Soest

Soest is a city with around 50,000 inhabitants and a well-preserved old town in the region North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 50 km east of Dortmund.

Understand
Soest was first mentioned in a document dating from 836, making it one of the oldest towns in the region. It was located on the Hellweg, an important medieval trade route, crossing Westphalia in a west-east direction. Soest's town charter, noted on cowhides, was a model for the municipal laws of about 70 other towns in Germany.

During the Middle Ages, Soest became one of the most important and prosperous trade places in Central Europe and a principal member of the Hanseatic League. The town's confident citizenry even tried to win their independence from the Archbishops of Cologne. This led to a five-year feud (Soester Fehde), during which an imperial ban was put on the town. The conflict ended with Soest becoming part of the Duchy of Kleve-Mark and receiving far-reaching privileges. This was however a pyrrhic victory: cut off from its hinterland that still belonged to the Archbishops' territory, the city lost most of its economic affluence during the following decades and centuries.

The merchants' residences decayed and most citizens had to subsist on agriculture. Therefore, the town maintained its medieval-to-Renaissance outline rather than expanding and modernising. Even today, two thirds of the city's Medieval wall still exist, enough for you to circle the city. Both the walls and churches are made from green sandstone that was quarried in the region. This special material contributes to the old town's unique appearance. In addition, there are several hundred half-timbered houses from the 15th to 19th century—once a sign of poverty, as the owners could not afford a stone building—now providing a picturesque, old German townscape.

Under Prussian rule, Soest was made a county seat and major railway station, but unlike most cities in the nearby Ruhr region, never developed major industries or population growth. The upside of this development (or rather lack thereof) is that the medieval townscape is mostly preserved and was not replaced by modern buildings.

Soest was an important motif of German Impressionism and Expressionism, being "still quite a medieval city, a splendid nest," as Christian Rohlfs enthusiastically wrote in 1904. In the 1910s and 1920s, the city was home to an artists' colony. Its most important members were Wilhelm Morgner, Eberhard Viegener and Arnold Topp. Famous artists such as Otto Modersohn, Karl Schmidt-Rotluff and Christian Rohlfs often joined the local artist group.

In addition to the painters, also Bruno Paul—a pioneer of modern architecture and teacher of, inter alia, Mies van der Rohe—had worked in Soest several times by creating three city villas there between 1928 and 1931. He was also a prominent cartoonist of the satirical magazine Simplicissimus.



By plane
The closest airport is Dortmund (1 hour by bus and train via Holzwickede). A major airport with more international connections is in Düsseldorf (1½ hours by train).

By train
Reaching Soest by train is easy, and the is very close to the old town.

Intercity trains from Weimar (taking 3½ hours), Erfurt (3 hr 15 min) and Kassel (1½ hours) as well as Cologne (2 hr–2 hr 20 min) and Düsseldorf (1 hr 35 min) call twice a day. Once a day, there is a direct link from Munich (4 hr 40 min) and Nuremberg (3½ hr). Other far-distance connections usually require a change of trains in Hamm, Dortmund or Kassel.

There are half-hourly regional trains from Hamm (15 min), Paderborn (25–35 min), Dortmund (45 min) and Münster (50 min). Every hour a regional train arrives from Düsseldorf (1 hr 45 min), Duisburg (1 hr 25 min) and Essen (1 hr 5 min); every two hours from Kassel (1 min 35 min).

By car
Soest is on the Autobahn A 44 (Dortmund – Kassel).

Get around
The old town is very compact (1.2 km from one end to the opposite). It is advisable to leave the car behind and walk, given the narrow lanes and many pedestrian zones.

The Regionalverkehr Ruhr-Lippe GmbH (RLG) operates eight local bus lines within the town (all of them connect to each other in front of the train station) and eleven regional bus lines that pass through Soest.

Do
Several events throughout the year celebrate the town's heritage and history.


 * late-January to early-February: Soest Winter Beams (Soester Winterstrahlen) – a light show illuminates the city and immerses its architectural highlights in a special light.


 * March: Pub Festival (Kneipenfestival) with live acts in more than 25 pubs


 * May or early-June: Bördetag – festival in the old town


 * late-June: Marksmen's festival (Bürgerschützenfest; Saturday after Saint John's) – humorous reenactment of a medieval tradition, where thieves were punished by seesawing them into the big pond; parades of the marksmen fraternities.


 * July: Winemakers market


 * first weekend of August: Feud of Soest (Soester Fehde; only in years with an odd number) – reenactment of the war that took place from 1444 to 1449. Around 900 fans of the Middle Ages from 12 different nations – dressed in medieval clothing and armour – come to Soest for the occasion and camp for three days in the now drained moat at the foot of the city wall. When the battle for the city is reenacted, they storm the city wall using medieval weapons and cannons.


 * September: Börde Farmers Market – the harvest of the Soester Börde, a region of highly fertile chernozem soils, is celebrated with a farmers' market


 * October: ProBierBar (beer tasting event)


 * November: All Hallows' kermess (Allerheiligenkirmes; Wednesday to Sunday after All Saint's day) – celebrated since 1338, this is Europe's biggest funfair held in an old town (rather than on a separate site outside the town core). During this period, Soest is in a "state of exception": In five days, the town of 50,000 inhabitants receives more than one million visitors. The whole old town is transformed into a funfair area, hosting around 400 attractions, rides and stalls.


 * December: Soest Christmas market – while most German towns have their Christmas fair, the one in Soest is one of the most popular and scenic in the region, receiving some 600,000 guests per year.


 * Christmas Eve: Gloria Singing – at 19:00, a students' choir, accompanied by a brass ensemble, sings "Gloria in excelsis Deo" from the four corners of St Peter's steeple. After the last verse, all churchbells of the town join in ringing.

Eat
Local specialties include Pumpernickel—a heavy, slightly sweet rye bread, which is common all over Westphalia, but Soest claims to be the place of its invention; and Möpkenbrot—a coarse cooked sausage, made from bacon, pig's head, pork rind, blood and rye grist.



Drink
Bullenauge ("bull's eye") is a coffee liquor topped with a dash of cream. It is typically drunk during kermess. Dudelmann is a cordial that is exclusively served during kermess season. Beekeeper Amelunxen's mead and honey liquor are typically associated with a visit to the All Saints' funfair, as well.



Mid-range




Go next

 * Hamm, 25 km northwest (15 minutes by train)
 * Meschede, 37 km southeast
 * Paderborn, 50 km northeast (30 minutes by train)
 * Dortmund, 50 km west (40 minutes by train)
 * Gütersloh, 50 km north (one hour by train)
 * Münster, 70 km northwest (50 minutes by train)