Due to the fertile soil the area around Soest was used long before 836 when the village is first mentioned in the "Dagobertsche Schenkung", although the origin of this document is historically unknown. But there is no doubt that Soest has been lived in for a long time; excavations in the last two decades have uncovered signs of people living in Soest more than 4000 years ago. In the 11th and 12th century Soest grew a lot, making it one of the biggest cities in Westphalia with some 10,000 citizens. It was also an important member of the Hanseatic League until 1609.