A town in the north of the Sauerland. A land of hills, lakes and forests, which gives way to the North German plain.
The industrial area of the Ruhr is about a hour drive to the west. Stadt Warstein lies in the administrative area of Soest, which is between Dortmund and Kassel.
It is in a valley with a number of small villages in the hills and valleys around it. This is similar to Hebden Bridge, but it is larger with population of around 30,000 people. Over half its area is wooded and its forestry is important.
In the area are:
- Electrical, steel and plastics industries.
- Limestone quarries.
- Perhaps the best known, the huge brewery where Warsteiner beer is made.
Although it is an industrial town, it is also a popular holiday area. It offers, watersports, walking, plenty of accommodation, camping and more. There is a wildlife park and interesting caves with stalactites and nearby is the Moehnesee and the Moehne Dam.
There has been a connection between the schools of our towns for some time. The link with Warstein became an official twinning in 1995. This made a three way link connecting St Pol, Warstein and Hebden Bridge.
Website
- Stadt Warstein - (German language).
Hebden Bridge Twinning Society (HBTS)
This started out as the Hebden Bridge European Group.
- First twinned was with the town St Pol-sur-Ternoise in France (1980).
- Later twinned with Warstein in Germany, who were twinned with St Pol (1996).
- A recent friendship with the town of Paratico on Lake Iseo, Italy is also being developed.
For more about this, please visit: HBTS (Facebook).