Priorei is a small town on the River Volme

Volme

The Volme is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the left tributary of the Ruhr. It is 49.8 km long, of which 21.3 km lie within the city limits of Hagen....

 in the Ruhr

Ruhr

The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...

 district of Germany. Administratively a part of the independent urban district of Hagen

Hagen

Hagen is the 39th-largest city in Germany, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne, Volme and Ennepe meet the river Ruhr...

 (North Rhine Westphalia) since 1975, it is situated some 12 km south of Hagen city centre.

Priorei is best known for an ancient tree, believed to be over 1000 years old, the Priorlinde (the prior's lime

Tilia

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

). This is the basis of the town's name, although no priory

Priory

A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...

 ever existed here: it is a corruption of an Old High German

Old High German

The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...

 word meaning a place of assembly for law making, and such assemblies were commonly held under a lime tree.

Numerous mills, smithies

Forge

A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...

, and foundries

Foundry

A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...

 arose along the Volme in the pre-industrial age, harnessing the river's power, and Priorei was one of the localities in which the iron industry developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Priorei lies on federal road 54 (Gronau

Gronau

Gronau is the name of two German cities*Gronau in Westfalen, district Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia*Gronau an der Leine, district Hildesheim, Lower Saxony...

 – Wiesbaden

Wiesbaden

Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...

) and is served by bus route 510 (Baukloh – Hagen – Sterbecke).