The pilgrimage city Werl is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and belongs to the district Soest in the administrative district Arnsberg. Since 14 January 2015, it has been allowed to use the official name of pilgrimage city.
Around 850, salt extraction was first mentioned in Rithem. The city lay on a ledge of the strand of hair to the north, making it an ideal location for a castle. The Counts von Werl, who were influential throughout northern Germany, moved from Meschede to Werl around 900 and built the "Werler Grafenburg", which was not located on the site of the Kurkölner Landesburg castle, which was built only in 1519.
Their exact location has not yet been explored. The "curtis dicta Aldehof" is located partly near the Werler market, partly in front of the city, but lacks clear written evidence or architectural remains.
During excavations on Bäckerstraße, briquetages from the end of the pre-Roman Iron Age were found. The clay-fired support feet were placed in a fire and served as a base for clay pots in which salt water was evaporated. They are the oldest evidence of salt extraction in the urban area, and date from around 800 BC.
In 1024 Werl was first mentioned with the place name Werla. The second part of the name Werla (la = Loh = oak forest) suggests that the origins of the city lay in an oak forest. Emperor Heinrich also died that year. He had chosen Konrad the Salier as his successor. On Henry's behalf, Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn had approached Count Hermann von Werl, who was a sibling of Emperor Henry. Hermann von Werl was to gather the Saxon princes in the Werler Castle and hold a primary. There appeared to this election: Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn, Thiemar, the brother of the Duke of Saxony, Count Siegfried of Stade, Count Benno, Count Amelung and others. The preselection of Konrad, the later emperor Konrad II, came about. He was the great-grandson of Luitgarde, the daughter of Emperor Otto I. Konrad's wife, Empress Gisela, was the daughter of Count Hermann I of Werl and his wife Gerberge of Burgundy.
In the investiture dispute between Emperor and Pope in 1085, the Count's House sided with the Emperor - Count Henry II. von Werl was appointed Bishop of Paderborn. The brothers of Count Heinrich, Counts Liupold and Konrad, divided the county into equal districts: Liupold became Count von Werl, Konrad Count von Arnsberg. The oldest coin minted in Werl, minted around 1092, shows Count Konrad von Werl-Arnsberg. Count Liupold donated his property to the Cologne Church in 1100. In addition to the Count's parish church, the Archbishop of Cologne built a St. Nicholas Chapel. Pastor Albertus was mentioned (earliest mention of a pastor). The Werler parish church was given away by the Count of Arnsberg to the Wedinghausen monastery in 1197. Until 1803 the lords of the monastery appointed the pastor of Werl.
In 1218, the village of Werl was granted city rights by Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne. The Erbsälzer von Werl were first mentioned in 1246. In 1272, the city of Werl was granted the more liberal Rüthener law. Count Engelbert von der Mark destroyed the city during a raid. It was rebuilt on a smaller scale. Again and again Werl got between the fronts of the different sovereigns; therefore, the city was destroyed more often, but also built tirelessly by its citizens. Thus, after the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the troops of Count Eberhard I von der Mark in the Limburg succession dispute took the town of Werl and destroyed it. The city was rebuilt only to a reduced extent, which corresponds to today's historic old town.
Since the end of the 13th century, the city was administered according to the council constitution. The council consisted of two mayors and ten councillors. These were chosen from four guilds, the Hereditary Salters, Merchants, Bakers and Arable Farmers. The Erbsälzer had the privilege of appointing one mayor and five councillors from each of their ranks. The resulting tensions were not resolved until 1725 with the departure of the Erbsälzer from the municipal association, after enulation. The Erbsälzer represented the patrician of the city of Werl.
The owners and sole operators of the former salt extraction in Werl were the families of the so-called Erbsälzer, who were recognized by the emperor in 1708 the Reichsadelsstand on the basis of a certificate of 1432. The right of salt extraction and the peerage were hereditary. At the end of the 14th century, the Erbsälzer consisted of 48 families. By the end of the 16th century, the number of families entitled to a settlement had shrunk to eight. Today there are only the families of lilies and papen, the others died out in the male branch.
The oldest record of the Werler Privilege "Sonderrecht" dates from 25 February 1324 (jurisdiction, election of the council, inheritance law). On March 16, 1326, Werl forced the local castle men of the archbishop to pay duties and to perform guard services, like all other Werler citizens. The Georgshospital in front of the Büderich Gate was donated by the Council on 2 May 1326. The Werler town hall was first mentioned on 15 February 1327. A dispute arose in 1381 between the heirs and the other three guilds; It was about filling the Council posts.
