Bödefeld...

... with the villages of Brabecke, Gellinghausen, Osterwald and Westernbödefeld.

Einwohnerzahl:
2200
Location/Characteristics:
483 m altitude. Idyllic resort at the foot of the Hunau - on the Hochsauerland Höhenstraße - not far from the towns of Soest, Winterberg, Willingen, Meschede, Brilon and Schmallenberg.
Freizeitangebot:
Hallenbad, Tennisanlagen, Beachvolleyballfeld, Planwagenfahrten, Reiten
Besonderheiten:
Wintersport, Abfahrt und Langlauf in den bekannten Skigebieten: Bödefeld-Hunau, Hohe Lied und Rimberg.
Sehenswürdigkeiten:
Alte wunderschöne Fachwerkhäuser, Pfarrkirche mit der sagenumwobenen schwarzen Hand, Erlebnismuseum in der Biologischen Station: "Landschaft lebt"- Eine Zeitreise durch das Sauerland.

The history of "Freiheit Bödefeld

The following legend surrounds the origin of the name "Bödefeld":

St. Ludger, the famous missionary to the Saxons who died in 809, is said to have revived an old man named Buddo, who had been lynched as an alleged horse thief, on one of his journeys here. Delighted local residents are said to have erected a cross on the site of the miracle and named the settlement "Buddenfeld" in memory of Buddo, who was brought back to life. The first documented news comes from the year 1072, when Archbishop Anno founded the Grafschaft monastery and gave it "12 churches and places", including a farm called "Buodevelden".

According to this, there must have been a church with land in Bödefeld as early as 1072. Since settlement was very slow at that time, one can safely assume that Bödefeld was settled several centuries earlier and must therefore be over 1000 years old.

In 1342, the then sovereign, Count Gottfried von Arnsberg, gave the village the rights of a freedom. Freedoms were places that had municipal self-government. The mayor had a seat in the parliament of Westphalia at Arnsberg and equal voting rights as the representatives of the towns and the nobility. In 1945, Bödefeld was severely destroyed by the effects of war, especially in its centre. However, the citizens of Freiheit made every effort to rebuild the village in its old style.

In more recent times, the village has continued its efforts to make the village even more beautiful. In 1979 and 1981 Bödefeld won the gold medal in the state competition and became the most beautiful village in North Rhine-Westphalia.