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Town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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. Over 600 buildings in Soest's city center are listed as historical monuments. The many medieval churches are built from a greenish sandstone unique to this area.
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The mighty tower of St. Patrokli is one of the town's landmarks. The Romanesque building was built as a collegiate church after 965. In the cathedral museum in the westwork, one can admire the "Root of Jesse" window, depicting the descent of Jesus. Also worth seeing is the apse painting from 1200 in the Marienchor. St. Patrokli is still considered to be the most extensive of its kind in Westphalia. In the Middle Ages, the 77-m-high westwork used to preserve the armory of the city. Even though St. Patrokli is called the Dom (German for "cathedral"), it has never been a bishop's church. The Cathedral Museum is open by appointment.
The "Alden Kerke", the oldest church foundation in Westphalia. The oldest part of the building dates from the 8th century, but can no longer be identified. The chancel dates from 1277 and is of Gothic origin, while the spire carries typical Baroque features. The emperor's loft from 1200 in the nave is testimony to important guests who used to stay in Soest in the past.
St Mary on the meadow
In the north of the old town, the towers of St. Maria zur Wiese ("Wiesenkirche") rise up into the sky. Built in 1313, it is one of the most beautiful late-Gothic hall churches in Germany. The towers, however, were not completed until 1882. Historically and culturally speaking, it may be called a "little sister" of the Cologne cathedral. In addition to important panel paintings from the 14th and 16h centuries, St. Maria zur Wiese houses the "Westphalian Supper" window on the north portal. This painting, created around 1500 by an unknown artist, is particularly fascinating, as it shows Jesus at the sacrament with his disciples. However, instead of a Near Eastern meal, they feast on Westphalian ham, beer and pumpernickel bread.
St Mary on the hill
St. Maria zur Höhe ("Hohnekirche") was built around 1220. It boasts a magnificent ceiling and wall paintings. The Byzantine influence is most evident in the ceiling painting in the main choir, the "Engelreigen" (Circle of Angels).
Old St Thomas' church
"Leaning Tower" is the name of the church of Old St. Thomae, one of the oldest Gothic churches in the city (around 1270). The tower dates back to 1653. A lot of history surrounds its creation. The misalignment results from damage caused by rot in the entablature.
New St Thomas' church
A former monastery church of the Franciscan Friars (1233), who founded their first monastery in Westphalia here. The former Minorite Church never had a bell tower. The monastery buildings have disappeared today, except for a few remains.
St Paul's church
St Paul's church was rebuilt in the middle of the 14th century in the typical Soest church construction of a Romanesque to a Gothic church and contains beautiful stained glass and numerous figure sculptures. It was created around 1200. In 1530, the Dominican Father Johann Kelberg delivered the first evangelical sermon. He and his brother Thomas Borchwede were the pioneers of the Soest Reformation movement. Since 2009, the Paulikirche houses Westphalia's first columbarium - an urn burial ground - in a Protestant church. The most striking feature of this columbarium is that the St. Paul's Church not only urn cemetery but at the same time still worship of the Ev. St. Petri-Pauli parish Soest is.
One of the few Baroque buildings in Soest is the town hall (1713-1716) with its nine-arched hall on the west side. The patron saint of the city, St. Patroclus, sits enthroned above this archway. At the back of the Baroque building is the newer part of the town hall, which used to house a gymnasium. The entire building complex encloses a green inner courtyard, where events are presented to the public.
Großer Teich, aka "Ententeich"; Teichmühle
The "Pond Mill" dates back to the 13th century and nowadays hosts the tourist information. The adjacent "Great Pond" never freezes in winter, as it is fed by countless springs. Diagonally opposite the Pond Mill, on the other side of the pond, there is a replica of the "seesaw". This is a punishment instrument painted yellow (the medieval colour of digrace and dishonour) from which criminal offenders were tipped into the pond for misdemeanours. West of the pond is the Theodor Heuss Park, a formerly private garden, that is entirely enclosed by a wall built from green sandstone.
The town wall (built around 1180) with a former length of 3.8 km, enclosed the old town area of 102 acres. Today, two-thirds of the wall have been preserved. On this wall, and also by the forces, before which the outer wall used to run, you can make wonderful walks today and look into some old town gardens.
From the Ulricher Tor you can look out over the Katten Tower (built in 1230), the last surviving defense tower of the former inner town wall.
The Wilhelm Morgner Museum houses temporary art exhibitions and a permanent exhibition of paintings by the well-known Soest expressionist Wilhelm Morgner (1891–1917). His artistic ascent began in 1910, but ended abruptly a few years later when the 26-year old artist died in the First World War. Despite his short life, he left behind a rich work, most of which is owned by the city of Soest (about 400 drawings and 56 paintings). The museum also houses the "Schroth Room", a collection of concrete and post-minimal art by the collector Carl-Jürgen Schroth. Designed by the architect Rainer Schell from Wiesbaden and built in 1962, the Morgner House itself is a typical building of the early 1960s and thus one of the youngest architectural monuments of the city of Soest.
Grünsandsteinmuseum
Here you can obtain accurate information about the history of Soest's "trademark" green sandstone on the basis of numerous information boards and exhibits. For example, one learns what role the green sandstone played in art history and economic life in the Soester Börde region. But it also shows workpieces and stone fragments of no longer existing sacred and farm buildings. Permanent reference to the present: A stone collection, which forms the basis of the current reconstruction work of the cathedral workshop at the Wiesenkirche.
This is the only one of the original ten gates in the town wall that still exists. The new building dates from 1523–1526. Inside there is a museum on the history of the town with a unique collection of 25,000 medieval crossbow bolts from around the world.
An old patrician's house (built in 1559), which today displays exhibits on the history of art and the city. There is also a permanent exhibition of copper engravings by Heinrich Aldegrever. Behind the Burghofmuseum is the Romanesque house, one of the oldest houses between the Rhine and Weser from the period around 1200.
Stadtarchiv
Soest's city archive accommodates in the Haus zum Spiegel ("mirror house"), a former patrician house, the largest medieval documents and document stock of Westphalia, including the famous old cowhide, the oldest Soest city law (13th century). At the same time, it is the seat of Soest city archeology. A special treasure is the Nequam Book, the "Book of the Good" in 1315. It contains the names of those citizens who were expelled from the community. Gothic miniatures dramatically illustrate the jurisprudence of the time.
Westphalia's oldest existing inn.
A local brewery, produces and serves pale, dark and wheat beer.
107-bed hostel. Reception is open 08:00 - 20:00. Full and half board available.
Modern hotel with 52 bedrooms of different standards from basic to suite and 18 boarding house rooms with kitchens. Buffet breakfast €9.90. Check-in uses a self-service terminal.
20-room hotel in a 17th-century building. Buffet breakfast.
Also has a restaurant.
Also has a restaurant.
By train
Reaching Soest by train is easy, and the station is very close to the old town.
By car
Soest is on the Autobahn A 44 (Dortmund – Kassel).
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.
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