Coesfeld
Coesfeld
Location of the town of Coesfeld within Coesfeld district
Coordinates	51°56′45″N 7°10′3″E / 51.94583°N 7.1675°E / 51.94583; 7.1675
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Coesfeld
Town subdivisions	2
Mayor	Heinz Öhmann (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	141.05 km2 (54.46 sq mi)
Elevation	89 m  (292 ft)
Population	36,345 (31 December 2010)
- Density	258 /km2 (667 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	COE
Postal code	48653
Area code	02541
Website	www.coesfeld.de

Coesfeld (German pronunciation: [ˈkoːsfɛlt]) is the capital of the district of Coesfeld in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

History

St. Lambert Kirche, the destination of the yearly Grand Cross procession, with its 17th centruy baroque tower.

Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first recorded earlier than that in the biography of St. Ludger, patron and first bishop of the diocese of Munster who was born north of Coesfeld in Billerbeck. The day before he died, Ludger spent the night in Coesfeld and heard mass in the morning in the church he founded. He was on his way from his abbey in Essen to Münster. The road he followed passed Coesfeld and Billerbeck, and after preaching in the St. Lambert's church, 26 March 809, he travelled on to Billerbeck, where he died in the evening.

The Coesfeld St. Jacobikirche dates from the same period as the city charter. For centuries, Coesfeld was an important stopping place for pilgrims traveling one of the more popular Germanic Jakobi routes (Way of St. James) leading from Warendorf over Munster (via Billerbeck) to Coesfeld, and then on via Borkum to Wesel on the Rhine.

Bernhard von Galen

One of the 18 stations of the cross in Coesfeld, erected in Galen's time by his Danish architect Pieter Pictorius.

During the Thirty Years War, troops were stationed in Coesfelf. The Prince-bishop of Münster was often at odds with these troops. Bernhard von Galen managed to drive the foreign troops away and even started to build a palace in Coesfeld, but it was never finished and after he died it was torn down. He became known for his sieges of Dutch cities in his efforts for the counter reformation and started a Way of the Cross procession that still exists up to the preset day, with 18 stations of the cross around the city. This procession was held for centuries on Whit Tuesday but is now held on Whit Sunday.

Geography

The 12th century St. Jakobikirche was bombed during WWII, but the old doorway survives and a new church was built behind it.

Coesfeld cross hung with silver votive decorations

Coesfeld is situated in the Baumberge in Münsterland.

Neighbouring municipalities

• Dülmen
• Havixbeck
• Billerbeck
• Nottuln
• Senden

Divisions

Coesfeld consists of 2 subdivisions:

• Coesfeld
• Lette

Education

Major secondary schools are the Nepomucenum, the Heriburg-Gymnasium and the St.-Pius-Gymnasium.

Persons of interest

• Hermann Wedekind († 1998), artistic director
• Anne Catherine Emmerich, Roman Catholic nun, visionary and stigmatic
• Rudolf Wolters (1903-1983), architect and associate of Albert Speer.

Towns and municipalities in Coesfeld (district) Ascheberg | Billerbeck | Coesfeld | Dülmen | Havixbeck | Lüdinghausen | Nordkirchen | Nottuln | Olfen | Rosendahl | Senden