Finnentrop


Finnentrop is a Gemeinde in Olpe district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

Finnentrop is situated in the Sauerland, near the forks of the rivers Bigge and Lenne. Finnentrop shares borders with Sundern and Eslohe, Lennestadt and Attendorn, as well as with Plettenberg. Finnentrop is divided into the following constituent communities:

History

While the municipality of Finnentrop didn't come into being before 1 July 1969, the history of the constituting villages dates back from the Middle Ages. In 1162 Lenhausen and Rönkhausen were mentioned for the first time. Until 13 July 1908, the place now known as Finnentrop had three names: Habbecke, Neubrücke and, once the Ruhr-Sieg railway was built, Bahnhof Finnentrop. Neubrücke consisted of only one building at the forks of Bigge and Lenne. The “new bridge” seems to have already been built by 1847, as the “Reuter” had to charge tolls.
The new municipality was cobbled together in 1969 from parts of the old Amt of Serkenrode, the communities of Schliprüthen and Oedingen and parts of Attendorn-Land and Helden. This restructuring also saw the municipality pass from Meschede district to Olpe district. The municipality’s name is drawn from the original centre of Finnentrop situated a few hundred metres up the Bigge river, now known as Altfinnentrop. The ending —trop comes from trop or torp, meaning “village”. The High German word Dorf is a cognate, as is the English word thorpe.
The municipal arms shows a rose under a wavy chevron. The rose stands for the Lords of Finnentrop and dates back to the year 1358. The chevron stands for the two rivers, the Bigge and the Lenne, which merge in the municipality. The colour green refers to the great swathes of greenery in the municipal area.
Finnentrop maintains partnership arrangements with:
The mayor is since 1997 the jurist Dietmar Heß .

Culture and sightseeing

Theatres & Museums

Among the nationally known companies in Finnentrop are Eibach Federn, Metten Fleischwaren and a plant of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG.

Transport

is situated at the Ruhr–Sieg railway, from where the Bigge Valley Railway connects to Olpe. The Attendorn-Finnentrop aerodrome is situated close to the village of Heggen.

Public institutions

There are six primary schools, one Hauptschule, one Realschule and one Gesamtschule.

Famous people

Honorary citizens

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