Warstein is located north of the Arnsberger Wald (forest), at a brook called Wäster. The area south of the city is mostly forested; the lightly forested Haarstrang mountain is to the north. The river Möhne flows between these two areas. The highest elevation is 581 m (1,906 ft) in the south of the city near a hill called Stimm Stamm; the lowest elevation is 216 m (709 ft) in the village Waldhausen in the north.
While named for the main settled portion within its 157.91 square kilometres (60.97 sq mi) total area, the town can be roughly divided into the following subdivisions (German: Ortsteil):
The evidence of human life was found in the Bilstein Cave [de] between Warstein and Hirschberg.
Warstein was first mentioned officially in the year 1072. Historians once thought Warstein was organized as an official town in 1276, but its exact charter date is unclear. Likely, it was founded between 1276 and 1296 by the Archbishop of Cologne, Siegfried von Westerburg.[3]
In the Middle Ages, Warstein was part of the Hanseatic League, a trade association for guilds, a very important international trading association at that time.
A fire in 1802 destroyed a significant portion of the town. After the 1802 fire the town centre was moved to the Wester brook. In 1844, the Amt Warstein was founded.
In 1975, Warstein and the other eight independent villages merged to form the new borough of Warstein.
The decrease of population in Warstein since 1998:
The largest employer in Warstein is the Warsteiner brewery, founded in 1753. It is one of the largest breweries in Germany. Second largest employer is steel mill operator Siepmann-Werke, founded in 1891. In addition to its mills, the overall Siepmann Group head office is located in Warstein.[4]
