
1430 Balve was given the right to be called a city. During the Napoleonic period it belonged for a short time to
Hesse, from
1802-
1815, after which time it was added to the
Kingdom of Prussia.
In
1975 during the local government reorgnization the city was enlarged by the addition of the former independent municipalities Asbeck, Beckum, Eisborn, Garbeck, Kesberg, Langenholthausen, Mellen and Volkringhausen from the abolished
Amt Balve.
The church of
Saint Blaise (
Blasiuskirche) was built in the 12th century and is an example of
Romanesque architecture.
The
Luisenhütte is the only remaining
blast furnace from the beginning of the
18th century which is still in workable condition.
The
Balver Höhle is a huge cave which is used for many cultural events such as concerts.
In the
Hönnetal, a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, the
Reckenhöhle is a cave 450 m long .
The coat of arms shows the historic connections of Balve. The eagle is taken from the arms of
Arnsberg, and the black-and-white cross from those of
Cologne. Both symbols were present in old seals of the city, the oldest known example of which dates from
1462. The coat of arms was officially granted on
June 24 1911 and confirmed on
February 6 1976 after the local government reorganization of 1975.
The bottom part of the coat of arms of the former
Amt Balve was identical with the present town arms. The top half showed
St. Peter, wearing a red coat and holding in his left hand a golden key and in his right a
golden book. This coat of arms was granted on
March 5 1957 and expired when the Amt was dissolved in 1975.
*
Official webpage
