Bestwig is a municipality in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography Bestwig is situated on the river Ruhr, approx. 10 km east of Meschede. It lies on the German Autobahn A 46. Bestwig has a railway station, connecting the town through local trains to Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, Winterberg and Hagen Hauptbahnhof.
Neighbouring municipalities Olsberg Schmallenberg Meschede Rüthen Warstein
Subdivisions Since 2009, the municipality is officially divided into six Ortschaften, each containing one to five villages (Ortsteile).
Ortschaft Ortsteile PopulationSource: municipal website, click left under to: Informationen zu den Gemeindeteilen. First figure: population entire Ortschaft, followed by the population of its Ortsteile. Velmede Velmede, Bestwig, Föckinghausen, Nierbachtal, Halbeswig 4.595 (3.140, 1.391, 29, 28, 7) Nuttlar Nuttlar, Grimlinghausen 1.586 (1.556, 30) Ostwig Ostwig, Alfert, Borghausen 1.691 (973, 58, 660) Heringhausen Heringhausen 793 Ramsbeck Ramsbeck, Berlar, Valme 1.827 (1.608, 146, 73) Andreasberg Andreasberg, Dörnberg, Wasserfall 609 (482, 76, 51)
Population
Politics The current mayor of Bestwig is Christoph Rosenau of the CDU, who has been serving as mayor since 2025. In the 2025 local elections he was elected with 68,25 % of the vote.
City council After the 2025 local elections, the Bestwig city council is composed as follows:
! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 2,916 | 61.3 | 4.2 | 17 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 1,642 | 34.5 | 3.0 | 10 | ±0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 200 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 1 | 1 |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 4,758 ! 97.2 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 136 ! 2.8 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ! 4,894 ! 100.0 ! ! 28 ! ±0 |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 8,134 ! 60.2 ! ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: City of Bestwig
Economy Bestwig, surrounded by many acres of pine tree forests, is a centre of Christmas tree production.
Tourism, however, is the most important source of income. The Sauerland forests are popular among hikers and, in winter, skiing is possible.
Twin towns Bestwig has no official partnership with another town, but has close to ties to Niederorschel (Thuringia, Germany) and Niederwiesa (Saxony, Germany).
Coat of arms The coat of arms shows a silver Saint Andrew's Cross on blue ground. The Saint Andrew's Cross is a reference to the patron of the parish church in Velmede, Saint Andrew. The colors silver and blue show the allegiance to the former county of Arnsberg.
Notable natives Franz Hoffmeister (1898-1943), Roman Catholic priest Theo Bücker (born 1948), coach of Lebanon's national football team Wilhelmine Lübke (1885–1981), First Lady Ferdinand von Lüninck (born 1888), German nobleman (a Freiherr i.e. a Baron) Roman Catholic, who participated in plans to overthrow Hitler on 20 July 1944. Arrested after plot failed and sentenced to death. Hanged on 14 November 1944. Hedwig von Beverfoerde (born 1963), German noblewoman, right-wing political activist and Traditional Catholic
Notable places in Bestwig
Wasserfall is named after its famous waterfall, a popular sight during walking tours. It is one of the largest cascades in North Rhine-Westphalia. Bergkloster Monastery, the motherhouse of the European Province of the Sisters of St Maria Magdalena Postel
References
External links
Official site