DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Nordrhein-Westfalen	North Rhine-Westphalia
Regierungsbezirk: Arnsberg
Kreis: Siegen-Wittgenstein

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Hilchenbach is situated at an elevation of 360 m in the Siegerland region in the southwestern part of the Rothaar mountains, about 14 km northeast of the district town Siegen, about 46 km south of the capital of the administrative region, Arsberg, and about 97 km southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia's capital Düsseldorf. The municipality has a population of about 14,700 (2023).

Heylichinbach was first mentioned in a written document dating from 1292. There are however clues that a church was established here sometime between 950 and 1000 by the Corvey monastery, implying that there was settlement at that time. A 'firm house' (a stronghold or castle) was mentioned in 1365, a castle with a moat was mentioned in 1623. Hilchenbach and the villages in the surrounding were a part of the former County of Nassau. Following a partition of Nassau-Siegen, Hilchenbach in 1625 became the residence of Nassau-Siegen-Hilchenbach, which, however, already in 1642 fell back to Nassau-Siegen. In 1687 Hilchenbach was raised to the status of a market town and in 1824 it obtainedthe status of a town. Twice in its history, in 1689 and in 1844, nearly the entire town was destroyed by fire. During the Napoleonic Wars in 1807 it became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1815 after the Congress of Vienna Hilchenbach and other villages in the Siegerland became part of the Prussian province of Westphalia. In the 19th century, Hilchenbach was also known as a climatic spa. However, in 1972 it lost the official recognition as spa town due to the emissions caused by a leather factory. After the closure of the factory in 1989, Hilchenbach regained the recognition as a climatic spa in 2018.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilchenbach, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilchenbach]