The old Westphalian town of Soest (pronounced Soost) lies in the fertile Soester Börde on the northern edge of the Sauerland. It has a number of fine churches, half-timbered houses and an almost completely preserved ring of town walls. It has the oldest charter of municipal rights in Germany (c. 1120), which provided a model for other towns as far afield as the Baltic region.
In the center of Soest stands the massive Cathedral (Dom) of St Patroclus (12th C.), one of the finest Early Romanesque churches in Westphalia. The choir has 12th C. wall paintings and 13th C. stained glass. The Cathedral Museum displays liturgical utensils, some of them dating from Romanesque times.
In the northeast of the old town of Soest stands the Hohnekirche (St Maria zur Höhe; c. 1225), with some of the finest 13th C. wall paintings in Germany and a ringed cross of about 1230.
10km/6mi south of Soest is the Möhne Dam, which was bombed by the RAF during the Second World War. The dam, 650m/710yds long and 40m/130ft high, forms a lake 10km/6mi long and up to 3.5km/2mi across that is now a popular water sports area.
The Wiesenkirche (St Maria zur Wiese; 14th-15th C.) is the finest Gothic building in Soest. In the north aisle is the "Westphalian Last Supper" (stained glass, c. 1500).
The two 15th C. towers obtained their final form only as recently as 1861 and 1874.
In the south of the old town of Soest can be found the Burghofmuseum (prehistory and the early historical period, art, folk art). Associated with the museum is the "Romanesque House" of about 1200.
On the east side of the old town of Soest is the Osthofentor (1523-26), a relic of the town's old fortifications. It now houses a museum (history of the town, old weapons).
Southeast of the Cathedral in Soest is St Nicholas's Chapel (Nikolaikapelle; 12th C.), which has 13th C. wall and ceiling paintings and an altarpiece (c. 1500) by Master Konrad of Soest.
The Town Hall (Rathaus; 1713-18), on the north side of the Domplatz, is Soest's only surviving Baroque building. In the municipal archives are Soest's municipal charter and two copies of the "Sachsenspiegel", the oldest and most important collection of medieval German laws.
South of the Soest Cathedral is the Wilhelm Morgner House (named after the Expressionist painter of that name, 1891-1917, a native of Soest), now a cultural center, with the Municipal Art Gallery and a collection of works by the painter and engraver Heinrich Aldegrever, who died in Soest about 1555.
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