Piles, Wallen, deserts - 1. a city is created

At this time, the church village of Brilon was built around the farm of the Brilon brothers. Around 1217, the Archbishop of Cologne built the town of Brilon near the village to secure his power against the neighboring Grafschaft Waldeck and the diocese of Paderborn. To protect the citizens from intruders, the town was fortified with a double Wallen, a moat and a wall with 12 watchtowers and four town gates. Only the Derker Tor has survived from the town fortifications. The course of the wall can still be seen today in the ring-shaped streets.

Soon after the town was built, Brilon became a Hanseatic town. Brilon experienced a rapid economic upswing due to the lively long-distance trade, which even reached as far as Russia, and the mining of ores. Brilon also became increasingly important politically. It was granted the privileges of its own jurisdiction and was even named the capital of Westfalen in 1444. With around 3,000 inhabitants, Brilon had grown to become one of the largest towns in Germany.