Warendorf

Warendorf stands on the Ems in Münsterland. A medieval trading town, it prospered in part through the production and sale of linen. A great fire in 1404 destroyed hundreds of houses, St Laurentius church and the town hall. The Anabaptist movement briefly took control in 1534 before Bishop Franz von Waldeck retook the town; Warendorf lost its town rights and regained them in 1542. The Thirty Years' War brought further upheaval, and another major fire in 1741 destroyed many houses and the Marienkirche. In 1802 the town came under Prussian rule. A state stud was established in 1826, adding a new institution to the town's life.