Meschede (German: [ˈmɛʃədə] ^ⓘ) is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis.

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Meschede
Town
View over Meschede
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Meschede within Hochsauerlandkreis district
Meschede Show map of Germany Meschede Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°21′N 8°17′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Hochsauerlandkreis
Subdivisions	17
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Christoph Weber[1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	218.5 km2 (84.4 sq mi)
Elevation	260 m (850 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	30,025
• Density	140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	59872
Dialling codes	0291
Vehicle registration	HSK
Website	www.meschede.de

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One of the five branches of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachhochschule Südwestfalen (FH SWF)) is located here.

Meschede is situated in the Ruhr valley, near to the Hennesee, south of the nature-park Arnsberger Wald. Major towns in the vicinity of Meschede are Paderborn (51 km), Kassel (85 km), Siegen (57 km), Hagen, Dortmund (60 km) and Hamm (49 km).

Meschede was founded as a settlement around a convent, the Walpurgis-Stift , in the 10th century. In 1572, it became a member of the Hanseatic League.

In the 18th century, many inhabitants of Meschede died in at least two epidemics of dysentery.

Both in World War I and in World War II, Meschede was notorious as a location where the Germans exploited POWs in labour camps. In February, 1945, the town was destroyed by Allied air raid bombings, because of its strategically important railway station, but rebuilt after the war.

In 1921, the Sauerländer Heimatbund was founded.^{[citation needed]}

In 1970, Meschede's St. Walburga Hospital was the site of a smallpox outbreak, as described in the book The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston.^{[citation needed]}

Meschede is the seat of three major companies:

• a department of Deutsche Telekom
• the Veltins Brewery
• the Honsel factory, founded in 1908, that produces car parts and other products from aluminum, owned by the Canadese company Martinrea.

An industrial zone is located near the crossing of the A 46 with the B 55 (see below).

Tourism also is important to the town's economy.

Meschede is connected with two national roads, the federal roads B 7 and B 55, and the motorway A 46.

Meschede has a railroad station, and is connected via the Sauerland Net, RB 57, to Arnsberg and other towns.

It has an airfield, the Meschede-Schüren Airfield, with a 900 m runway.

The city's climate is continental. The lowest temperature recorded was −20 °C (−4 °F), its highest was recorded at 39 °C (102 °F).

Spanish fricco is a traditional stew dish of Meschede.^[3]

• 1952–1961: Engelbert Dick (CDU)
• 1961–1969: Josef Busch (CDU)
• 1969–1974: Bruno Peus (CDU)
• 1975–1998: Franz Stahlmecke (CDU)
• 1998–1999: Bruno Peus (CDU)
• 1999–2015: Hans-Ulrich (Uli) Hess (CDU)
• 2015–present: Christoph Weber (CDU)

• Joseph Hippolyt Pulte (1811–1884), homeopathic physician
• August Macke (1887–1914), painter
• Carola Matthiesen (1943- 2015), German University Teacher
• Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (born 1963), board game creator, author of the Carcassonne
• Matthias Ungemach (born 1968), rower, trained here

• Abbey Königsmünster, built by the Order of Saint Benedict.
• Lake Hennesee near Meschede is the main recreational area of the town.^{[citation needed]}

Meschede is twinned with:^[4]

• Cousolre, France (1965)
• Le Puy-en-Velay, France (1975)

Meschede also has friendly relations with:^[4]

• Neufraunhofen, Germany