Radevormwald (; ) is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the oldest towns in the Bergischen Land, formerly the County and Duchy of Berg. Geography Radevormwald is located about 50 km east of Cologne. At 421 metres above sea level, it was the highest-situated town in the administrative region of Düsseldorf; it is now in the administrative region of Cologne. Neighbouring places Ennepetal Breckerfeld Halver Wipperfürth Hückeswagen Remscheid Wuppertal Schwelm Division of the municipality Places submerged by the Wuppertal dam Dörpe Friedrichstal Nagelsberger Gemarke Oege Wupper villages The river Wupper flows through part of the town lands. In the villages Dahlerau, Vogelsmühle and Dahlhausen – which are located in the Wupper valley and so are known as the "Wupper villages" – this led to the establishment of textile works. These settlements used the water for the production of energy, at first by means of the water wheel and later through hydroelectric power plants. With the establishment of working-class dwellings by the textile companies the population of the Wupper villages increased. The middle classes also settled here, above all in Dahlerau where there were many single trading ventures. However, at the end of the 20th century the combination of the decline of the textile industry and increased mobility brought about the closure of most businesses in the Wupper villages; today, many former business premises are used as houses. History The first documentary reference and municipal rights The first known reference in writing to the town was in the year 1050. Klaus Pampus writes in his book Urkundliche Erstnennungen oberbergischen Orte (Earliest Documentary References to Places in Oberberg) that Radevormwald came into the possession of the imperial abbey of Werden and at the time was called Rotha. Radevormwald was situated in the County, later Duchy, of Berg. Between 1309 and 1316 Count Adolf VI von Berg conferred municipal rights on the town. The settlement "vor dem walde" ("before the wood") is described in 1363 in a lease of Count Wilhelm II von Jülich-Berg (Duke Wilhelm I) as a walled town. Radevormwald served the Counts von Berg as a border stronghold against Sauerland in the County of Mark. The especial significance of Radevormwald in the Middle Ages can be seen from the fact that it paid 166.5 guilders for the redemption of pledged lands of the Duchy of Berg, while for example Solingen, Elberfeld and