Werl

Werl (Westphalian: Wiärl) is a town located in the district of Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography
Werl is easily accessible because it is located between the Sauerland, Münsterland, and the Ruhr Area. The Hellweg road runs through the city, as Werl is a part of the fertile Bördelandschaft of the Werl–Unnaer Börde.

Division of the town
Werl consists of the following districts:
 * Blumenthal (48 inhabitants)
 * Budberg (596 inhabitants)
 * Büderich (3107 inhabitants)
 * Hilbeck (1339 inhabitants)
 * Holtum (1049 inhabitants)
 * Mawicke (521 inhabitants)
 * Niederbergstraße (210 inhabitants)
 * Oberbergstraße (363 inhabitants)
 * Sönnern (870 inhabitants)
 * Westönnen (2665 inhabitants)
 * Werl (22151 inhabitants)

History
Werl was a member of the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages and since 1661 has had a statue of the Virgin Mary, making it a place of pilgrimage. Today this relic is in the Wallfahrtsbasilika and is looked after by the Franciscan religious order. Werl Prison is the third largest in North Rhine-Westphalia, Werl Prison.
 * The 4th United States Army Field Artillery Detachment was stationed in Werl until 1992.

Mayors

 * 1958–1965: Ferdinand Pöppinghaus (1923–1965) (CDU)
 * 1965–1981: Amalie Rohrer (1922-2014) (CDU)
 * 1981–1985: Heinz Sasse (CDU)
 * 1986–1994: Elisabeth Böhmer (CDU)
 * 1994–1996: Kunibert Becker (1934-2001) (CDU)
 * 1996–1999: Friedrich Leopold Graf von Brühl, (born 1944) (CDU)
 * 1999–2020: Michael Grossmann, (born 1948) (CDU)
 * since 2020: Torben Höbrink (CDU)

Notable people

 * Philipp Rosenthal (1855–1937), businessman and founder of Rosenthal AG at Schloss Erkersreuth in Selb
 * Franz von Papen (1879–1969), Conservative politician, diplomat, nobleman and General Staff officer; served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1934
 * Ulla Wiesner (born 1940), singer
 * Theodor Redder (born 1941), footballer
 * Dimitri Hegemann (born 1954), cultural manager, musician and founder of the club "Tresor" in Berlin
 * Martin Kree (born 1965), footballer
 * Uwe Grauer (born 1970), footballer and coach

Twin towns – sister cities
Werl is twinned with:
 * 🇧🇪 Halle, Belgium (1973)