Information about Verl

General Info:

Verl is a small town (since January 1st 2010) approximately 10 km east of Gütersloh and 15 km south of Bielefeld, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

On 1st January, 1970 the final adjustment to the local government code was carried out, constituting the current city limits. The municipality of Verl consists of five administrative units (Verl, Bornholte, Sürenheide, Sende, and Kaunitz) and belongs to the district of Gütersloh.

History of the name:

The earliest documented references to estates in this area can be dated back to the year 1188.

However, the name Verl was first mentioned in the expression 'Henricus de Verlo', which can be found in a charter from 1264. The designation probably relates to the farm estate Meier zu Verl, which belonged to a group of four estates, which are thought to have come into existence around the turn of the first millennium.

History of Verl:

Until 1807 and the establishment of the Kingdom of Westphalia, during the Napoleonic period, Verl belonged to the county of Rietberg.

From 1807 onwards, the county was divided into two administrative districts (called cantons) - Rietberg and Neuenkirchen - comprising the now independent municipalities of Verl, Bornholte, Sende, Liemke, and Österwiehe. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the districts where incorporated into the newly created district of Wiedenbrück.

On July 1st, 1838, the canton administration was moved from Neuenkirchen to Verl and, in addition to the aforemetioned municipalities, the village of Kaunitz was added to the canton of Verl.

On 31st October 1841 with the introduction of a new local government code in the Kingdom of Prussia, the canton's name was changed to Amt Verl (meaning department).

By this time, Verl already had 6,786 inhabitants.

The importance of the church of St. Anna:

In 1512, a chapel was built in the farming community.

In 1577 the chapel was turned into a parish church and, since then, has marked the social center for the communities of Verl, Sende and Bornholte.

In 1792 the building of the church of St. Anna at the location of the former chapel was sponsered by Count Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg sponsored

In 1801 the construction of this classical hall church was completed.

Important Companies:

There are many companies that are important to Verl, namely;

Beckhoff New Automation Technology, Bertelsmann Financial Services, Nobilia International Kitchens, Telefonica Internet Services

Links with America:

Since the 1990s, Verl has been an official sister city of the American towns Delphos and Ottoville in Ohio, USA. These towns were founded in the 19th century by two citizens of Verl, Johannes Otto and Ferdinand Bredeik (Bredeick).

Sources:

www.verl.de, www.cities.eurip.com/stadt/verl/, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verl