Barntrup is a town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has an area of 59.46 km² and 8,824 inhabitants (2013). It lies 40 km east from Bielefeld and 9 km west from Bad Pyrmont at the east border of NRW to Lower Saxony.Town division Alverdissen Barntrup Selbeck Sommersell SonnebornHistoryBarntrup and Alverdissen were founded by the Earl of Sternberg in the year 1220. Originally Barntrup was called Barendorf and was a village at the Schratweg. Between 1317 and 1359 Barntrup was built on the highest point of the "Thornesberg" which is 189 m high above sea level. This is the central point of Barntrup.Kerssenbrock Castle (also called Schloss Kerssenbrock or Barntrup Castle, see picture) was constructed from 1584-1588 by Anna von Kerssenbrock (maiden name Anna von Canstein). Her husband, Franz von Kerssenbrock, had been a mercenary in the French Wars of Religion, where he had made much money. The Kerssenbrock family was one of the main noble families in the region.Education Primary school "von-Haxthausen Grundschule" has at this time 420 pupils and 21 teachers. High school "Städtisches Gymnasium Barntrup" has about 920 pupils and 50 teachers. Junior high school "Hauptschule des Schulverbandes Barntrup-Dörentrup" has about 350 pupils.Sons and daughters of the town Hermann von Kerssenbroch (1519-1585), longtime rector of the High School Paulinum in Münster (Westfalen) Heinrich Meibom (1555-1625), poet and historian Ludwig Winter (1894, † unknown), politician (NSDAP) Ulrich Born (born 1950), lawyer and politician (CDU)