Balve is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of the Sauerland at the Hönne river, at 51° 20' North, 7° 52' East. Population: 12,377 (2001). Area: 74.75 km². It belongs to the district Märkischer Kreis.

History

The first mention of Balve was probably made around 780, when Widukind owned a farm called "Ballowa", while the first official one was in the 9th century. Balve did long to the county of Arnsberg at that time. In 1358 it changed to the cologne dukedom of westphalia. In 1430 Balve was given the right to be called city. During the napoleonic times it belonged shortly to hesse from 1802-1815, to be added to Kingdom of Prussia thereafter.

In 1975 during the communal reorgnization the city was enlarged with the former independent municipalities Asbeck, Beckum, Eisborn, Garbeck, Kesberg, Langenholthausen, Mellen and Volkringhausen from the Amt Balve.

Points of interest

The St. Blasius church from the 12th century is built in romanic 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 like concerts.

In the Hönnetal, a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, the Reckenhöhle is a 450 m long cave.

Coat of arms

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 is taken from the Cologne coat of arms. Both symbols were present in old seals of the city, the oldest known one is from 1462. The coat of arms were officially granted on June 24, 1911, and was confirmed on February 6, 1976 after the communal reorganization of 1975.

The bottom part of the coat of arms of the Amt Balve was identical with the one of the city of Balve. The top half shows St. Peter, wearing a red coat and holding a yellow key in his left and a golden book in his right hand. This coat of arms was granted on March 5, 1957, and expired when the Amt was dissolved in 1975.

External link

Official webpage (http://www.balve.de)