Attendorn and its traditions – old-fashioned and dull? Or fun and exciting? The colourful history of the town is presented from its very beginnings: the marksmen’s association and Easter traditions, holidays and working life, all about our traditions and why they are still alive.
Attendorn is located at the crossroads of two historic roads that ran through the Duchy of Westphalia from north to south and east to west.
The history of the town is closely connected with the history of the church, with a first church building having been erected in Attendorn in the ninth century. The St John the Baptist parish is among the earliest parishes of the Sauerland. When Attendorn was awarded its city rights in 1222, it was one of the largest districts of the archdiocese of Cologne, and the coins minted in Attendorn since 1208 bear witness to the importance of the town’s market.
The cultural and economic heyday in the fourteenth century, after the town joined the Hanseatic League, found its expression not only in large churches but also in impressive town buildings such as the town hall and defensive wall, and in the provenance of guilds and convents.