History

In about 1220 Archbishopric of Cologne|Archbishop Engelbert II of Berg|Engelbert I of Cologne acquired the Brilon lands of the brothers Hermann and Gernand of Brilon. The Archbishop laid out a fortified town and gave it municipal rights. Bloody conflicts followed between the Archbishops of Cologne and the Bishops of Paderborn over the rights of possession of the place. These ended when the Bishop of Paderborn, after being taken prisoner, waived his rights to Brilon (1256).

Thereafter Brilon developed under the rulership of the Prince-Bishops of Cologne into a thriving town of c 3,000 inhabitants with an active trading and mining life and far-reaching business connections. As a trading town Brilon was also a member of the Hansa. In 1350 Brilon had between 500 and 600 houses. At this time Brilon held the position of the second city of Westphalia behind Soest, Germany|Soest. After the secession of Soest in 1444 Brilon was elevated to being the capital of Westphalia.

In Gymnasien ("grammar schools") in Westphalia.

But already in the 15th century conflicts and military actions were leading to an economic decline; and the wars of the 17th century|17th and 18th century|18th centuries brought unspeakable misery to this once flourishing little town.

During the Napoleonic Wars|Napoleonic period Brilon passed to Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1802. After the Congress of Vienna of 1816 it was transferred to Prussia, which made it the centre of the Prussian Kreis or district. In this way, as the seat of government offices and schools, Brilon regained significance. The construction of traffic connections and various municipal measures brought about a strong development of crafts and trade.

In World War II the town was initially spared from Allied air raids. But on 10 January 1944 there came an attack by United States|American bombers which destroyed whole streets, particularly Hoppecker Strasse and Derkere Mauer. A bomb broke through the roof of the Provost's Church but did not explode. In this bombing raid 37 people were killed, including 3 children.

After the war Brilon became part of the newly created state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the course of the local government reorganisation of 1975 the following communities were added to the town: formerly administered by the Amt Thülen: Alme, Bontkirchen, Hoppecke, Madfeld, Messinghausen, Nehden (belonging to Thülen parish), Radlinghausen, Rixen, Rösenbeck, Scharfenberg, Thülen and Wülfte; and formerly belonging to the Amt Bigge: Altenbüren and Esshoff.

Population Growth

1) Source: Vergangene Zeiten (Past times), volume 1
incl. the dependent communities (Filialgemeinden) Wülfte and Rixen

Arms

Twin Towns