1.
Altena Castle
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Altena Castle is a Medieval hill castle in the town of Altena in North Rhine-Westphalia. Built on a spur of Klusenberg hill, the castle lies near the Lenne in the Märkischer Kreis, the castle was erected by the early Counts of Berg in the early 12th century. Eventually, the House of Berg abandoned Altena and moved their residence to Hamm, supposedly, the castle was built by the brothers Adolf and Everhard von Berg around the year 1108 after Henry V granted them land in Sauerland. On Wulfseck Mountain they built their castle, which they named Wulfeshagen and this is one of the three legends of the establishment of the county of Altena and the building of the castle. After the acquisition of Mark near the city of Hamm in 1198 and they occasionally inhabited Altena Castle and from 1392 onward it was used as a residence for the county bailiff. In 1912, Richard Schirrmann established the worlds first youth hostel within the castle, mönning, Iserlohn 1992, ISBN 3-922885-14-4, S. 164–168
2.
North Rhine-Westphalia
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North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with a population of approximately 18 million, and the fourth largest by area. Its capital is Düsseldorf, the most populous city is Cologne, four of Germanys ten largest cities—Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen—are located within the state, as well as the largest metropolitan area on the European continent, Rhine-Ruhr. North Rhine-Westphalia was formed in 1946 as a merger of the provinces of North Rhine and Westphalia, the state has been run by a coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens since 2010. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as the Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior, North of the Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri. By the 8th century the Frankish dominion was established in western Germany. But at the time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, the Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military, Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795 the whole of the bank of the Rhine was resigned to France. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium, around 1 AD there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this came from the area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts and his Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück, Widukind was buried in Enger, which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern, Westphalia was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony, in 1180 Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa. The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only an area south of the Lippe River. Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended the Thirty Years War
3.
Oberbergischer Kreis
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The Oberbergischer Kreis is a Kreis in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ennepe-Ruhr, Märkischer Kreis, Olpe, Altenkirchen, Rhein-Sieg, Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, the area of the Bergisches Land belonged to the County of Berg for most of the medieval times, which still gives the district its name. In 1816, after the whole Rhineland was annexed to Prussia, the districts of Waldbröl, Homburg, Gimborn, Wipperfürth, in 1825 the districts Gimborn and Homburg were merged to the district Gummersbach. In 1932 it was merged with the district of Waldbröl, the restructuring of the districts in 1969/75 did then create the district to its current extent. The Oberbergischer Kreis covers the hills west of the Sauerland and north of the Westerwald and it constitutes the eastern part of the Bergisches Land nature reserve. Situated at an altitude of 100–520 meters above sea level, it is rich in wood and water and thus an area for citizens from Cologne, the Ruhr area. The prevailing rock is greywacke, which was and in places still is mined in large stone quarries
4.
Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis
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The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is a district in the center of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the southern Ruhr urban area and has ca.324,000 inhabitants, the districts seat is Schwelm, the largest of its nine towns is Witten. The name of the district describes its geographical location – it is located in the valleys of the rivers Ruhr, geologically it is part of the north-eastern Rhenish Massif, a Mittelgebirge landscape, only small parts of Witten belong to the flat Westphalian Lowland. The district consists of nine municipalities, all entitled Stadt, the district was created in 1929 by merging the former district of Schwelm with parts of the former districts of Hattingen and Hagen. In 1970 and 1975 it was modified a bit during the reorganization of the districts in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the middle of the coat of arms there is the checked red-white bar of the County of Mark, which owned the area in medieval times. The two wavy lines above and below depict the two rivers gave the district its name, the Ruhr and the Ennepe. Media related to Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis at Wikimedia Commons Official Webpage
5.
Hagen
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Hagen is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and it is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area,15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the river Ruhr. As of 31 December 2010, the population was 188,529, the city is home to the FernUniversität Hagen, which is the only state funded distance education university in Germany. Counting more than 67,000 students, it is the largest university in Germany, Hagen was first mentioned c.1200, presumably the name of a farm at the junction of the Volme and the Ennepe. After the conquest of Burg Volmarstein in 1324, Hagen passed to the County of Mark, in 1614 it was awarded to the Margraviate of Brandenburg according to the Treaty of Xanten. In 1701 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, after the defeat of Prussia in the Fourth Coalition, Hagen was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Berg from 1807–13. In 1815 it became part of the new Prussian Province of Westphalia, the growth of the city began in the 19th century with the mining of coal and the production of steel in the Ruhr Area. Hagen was the scene of fighting during the Ruhr Uprising,13 March -2 April 1920 and has a monument to the Ruhr Red Army, in 1928, Hagen developed into a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants. During World War II, Hagen was bombed repeatedly, by both the Royal Air Force and the Eighth Air Force, on the night of 1 October 1943,243 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes from the Royal Air Forces Bomber Command attacked the city. According to the Bomber Command Campaign Diary, This raid was a complete success achieved on a completely cloud-covered target of small size, with only a moderate bomber effort, Hagen sustained severe damage from that raid, and hundreds of civilians were killed. After World War II, the became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Owing to the use of water power along the rivers Ruhr, Lenne, Volme and Ennepe, metal processing played an important role in the region of Hagen in. In the 17th and 18th century, textile and steel industries as well as paper production followed, Hagen is the home of the Suedwestfaelische Industrie- und Handelskammer, as well as Sparkasse Hagen, the local municipal savings bank. The banks former headquarters, the Sparkasse Hagen tower, was a landmark until its demolition in 2004. The city is heavily indebted and in the process of cutting city services in order to balance its budget and it is located near the Hagen community of Eilpe. The Historisches Centrum Hagen includes the city museum and Werdringen castle, in the Blätterhöhle cave in Hagen the oldest fossils of modern people in Westphalia and the Ruhr were found. Some date back to the early Mesolithic,10,700 years B. C and it seems that the descendants of Mesolithic people in this area maintained a foraging lifestyle for more than 2000 years after the arrival of farming societies. Some localities of Hagen, Hagen-Dahl Hagen-Emst Hagen-Priorei Hagen-Rummenohl Hagen-Halden The following table shows the largest foreign resident groups in the city of Hagen, schulz The Autobahnen A1, A45 and A46 touch Hagen
6.
Dortmund
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Dortmund is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the part of the state and is considered to be the administrative. Its population of 581,612 makes it the 8th largest city in Germany, moreover, Dortmund is the largest city by area and population in the Ruhr Area, an urban area with some 5.1 million inhabitants which is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. Founded around 882, Dortmund became an Imperial Free City, throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the chief city of the Rhine, Westphalia, the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League. After the Thirty Years War the city was destroyed and decreased in significance until the onset of industrialization, the city then became one of Germanys most important coal, steel and beer centres. Thereby Dortmund was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, the devastating bombing raids of the 12th March 1945 destroyed 98% of buildings in the inner city center. This bombing raids with more than 1,110 aircraft was a record to a target in World war II. The region has adapted since the collapse of its century long steel and coal industries and shifted to high technology biomedical technology, micro systems technology and also services. In 2009, Dortmund was classified as a Node city in the Innovation Cities Index published by 2thinknow and is the most sustainable city in Germany, the city is known as Westphalias green metropolis. Nearly half the territory consists of waterways, woodland, agriculture. This stands in a stark contrast with nearly a years of extensive coal mining. Dortmund is home to Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V, Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund, a successful club in German football. The first time Dortmund was mentioned in documents was around 882. as Throtmanni. After it was destroyed by a fire, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I had the town rebuilt in 1152 and it became an Imperial Free City. Throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the city of the Rhine, Westphalia. After 1320, the city appeared in writing as Dorpmunde, in the years leading up to 1344, the English King even borrowed money from well-heeled Dortmund merchant families Berswordt and Klepping, offering the regal crown as security. In 1388, Count von Mark joined forces with Archbishop of Cologne, following a major siege lasting 18 months, peace negotiations took place and Dortmund emerged victorious. After Cologne was excluded after the Anglo-Hanseatic War, Dortmund was made capital of the Rhine-Westphalian, the 1661 earthquake made the Reinoldikirche collapse
7.
Unna (district)
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The Unna district is a Kreis in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring authorities are the district of Coesfeld, the city of Hamm, the districts of Soest and Märkischer Kreis, the cities of Hagen and Dortmund, and the district of Recklinghausen. The area of the present district of Unna was formerly part of the County of the Mark, in 1753 local government of the area was reformed, creating the first district of Hamm. In 1901 the town of Hamm itself became a separate authority, but the district retained the name of. In that year the administration was moved to Unna, when the name also changed to Unna to reflect the new administrative centre. Later organizational changes, the latest of which was in 1975, added the towns of Lünen, Schwerte, Selm, geographically the district of Unna covers the area east of Dortmund, thus marking the east end of the Ruhrgebiet. Both the Ruhr and Lippe rivers flow through it, media related to Kreis Unna at Wikimedia Commons Official website
8.
Soest (district)
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Soest is a Kreis in the middle of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Warendorf, Gütersloh, Paderborn, Hochsauerland, Märkischer Kreis, Unna, in 1975 the district was merged with the neighbouring district of Lippstadt and parts of the former district of Arnsberg. Geographically it covers the part of the Sauerland hills and the lower land north of it. The rather flat land and very fertile soil have made it an agricultural area from ancient times. The main rivers through the district are the Ruhr, the Lippe and the Möhne, the highest elevation is in the area of Warstein at 580m, while the lowest is the Lippe valley at 65m. Media related to Kreis Soest at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Hochsauerlandkreis
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Hochsauerlandkreis is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest, Paderborn, Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, the district is named “High Sauerland” because two of the highest mountains of the Sauerland mountainous landscape, Langenberg and Kahler Asten are in its territory. With 2,766 ft /843 m and 2,762 ft /842 m these are also the highest mountains of North Rhine-Westphalia, the district was established in 1975 in the reorganization of the districts in North Rhine-Westphalia by merging the previous districts Arnsberg, Brilon and Meschede. These are also the two highest mountains of North Rhine-Westphalia
10.
Olpe (district)
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Olpe is a Kreis in the south-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Märkischer Kreis, Hochsauerland, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Altenkirchen, the district was created in 1817 as Bilsteiner Kreis, in 1819 the capital was set to be Olpe. Geographically it covers the part of the Sauerland mountains, which make the district rich in forests. The main river through the district is the Lenne, the Kreisschützenbund Olpe performs the Kreisschützenfest. Media related to Kreis Olpe at Wikimedia Commons Official Webpage Der Vokalismus der Mundarten im Kreise Olpe
11.
Altena
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Altena is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The towns castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg, Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, in the northern stretches of the Sauerland. Altena Castle was built in the early 12th century, as a stronghold of the older Counts of Berg, a short time later a village was founded beneath the hill, with the castle alongside the river Lenne. After the distribution of the Berg family estates in 1161, Altena became the centre of the County of Altena, the first Count of Altena became Eberhard I, Count of Berg-Altena. In 1180, after the death of the first count, the county was divided between the two oldest sons, Arnold of Altena and Friedrich of Altena, the third son, Adolf of Altena, became Archbishop of Cologne. Arnold was provided with on half of the Castle and County of Altena, near the Village and Castle of Hövel, he built the Castle and town of Nienbrügge on the Lippe riverbanks. The heir of Arnold was Friedrich de Novus Ponte who changed his title to Isenberg after his new castle in Hattingen and he was sentenced to death as head of the conspiration to murder Engelbert I. Archbishop of Cologne, Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Westphalia, the Archbishop was ambushed and slain on his way from his City of Soest to City of Cologne by Friedrich and his men near Gevelsberg in a hollow way. Both had a dispute over the bailiwicks of Essen Abbey, the junior branch of the Counts of Altena, was founded by Friedrich de Altena. He was provided with the half of Altena and a vassal to his brother the Archbishop of Cologne. In or around 1170 he bought the Oberhof Mark or was rewarded with it by the Archbishop, today, about a 1,5 kilometers to the east of the centre of the city of Hamm. Before or in 1198 he built the Castle of Mark and his son Adolf I. named himself in 1202 puer comes de marca and became the first Count of Mark. He sometimes used the old title Altena in combination with Mark and his principal residence was the Castle of Mark. After the execution of his cousin Friedrich de Isenberg in Cologne, he destroyed the Castle of Neinbruegge, after 1202, Altena Castle was only one of several Stronghold of the family of Altena-Mark. During a feud in 1323 between the Prince-Bishop of Münster and the Count of Mark, the Bishop was captured and held for ransom in Altena, in 1367 the settlement below the castle received limited town rights through Engelbert III. Since 1392 Altena remained only the seat of the bailiff for bailiwick Altena, the castle was also used as an archive for documents and patents for the county. In 1609 the last count died childless and his realm, the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg were practically divided into a catholic and a prostestant part. The catholic Duchy of Jülich-Berg were inherited by the Count Palatine Wolfgang Wilhelm of Neuburg, during the Napoleonic occupation of the Rhineland and Westphalia, Altena was re-joined with the now elevated Grand Duchy of Berg
12.
Meinerzhagen
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Meinerzhagen is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Meinerzhagen is located in the hills of the Sauerland, the highest elevation is the Nordhelle with 663 m above sea level, the lowest elevation at the Lister dam with 319m. 56% of the area is covered by forests. In 1846 the Amt Meinerzhagen was formed, covering both Meinerzhagen and the municipality Valbert, on September 19,1964 Meinerzhagen received city rights again. In the communal reform of the district Altena in 1969 Meinerzhagen was merged with Valbert, the family name of the British World War I officer Richard Meinertzhagen recalls an ancestor who came from this town. The bottom part of the coat of arms shows the red-and-white chequered bordure as the symbol of the Mark, a yellow horn is placed on top of the bordure, taken from the coat of arms of the municipality Valbert. The coat of arms was granted on 14 June 1975, before the merging of Meinerzhagen and Valbert, as well as the Amt Meinerzhagen had coat of arms of their own. The coat of arms of Meinerzhagen dates back to at least 1857, the coat of arms had a green bottom part, above to the left Saint Mary on a throne holding a scepter and Jesus as an infant. To the right was a building with three towers and red roofs, above the sun and two stars. To the top is a hunter, which as well as the coat of arms of Herscheid refers to the privilege granted by duke Johann III of Cleves. The coat of arms was designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on 27 October 1935, the coat of arms of the Amt Meinerzhagen combined symbols of the three historic states of the area. To the bottom is the cross of Cologne, above the chequered bordure of the Mark. Meinerzhagen was the birthplace and home of professional soccer players. Nuri Şahin, Markus Obermeier and Lars Labonte all played for the team of Meinerzhagen before joining professional soccer team Borussia Dortmund. 1961-2001 Meinerzhagen had a partnership with the Dutch municipality IJsselmuiden, in 2001 IJsselmuiden was incorporated into the city Kampen, which then also continued the partnership. On 12 April 1987 the documents were signed for the partnership with the French city Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire
13.
Neuenrade
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Neuenrade is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the hills of the Sauerland in the Märkischer Kreis. The highest elevation in the area is the Kohlberg with an altitude of 514 m above sea level. The lowest elevation is at Hölmecke with 190 m, the town covers an area of 54.12 km², most of which is forests and farm land. The municipal territory includes the villages of Affeln, Berentrop, Blintrop and Küntrop, around 1220 the place was first mentioned in a document, then named Rode. The village consisted of about 12 farms, in 1353 the city was fortified. In 1355 it received the cityrights from count Engelbert III, by 1890/91 the municipalities Werdohl and Ohle had grown so much that they left the Amt Neuenrade, the local administrative unit. The Amt thereafter was composed of only Neuenrade and Dahle, the Amt Neuenrade was dissolved, effective on January 1,1969. The municipality Dahle was incorporated into Altena, while the municipality Küntrop from the Amt Balve was incorporated into the city Neuenrade, in 1975 the city was further enlarged with the municipalities Affeln, Altenaffeln and Blintrop from the Amt Balve. The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the counts of the Mark, showing a chequered red-white bar on a yellow shield. The oldest version of the coat of arms is known from a carving in the city church dated from the 16th century. Later the Mary picture was moved inside the shield and it was officially granted on November 25,1912. After the communal reform of 1975 the city changed their coat of arms, in the bottom of the shield the black cross of the bishops of Cologne was added, representing the municipalities of the former Amt Balve which historically belonged to Kurköln. The new coat of arms was granted on March 23,1979, the Amt Neuenrade also had a coat of arms. It was granted on January 13,1938, and was designed by Waldemar Mallek based on an idea of Dr. Fritz Thomée and it resembled the coat of arms of the city Neuenrade, the bottom part showed a mill wheel. As a municipality Dahle had no traditional heraldic symbol, the mill wheel was chosen symbolizing the traditional industries at the Nette River. The numbers from 1800,1900 and 1955 are estimates, from 1975 the data come from the Statistical Office in North Rhine-Westphalia. 1964-1999, Hans Schmerbeck 1999-2014, Klaus-Peter Sasse Since the election from 2014, since 1978 Neuenrade has a city friendship with the Dutch municipality Dinxperlo. In 1984 it was converted into a town twinning, the partnership was reaffirmed in 2005 by the municipality Aalten, of which Dinxperlo had become part that year
14.
Kierspe
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Kierspe is a town in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the edge of the Sauerland on Volme River. The first mention of Kierspe was in 1003, when the castle Haus Rhade was first mentioned in a manuscript, on this basis Kierspe celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 2003. Around 1490 Kierspe became the seat of the Heilige Feme, an independent jury of commoners with the right to mete out the death penalty, such Feme juries were common in Westphalia at the time. In 1968, as part of the reorganization of the former district Altena, on 1 January 1969 Kierspe officially obtained city rights. The citys coat of arms was derived from the coat of arms of the Amt. It combines symbols for both of the member municipalities - Kierspe and Rönsahl - separated by the red-white checkered bar of the counts of the Mark. On the bottom of the coat of arms is a red lion with claws and tongue. On the top is a Rauk, a raven and it refers to the nickname given to young recruits, who imitated the sound of the raven when first wearing their blue uniform during mustering. The coat of arms was granted to the Amt on 20 August 1936 and it was designed by Otto Hupp. The coat of arms of the municipality Kierspe was similar to the one of the Amt and it was granted on 17 October 1935. The coat of arms of the municipality Rönsahl had Saint Servatius in the top, Kierspe has been twinned with the French town Montigny-le-Bretonneux since 1988. The partnership developed from a student exchange of the Gesamtschule Kierspe with a high school in Montigny-le-Bretonneux. The town is twinned with Denton, Greater Manchester, which is twinned with Montigny-le-Bretonneux. A delegation from Denton arrived in April 2012 to discuss the twinning, there was a large town festival including the planting of a German Linden tree in the towns park. This came to an end in the last few years as St. Aidans changed its system for teaching modern languages, however, Year 12s from the school still go to Kierspe for two-week-long work experiences. Wilhelm Kattwinkel, neurologist and paleontologist Roger Schmidt, football coach Official site Twinned with St. Aidans
15.
Halver
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Halver is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has a population of 18,083 and covers an area of 77.37 km², of which 51% are used for agricultural purposes and it is located in the hills of the Sauerland, at its highest elevation it is 440 m above sea level. Around 950 the Oberhof Halvara was first mentioned in the Werdener Probsteiregister, for more than 500 years Halver was the seat of a Fehmic court, the earliest definite evidence of which is in 1243, it ceased to exist in 1753. This court was most famous because of the trial of duke Henry XVI the Rich of Bavaria-Landshut, with effect from October 1,1912 the municipality Halver was split, Schalksmühle becoming an independent municipality. Both were administered together in the Amt Halver, as part of the communal reforms of the district of Altena the Amt was dissolved on January 1,1969, and Halver was granted city rights. The red and white checked base refers to the fess from the arms of the Counts of the Mark, the stone judgement table under a linden tree represents the Feme court. It was designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on March 29,1935, the Amt Halver had a separate coat of arms, which was also designed by Otto Hupp. Separating the two is the red and white checked fess, as above, the coat of arms was granted on June 8,1936, and expired with the dissolving of the Amt in 1969. The town twinning with the Swedish city Katrineholm originated from the connection between a group from Halver and a traditional dancing group from Katrineholm. It was officially signed on September 30,1963, on April 25,1975 the twinning agreement with the French city Hautmont was signed. There has also been a city friendship with Pardess-Hanna in Israel since 1989, eugen Schmalenbach, economist, the local commercial vocational school was named after him http, //www. halver. de
16.
Herscheid
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Herscheid is a municipality in the southern Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Herscheid is located in the Ebbegebirge, a part of the Sauerland mountains, altitudes in the municipality extend from 250m above sea level in the valley of the Schwarze Ahe up to the highest elevation, the 663. 3m high Nordhelle. The municipality covers an area of 58.924 km², of which 58% is forest, most of the area is protected as a nature reserve, the Naturpark Ebbegebirge. Werdohl Plettenberg Meinerzhagen Lüdenscheid The first written document mentioning Hertsceido dates from 1072 in a charter from Grafschaft Abbey of bishop Anno of Cologne, however, the settlements in what is now the municipal area probably date back to the 4th century. From the 12th century till 1753 the parish of Herscheid formed a court district, during the French occupation, the Mairie Ebbe covered Herscheid and neighbouring Valbert. The station Hüinghausen was made for narrow gauge railway, the coat of arms of Herscheid is above a fess abased chequy of three rows gules and argent, a demi-stag salient proper. The stag, or deer, has a double significance, it both to the etymological origin of the name Herscheid as area where deer live and also to the old hunting privileges formerly enjoyed here. The red-and-white chequered fess of the Counts also appears, Herscheid having been part of their territory. The coat of arms was designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on October 17,1935, the coat of arms is also featured on the town flag. Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician Official site
17.
Menden
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Menden is a town in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river. Mendens first churches were built in the 9th century, from 1180 on the area around Menden was part of the Cologne region, however, as it was on the border with the County of Mark, it was often fought over. In 1276, it received city rights, industrialization started early, in 1695 needle production was the first industry, later followed by limestone products such as cement. In 1816 Menden was included within Prussia, after being part of Hesse for 13 years, in 1975 the city was merged with several previously independent municipalities, thus it grew in area as well as population. The Hönnetal, a valley with some beautiful cliffs carved into the limestone bedrock by the river Hönne. In Menden, there are eleven elementary schools and it is directed by Volker Fleige. Menden à la carte is a popular festival and it is organized by the Initiativkreis Mendener Wirtschaft. In Menden there are three theaters, the Theater am Ziegelbrand in an old building with places for 49 spectators. Another theater is located under the indoor swimming pool with places for 99 people and it is called Zimmertheater Scaramouche and corporate appearances and a traditional Christmas stage play can be seen there. For the young visitors there is a kids club, the third theater is in Halingen. It is called the Halinger Dorftheater, founded in 1912, the Museum of Menden specialized on the living circumstances of the citizens of Menden in medieval age. It informs about and reconstructs the equipment from farmers and patricians houses and it also presents bones of human beings from prehistoric times and the complete skeleton of a cave bear. The ruin of Burg Rodenberg, an old caste in the forest near the swimming pool. The St. -Vincenz-Kirche, founded in 1345, is the biggest church in Menden and is near the old city hall, parts of the old city defense such as 3 towers and a little part of the city wall still exist and may be seen. In Menden there are many sport clubs and it is the home of the Sauerland Cup, which is a competition for handball clubs from all around the world. Even clubs from Japan or Switzerland took part in 2005 and it takes place in spring and nearly every sports hall available is used. Menden is also the host of a soccer competition in which every U-10 club can take part
18.
Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde
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Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde is a municipality in the Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The municipality is split into two main settlements, the municipality was formed in 1907, when the Amt Altena was dissolved. The two municipalities Kelleramt and Wiblingwerde were merged into the new municipality Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde, which was no longer member in an Amt anymore, the coat of arms of the municipality shows in the top part the red and silver rose from the church seal of the Kirchspiel Wiblingwerde. In the bottom is a line representing the river Lenne. Both symbols are separated by the chequered bar of the Mark. The coat of arms was designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on October 17,1935, media related to Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde at Wikimedia Commons Official site Tourist information
19.
Plettenberg
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Plettenberg is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Plettenberg is located to the east of the Sauerland hills, the highest elevation of the city area is in the Ebbegebirge with 663 m above sea level, the lowest elevation with 194 m near Teindeln. The city is spread out between the four valleys of the rivers Lenne, Else, Oester and Grüne, the name was later changed to Plettenberg, as the name of the noble family von Plettenberg, who owned virtually all of the city and surrounding lands. The Dukes of the Mark bought the town from Cologne, who in 1301 built the castle Schwarzenberg, in 1387, Count Engelbert III granted the town some privileges, it received full city rights in 1397 from Count Dietrich von der Mark. At the same time, the city was fortified, the city blossomed in the following centuries thanks to mining and iron casting, as well as trading with the Hanseatic League. In 1941, the city was enlarged to its current size, when the former city, the number of inhabitants till 1933 is the core city, since 1998 with the incorporated districts. The coat of arms shows the coat of arms of the counts of Mark in the center and it is displayed between two towers. The coat of arms was granted together with the city rights, in 1794, the crown atop the shield was added in seals of the city. In 1840, the version on a shield was adopted. However the city council did not want to repeat the symbols which was present in the coat of arms. After Plettenberg merged with the municipalities of Plettenberg-Land and Ohle in 1940 and this time it was officially granted on September 28,1942, however provisionally due to the war. Yet after the lost war, the coat of arms was never revoked, the coat of arms of the municipality of Plettenberg-Land showed a silver-blue shield split vertically, the symbol of the master of Plettenberg. It is overlaid with the chequered bar of the Mark. The coat of arms was designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on January 16,1935, the coat of arms of the Amt Plettenberg was very similar, it only had an additional red shell in the top-left-hand corner as the symbol of the masters of Ohle. Also designed by Otto Hupp it was granted on July 13,1936, the coat of arms of the municipality of Ohle shows the Saint Martin of Tours splitting his cloak to share with the beggar. Saint Martin is the saint of the church of Ohle. A small escutcheon is placed next to the Saint, showing a red shell on a yellow background, the coat of arms was also designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on October 17,1935
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Hemer
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Hemer is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hemer is located at the end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river. The highest elevation, at 546 metres, is in the Balver Wald in the south of the city, the lowest elevation, at 160 metres, is at the Edelburg in the northeast. Burial mounds show that around 1250 BC, Bronze Age shepherds, graves from the time of the Merovingian Franks around the year 650 were found near the present city centre. In 1124 the parish of St. Vitus was separated from the parish of Menden, the boundary with Cologne, formed by the valley of the Hönne river southeast of Hemer, was protected by Klusenstein Castle, built in 1353. Local government in the parish of Hemer was the responsibility of the Amt of Iserlohn until 1647, when it was transferred to the family of Wachtendonk, the Reformation reached Hemer in the second half of the 16th century, when the church of St. Vitus became Protestant. During the Napoleonic period Hemer was a mairie in the arrondissement of Hagen in the département of the Ruhr of the Napoleonic satellite Grand Duchy of Berg, on October 31,1841, the Amt Hemer was created by 14 municipalities previously administered by the Landbezirk Iserlohn. The Amt was part of the Kreis Iserlohn, in 1910 Niederhemer and Oberhemer were merged into Hemer. In 1920 Lössel became part of the Amt Oestrich, the three industrial municipalities of Hemer, Sundwig and Westig had already grown into a single urban area by World War I. The idea of merging the three municipalities had already been mooted before the war, but due to the war it was not until 1920 that it was formally proposed. At the same time the city of Iserlohn unsuccessfully tried to incorporate several municipalities, Letmathe and Oestrich to the west, and also the industrial municipalities of the Amt Hemer. Because of the opposition, the merger of the three municipalities was delayed until 1929, when it was carried out by order of the Prussian Ministry of the Interior. With effect from August 1,1929, Hemer, Sundwig and Westig, as well as Landhausen, also with effect from August 1,1929, the municipality of Brockhausen was incorporated into Deilinghofen. The rural Brockhausen had only 588 inhabitants, and because of its low income was not considered to be viable as an independent unit. On January 30,1936, the municipality of Hemer received the right to call itself a city, in 1934 Hemer became a garrison town. In January 1934 it was decided to build three barracks in neighboring Iserlohn, which however was also to provide enough free land for a training area. At a meeting in June, land around the village of Apricke was selected, the hospital was also inspected and later acquired as a military hospital. This was very welcome to Hemer, as the hospital had turned out to be far too big and too expensive for the Amt, in December 1934 temporary barracks for one battalion were also built in Hemer
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Iserlohn
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Iserlohn is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district, Iserlohn is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river. The Pancratius church was founded in around 985, but the first written document mentioning lon dates only from 1150, in 1237 the Count of the Mark gave Iserlohn municipal rights. In 1975 the city, which had been an urban district before, incorporated the surrounding ex-municipalities of Letmathe, Hennen, Sümmern and Kesbern, as a larger mid-sized city, Iserlohn, however, still has a special status as compared to most other municipalities in the district. This means that the city takes on tasks more usually performed by the district so that in some ways it is comparable to an urban district, the Dechenhöhle was discovered in 1868 during the construction of the railway line Hagen-Iserlohn. 360m are accessible for visitors, and lots of stalactites make it a spectacular sight, the Danzturm, located atop the southern hill overlooking the old city, is a landmark and featured on the logo of the local brewery. The tower features spectacular views of the valley and surrounding hills and is open to the public with an inn at the base. In the 18th Century, the became known for its Iserlohn boxes. The city is home of the Iserlohn Roosters, a DEL ice hockey team and they came into the DEL in 2000 and developed from a low-budget-team to a solid team, which battles every year for a Playoff-spot. The club plays its homegames at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn, which holds 4967 spectators, the original club EC Deilinghofen was founded in 1959 and went bankrupt in 1987, the second club ECD Sauerland existed from 1988 to 1994. 1994 the Iserlohner EC was founded whereof the Roosters came to the DEL, in Iserlohn are 15 elementary schools and 13 secondary schools. Also two universities of applied sciences are located in the city of Iserlohn, the Business and Information Technology School is a private state approved business school with a campus near the Seilersee. Every year a part of the Iserlohner culture is the Schützenfest at Alexanderhöhe with its Parkhalle, in the middle of the coat of arms is Saint Pancras, patron of the oldest church in Iserlohn. He is depicted between two towers of the city wall. The checked fess below is derived from the arms of the Counts of the Mark, die Oberste Stadtkirche Iserlohn – Zeitbilder und Momentaufnahmen. Westfalenverlag Dortmund Peter Müller und Günter Stalp, Unsere gute alte Straßenbahn, hans-Herbert Mönnig Verlag Iserlohn, Iserlohn – unsere lebendige Stadt. Ein Bildband von Iserlohnern für Iserlohner, Heinz Stoob, Westfälischer Städteatlas, Band, I,9 Teilband. Im Auftrage der Historischen Kommission für Westfalen und mit Unterstützung des Landschaftsverbandes Westfalen-Lippe, edited by Heinz Stoob, Official site Official site Newspaper Iserlohner Kreisanzeiger und Zeitung
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Balve
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Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in Hönnetal, a valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpesee, formerly part of Balve. The town was established in 1975 with several divisions including Balve, Beckum and Eisborn, the first disputed reference to Balve was in around 780, when it was mentioned that a Widukind owned a farm called Ballowa, another name for the town. The first undisputed reference was in 864, in which a girl from Balve was said to be healed at the grave of the Saint Ludger in the crypt of Werden Abbey. Ballowa is also mentioned in the Thidrekssaga, a chivalric saga written in the century in Norway. In the saga, Ballowa is the home of two dwarfs who taught Weyland much about making iron weapons, at the time of writing, Balve belonged to the county of Arnsberg. In 1358 the town became the property of the Duchy of Westphalia, in 1430 it was given the right to be called a city. During the Napoleonic period, it belonged for a time to Hesse. Local organizations include a Red Cross chapter, and the Schützenbruderschaft St. Sebastian Balve, primary schools in the town include Grundschule Balve and Grundschule Beckum. Several international companies have roots in the town, including Balver Zinn, Chemie Wocklum, train stations in Balve include Binolen, Volkringhausen, Sanssouci, Garbeck and Balve, the latter station part of the Hönnetalbahn line. The main religion in Balve is Roman Catholicism, the church Saint Blaise, built in the 12th century and an example of Romanesque architecture, was consecrated to Mary. On February 3 each year a ceremony is held in the church. The altar servers of Saint Blaise visit other cities every year, bones from Benedict of Nursia and Saint Blaise, and a 400-year-old monument for Hermann von Hatzfeld, are located in the church. Additionally, two Roman Catholic parishes have been present in Balve for several years, a Lutheran church is located at Hönnetalstrasse near to the Gemeindezentrum. The Männerchor 1860 Balve is the largest choir in Balve, other choirs include the Männerchor Garbeck and MC Cäcilia Volkringhausen. The towns bands include Musikverein Balve and Musikverein Garbeck, until 2005, the organization Festpiele Balver Höhle and the town of Balve have jointly hosted a jazz festival. Acts at the festival have included performances by Jan Garbarek and by Piirpauke, one of the theatre ensembles in Balve is the Kolpingtheatergruppe, directed by Christoph Rapp. Another form of entertainment, the Balver Märchenwochen, involves performing fairy tales at Christsmas, the Festspiele Balver Höhle is held at the Balver Höhle, a cave in Balve
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Werdohl
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Werdohl is a town in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Werdohl is located in the hills of the Sauerland, at a meander of the river Lenne and its confluent. The highest elevation is the Hölzerne Klinke with 448. 8m above sea level, Werdohl shares borders with Altena, Neuenrade, Plettenberg, Herscheid and Lüdenscheid. A large part of the area, about 19.2 km², is meadows and forests and is used for agriculture and forestry, the city centre is located at the banks of the river Lenne and at the foot of surrounding hills. The townships are Versevörde, where the river Verse flows into the river Lenne, Königsburg, Rodt, kettling lies upstream of the Lenne at the border to Plettenberg. Ütterlingsen, Dresel and Elverlingsen are downstream of the Lenne towards the border to Altena, the first document which mentions Werdohl dates to the year 1101. From Paderborn mentions the church of Werdohl, which was donated by count Erpo of Padberg to the monastery Boke/Flechtdorf, in 1220 the Priorat Berentrop took over the ownership, which in 1300 was bought by count Everhard II. of the Mark. Werdohl was long administrated in the Amt Neuenrade, however at the end of the 19th century the population of Werdohl was higher than those of the municipalities in the Amt together. On June 1,1891 Werdohl left the Amt and became self-administrated, on April 19,1936 the municipality received city rights. The coat of arms of Werdohl shows a rose, which was present in the seal of the church. To the right are three segments, the symbol of the family Neuhoff, a noble family which resided in the municipality in the past. The bottom part shows the red-white chequered bordure as the symbols of the counts of the Mark, the draft already resembled the later coat of arms, only the rose was in silver on black ground. However the war and then the end of monarchy in Germany delayed for several years, in 1929 Otto Hupp created two drafts of the coat of arms, one of which was then accepted by the municipality council on August 29,1929. It later turned out that the coat of arms need to be officially granted, in 1936 the Landrat of Westphalia lobbyed to have the coat of arms changed. He requested a draft from the heraldic Waldemar Mallek, which showed a Zeppelin in the top part and it was however not accepted by the mayor of Werdohl, and was not pursued further. Vossloh Werdohl is twinned with, Since April 6,1975 Werdohl has a city partnership with the English district Derwentside, since August 10,1990 it has a partnership with the city Stavenhagen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
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Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
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States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
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Regierungsbezirk
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Regierungsbezirk is an administrative region at federal state level in Germany. The regional authority is called a Regierungspräsidium or Bezirksregierung and is headed by a Regierungspräsident, the Regierungsbezirke do not pass any legislation. Within the federal authority, they act as a mid-level agency. Regierungsbezirk is variously translated as district, administrative district or province. By German unification in 1871, the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire, the Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Similar entities in other states were initially named Kreishauptmannschaft or Kreis or province in Hesse, in Nazi Germany the naming was unified to Regierungsbezirk. Currently, only four large-area states out of 16 in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke, on 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke, Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a Landesverwaltungsamt with three offices at the seats of the Bezirksregierungen. On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony disbanded its remaining four Regierungsbezirke, Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg, on 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its districts and changed the name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke. This was necessary because one of the new districts did not fit with the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke, the Direktionsbezirke are still named Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig. As of 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion, four of the new federal states re-established in 1990, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia, decided not to implement Regierungsbezirke. In Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland they never existed, stettin, dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania Media related to Regierungsbezirk at Wikimedia Commons
28.
Districts of Germany
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A German district is an administrative subdivision known as Landkreis, except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where it is known simply as Kreis. Most major cities in Germany are not part of a rural district, in this context, those cities are referred to as Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis. Rural districts are at a level of administration between the German states and the municipal governments. They correspond to level 3 administrative units of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, previously, the similar title Reichskreis was given to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire. The related term Landeskommissariat was used for administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century. The majority of German districts are rural districts of which there are 295, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not usually belong to a district, but take over district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities. These are known as urban districts —cities which constitute a district in their own there are currently 107 of them. As of 2011, approximately 25 million people live in these 107 urban districts, in North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers. Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are part of a larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, the classification as midsize town is usually based on a towns registered population, but varies from state to state. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district, urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. The district council is the highest institution of a district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of rural districts are not situated within the district proper. Most of those districts are named after this central city as well. Moers is the biggest city in Germany that is neither an urban district, in parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as Kreisverwaltung or Landratsamt. In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative commission called Kreisausschuss
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Burgomaster
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The name in English was derived from the Dutch burgemeester. In some cases, Burgomaster was the title of the head of state and head of government of a sovereign city-state, contemporary titles are commonly translated into English as mayor. Bürgermeister, in German, in Germany, Austria, and formerly in Switzerland, in Switzerland, the title was abolished mid-19th century, various current titles for roughly equivalent offices include Gemeindepräsident, Stadtpräsident, Gemeindeamtmann, and Stadtamtmann. Oberbürgermeister is the most common version for a mayor in a big city in Germany, the Ober- prefix is used in many ranking systems for the next level up including military designations. The mayors of cities, which comprise one of Germanys 112 urban districts usually bear this title. Urban districts are comparable to independent cities in the English-speaking world, however, also the mayors of some cities, which do not comprise an urban district, but often used to comprise one until the territorial reforms in the 1970s, bear the title Oberbürgermeister. In the Netherlands nominated by the council but appointed by the crown. In theory above the parties, in practice a high-profile party-political post, bourgmestre in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Bürgermeister Burmistras, derived from German. Burmistrz, a title, derived from German. The German form Oberbürgermeister is often translated as Nadburmistrz, the German-derived terminology reflects the involvement of German settlers in the early history of many Polish towns. Borgmästare, kommunalborgmästare, the title is not used in Sweden in present times, boargemaster Pormestari In history in many free imperial cities the function of burgomaster was usually held simultaneously by three persons, serving as an executive college. One of the three being burgomaster in chief for a year, the second being the prior burgomaster in chief, präsidierender Bürgermeister is now an obsolete formulation sometimes found in historic texts
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Christian Democratic Union of Germany
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The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. The CDU forms the CDU/CSU grouping, also known as the Union, the leader of the CDU, Angela Merkel, is the current Chancellor of Germany. The CDU is a member of the Centrist Democrat International, International Democrat Union, immediately following the collapse of the Nazi dictatorship at the end of World War II, the need for a new political order in Germany was paramount. Simultaneous yet unrelated meetings began occurring throughout Germany, each with the intention of planning a Christian-democratic party, the Christlich-Demokratische Union was established in Berlin on 26 June 1945, and in Rheinland and Westfalen in September of the same year. The founding members of the CDU consisted primarily of members of the Centre Party, German Democratic Party, German National Peoples Party. In the Cold War years, after World War II up to the 1960s, a prominent anti-Nazi member was theologian Eugen Gerstenmaier who became Acting Chairman of the Foreign Board. One of the lessons learned from the failure of the Weimar Republic was that disunity among the parties ultimately allowed for the rise of the Nazi Party. It was therefore crucial to create a party of Christian Democrats – a Christian Democratic Union. The result of meetings was the establishment of an inter-confessional party influenced heavily by the political tradition of liberal conservatism. The latter was more nationalist and sought German reunification, even at the expense of concessions to the Soviet Union, the Western powers appreciated the CDUs moderation, its economic flexibility and its value as an oppositional force to the Communists, which appealed to European voters at the time. Also, Adenauer was trusted by the British, the party was split over issues of rearmament within the Western alliance and German unification as a neutral state. Adenauer staunchly defended his position and outmanoeuvred some of his opponents. He also refused to consider the SPD as a party of the coalition until he felt sure that they shared his anti-Communist position, the CDU was the dominant party for the first two decades following the establishment of West Germany in 1949. Konrad Adenauer remained the leader until 1963, at which point the former minister of economics Ludwig Erhard replaced him. As the Free Democratic Party withdrew from the coalition in 1966 due to disagreements over fiscal and economic policy. Consequently, a coalition with the SPD took over government under CDU Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger. The CDU continued its role as opposition until 1982, when the FDP’s withdrawal from the coalition with the SPD allowed the CDU to regain power, CDU Chairman Helmut Kohl became the new Chancellor of West Germany and his CDU-FDP coalition was confirmed in the 1983 federal election
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Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
32.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
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Duchy of Berg
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Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. It existed as a political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. In 1160, the split into two portions, one of them later becoming the County of the Mark, which returned to the possession of the family line in the 16th century. In 1280 the counts moved their court from Schloss Burg on the Wupper river to the town of Düsseldorf, the most powerful of the early rulers of Berg, Engelbert II of Berg died in an assassination on November 7,1225. Count Adolf VIII of Berg fought on the side in the Battle of Worringen against Guelders in 1288. The power of Berg grew further in the 14th century, the County of Jülich united with the County of Berg in 1348, and in 1380 the Emperor Wenceslaus elevated the counts of Berg to the rank of dukes, thus originating the Duchy of Jülich-Berg. However, the new ducal dynasty also became extinct in 1609, in 1806, in the reorganization of the German lands occasioned by the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Berg became the Grand Duchy of Berg, under the rule of Napoleons brother-in-law, Joachim Murat. Murats arms combined the red lion of Berg with the arms of the duchy of Cleves, the anchor and the batons came to the party due to Murats positions as Grand Admiral and as Marshal of the Empire. As the husband of Napoleons sister Caroline Bonaparte, Murat also had the right to use the imperial eagle, the Grand Duchys short existence came to an end with Napoleons defeat in 1813 and the peace settlements that followed. In 1815, after the Congress of Vienna, Berg became part of a province of the Kingdom of Prussia, in 1822 this province united with the Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine to form the Rhine Province. This lion originates from the arms of the Duke of Limburg as the Berg title in the 13th century fell to the Limburg line
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Sauerland
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The Sauerland is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. For these reasons, it has chosen as the first place in Germany to reintroduce the Wisent. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in North Rhine-Westphalia, in particular for mountain biking & cycling, water sports, the town and Skiliftkarussell of Winterberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis is a major winter sport resort. The name Sauerland is first mentioned as Suderland in a document from 1266. After 1400 the letter d started to disappear, therefore, Sauerland = southern country is the most convincing meaning, opposed to the theory that Sauer is from the German word sauer meaning sour. Linguistically, suder-“ is similar to the Old Saxon sûðar, the Duchy of Limburg covered a very small area in the lower Lenne river valley. After the Napoleonic Wars the area part of Prussia and was integrated into the new province of Westphalia. After World War II Westphalia was merged with the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Today, the Sauerland belongs to the districts Märkischer Kreis, Olpe, to the west the hills continue into the Bergisches Land, to the south into the Siegerland, and to the north-east into the Teutoburg Forest. The major rivers of the Sauerland are the Ruhr and the Lenne, several artificial lakes were created on the smaller rivers by building dams to store water for the nearby Ruhr area, the biggest reservoirs being the Möhne and Bigge. Both Langenberg and Kahler Asten are peaks in the Rothaargebirge mountains, the Sauerland has six reservoir lakes. The Rheinisches Schiefergebirge was subjected to folding and faulting in the Variscan orogeny in Carboniferous times, the tectonic uplift to the present-day low mountain range began approximately 500,000 years ago and is still going on. Most of the Sauerland rock originates from a Middle and Upper Devonian marginal shallow sea, in some areas limestones from an ancient reef fringe prevail and are karstified. The Sauerland has several caves, especially in the northern part, in some areas of the Sauerland the occurrence of lead-zinc-silver-ores lead to the development of a considerable mining industry, the center of which was the town of Meggen. Mining in this area lasted until the second half of the 20th century. The sandstones, greywackes and quartzites of the Sauerland as well as, to a minor extent, the largest town of the Sauerland is Iserlohn, other larger towns are Lüdenscheid and Arnsberg. Meschede is the home of an abbey, another abbey is placed at Bestwig. Upland Parts of the Sauerland, especially the valleys in the northwest
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Archbishop of Cologne
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Since the early days of the Catholic Church, there have been ninety-four bishops and archbishops of Cologne. Seven of these ninety-four retired by resignation, including four resignations which were in response to impeachment, eight of the bishops and archbishops were coadjutor bishops before they took office. Seven individuals were appointed as coadjutors freely by the Pope, one of the ninety-four moved to the Curia, where he became a cardinal. Additionally, six of the archbishops of Cologne were chairmen of the German Bishops Conference, currently, Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki is the Archbishop of Cologne, since his 2014 transfer from Berlin, where he had been Cardinal Archbishop. All names before Maternus II are to be approached with considerable skepticism, Maternus was present at a council in Rome in 313. The bishops between Severinus and Charentius are also apocryphal, Domitianus was the Bishop of Maastricht. The given dates of office before Gunther are also conjectural, at best, 88–128 Paulinus Marcellinus Aquilinus Levoldus c. 470–500 Domitianus fl. c.535 Charentinus fl. c.570 Eberigisil II
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Lippe (river)
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The Lippe is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a tributary of the Rhine and 220.1 km in length with an elevation difference of 125 metres. The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg Forest in Bad Lippspringe close to the city of Paderborn and it runs westward through Paderborn, Lippstadt and then along the northern edge of the Ruhr area, parallel to the river Emscher and river Ruhr. The river finally enters the Rhine at Wesel, the river Lippe has been used as an infrastructure in Roman times. For the Romans the river was a gateway to Germania, running from the river Rhine to the region around Paderborn, the watercourse was used for transport of supplies, so along the banks of the Lippe many former Roman camps can be found. In the last 200 years many of these camps have been identified, the distance between the camps is about a one-day walk of the troops, which is almost 30 km. Today’s identified Roman camps are, Olfen, Xanten, Haltern, today, the river appears as a two-tier water course, Upstream, eastward of the city of Hamm, the catchment is more rural. Downstream of Hamm settlements and industrial impacts characterize the situation, though the Lippe was partly navigable from 1820 on it was not sufficient for the transport of industrial goods. Moreover, this supported the coal and steel industry development in the northern Ruhr region. The historical city of Hamm and the towns Lünen, Haltern and Dorsten were small settlements located at the Lippe, since 1914 the Datteln-Hamm Canal and 1930 the Wesel-Datteln Canal are located in parallel to the Lippe which is not navigable for mass transportation. The canals receive Lippe water or feed the Lippe from a facility in Hamm. Until the 1970s water pollution played no important role in the public debate, towns, Wesel, Dorsten, Marl, Lünen and Haltern Cities, Paderborn, Lippstadt and Hamm Lippe – Roman settlements along the Lippe. Life Project Lippeaue – One of the Lippeaue renaturation projects
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Hattingen
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Hattingen is a town in the northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hattingen is located on the bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 1396, when the Duke of Mark granted permission to build a city wall, today, Hattingen has a picturesque historic district with Fachwerk built between the 14th and 16th centuries. The old city is partly surrounded by the city walls today. There are three castles remaining within the area of Hattingen. Isenburg Castle was built in the 12th century in the hillsides above the Ruhr, the castle was destroyed in 1225, but prominent ruins remain. Blankenstein Castle was built in the 13th century above the Ruhr river, all three castles are famous tourist landmarks and open to the public. Hattingen became part of the Hanseatic League in 1554 and became an important trading town, in 1720, there were 52 operating coal mines within the municipal area and Hattingen became one of the first industrial cities of the Ruhr region. Steel production started in 1853, when the Henrichshütte was founded, the Henrichshütte became one of the most important employers of the whole region and dominated the town until it closed in 1987. Today, Hattingen still faces problems concerning structural change of the economy, the cities bordering Hattingen are Bochum, Essen, Sprockhövel, Velbert, Witten and Wuppertal. Mathilde Franziska Anneke, feminist Erich Warsitz, worlds first jet pilot John J
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Gevelsberg
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Gevelsberg is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town lies in the valley of the river Ennepe in the Süder Uplands, Gevelsberg lies about halfway between Wuppertal and Hagen, and is part of the industrial Ruhr Region. The lowest elevation is the Ennepe river at Vogelsang and highest is the Hageböllinger Kopf and its east-to-west length is 7.1 kilometres and the north to south length is 7.15 km. Asbeck Berge Gevelsberg Silschede The city has a history of nearly 780 years, the archbishop of Cologne Engelbert II of Berg was killed on November 7,1225 by his cousin Frederick of Isenberg in Gievilberch. The population grew strongly in the 19th century, when small industries related to iron processing were developed. Gevelsberg received its coat of arms by decree of the Prussian Department of the Interior in 1903, in the mid-1950s a city wall was added to the coat of arms. Gevelsberg is connected to the road network by the A1 autobahn. The municipality is served by regional train lines of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr. There are four stations on the line from Hagen to Wuppertal served by the S8 trains of the Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn. Gevelsberg is twinned with, Vendôme, France Szprotawa, Poland, since May 17,1996 Butera, Italy, some 1,000 people from Butera and Caltanisetta live in Gevelsberg. gevelsberg. de Notes
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Essen Abbey
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Essen Abbey was a monastery of secular canonesses for women of high nobility in Essen, Germany. It was founded about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid, later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near an estate called Astnidhi. The first abbess was Altfrids kinswoman, Gerswit, a chapter of male priests were also attached to the abbey, under a dean. Because of its advancement by the Liudolfings the abbey became reichsunmittelbar sometime between 874 and 947 and its best years began in 973 under the Abbess Mathilde, granddaughter of Otto I and thus herself a Liudolfing, who governed the abbey until 1011. In her time the most important of the art treasures of what is now the Essen Cathedral treasury came to Essen, the next two abbesses to succeed her were also from the Liudolfing family and were thus able further to increase the wealth and power of the foundation. In 1228 the abbesses were designated Princesses for the first time, from 1300 they took up residence in Schloss Borbeck, where they spent increasing amounts of time. In the north of the territory was located the monastery of Stoppenberg, founded in 1073. Also among the possessions of the abbey was the area round Huckarde, on the borders of the County of Dortmund, approximately 3,000 farms in the area owed dues to the abbey, in Vest Recklinghausen, on the Hellweg and round Breisig and Godesberg. From 1512 to its dissolution the Imperial abbey belonged to the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle, from 1802 the territory was occupied by Prussian troops. The abbey was dissolved in 1803, the spiritual territory of three square miles passed to Prussia, then between 1806/1807 to 1813 to the Duchy of Berg and afterwards to Prussia again. The last abbess, Maria Kunigunde von Sachsen, died on 8 April 1826 in Dresden. When in 1958 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen was created, the dates of the rule of the abbesses are incompletely preserved. The sequence of the abbesses between Gerswid II and Ida is uncertain, particularly in regard to the Abbess Agana, saint Altfrid Ute Küppers-Braun, Macht in Frauenhand –1000 Jahre Herrschaft adeliger Frauen in Essen. Torsten Fremer, Äbtissin Theophanu und das Stift Essen, familienforschung in den Kirchenbüchern des Stifts Essen
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Hamm
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Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849, the city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railway station is an important hub for transport and renowned for its distinctive station building. The coat of arms has been in use in its present form for about 750 years and it shows the markish chessboard in red and silver on a golden field. Originally it was the coat of arms, i. e. the Counts of Mark. The chessboard and the colours are displayed in the coats of arms of further towns founded by that family line. Similarly, the colours of the city are red and white, the name Ham means corner in the old Low German dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name thom Hamme would be used,1350 The Black death killed nearly all of the citizens. 1469 Hamm became a member of the Hanseatic League and it was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the todays Ruhr area still were only tiny villages. Almost all buildings were destroyed, except for the main church St. Georg,1657 Establishment of the Gynasium illustre with three faculties. 1820 The regional appeal court moves from Cleve to Hamm,1944 Coal-mine Maximillian closes after several problems with water drainage of the hole mine. 1945 First meeting of the city council after the war 1946 Establishment of the industrial court,1956 Sport airfield founded in the Lippe meadows. 1976 Coal-mine Sachsen closes 1984 First Landesgartenschau of North Rhine-Westphalia is held in Hamm, the old area of the coal-mine Maximillian was used for this purpose. The world greatest Glasselefant is built as main attraction and until today is one of the landmarks of the city. The Oberbürgermeister is elected directly for a five years term, together with the city council, in 1939,1968 and 1975 Hamm incorporated several towns and municipalities, in 1939 the village Mark and in 1968 the villages of Berge and Westtünnen. The number of more than doubles from 83.000 in 1974 to 173.000 in 1975. The following table shows the situation in 2006, every quarter is named with the prefix Hamm, like Hamm-Bockum-Hövel or Hamm-Mitte
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County of Mark
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The County of Mark was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme and Lenne rivers, the Counts of the Mark were among the most powerful and influential Westphalian lords in the Holy Roman Empire. The name Mark is recalled in the present-day Märkischer Kreis district in south of the Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia. The northern portion is still called Hohe Mark, while the former Lower Mark is—for the most part—merged in the present Ruhr area. The County of the Mark enclosed an area of approximately 3,000 km², the east-west flowing Ruhr separated the county into two different regions, the northern, fertile lowlands of Hellweg Börde, and the southern hills of the Süder Uplands. In the south-north direction the southern part of the county was crossed by the Lenne, in the region of the Lower Lenne was the County of Limburg, a fiefdom of Berg. The seat of the Counts of the Mark von de Marck or de la Marck was originally the Burg Altena in the Sauerland region, but moved to Burg Mark near Hamm in the 1220s. The county was bordered by Vest Recklinghausen, the County of Dortmund, the Bishopric of Münster, the County of Limburg, Werden Abbey, the coat of arms of the county was Or a fess chequy Gules and Argent of three. These arms have been used by the city of Hamm since 1226, many other places in the area include the red and white checkered fess in their arms as a reference to the county and often to their founders. Originally belonging to a line of the counts of Berg at Altena. About 1198 Count Frederick I purchased the Mark Oberhof, a land on the territory of the Edelherren of Rüdenberg. Here Frederick had the Mark Castle erected as the residence of the new Counts of the Mark. The nearby town of Hamm was founded by his son Adolf I, Count of the Mark in 1226, as Brabant and its allies were victorious, the County of Mark gained supremacy in southern Westphalia and became independent of the Archbishopric of Cologne. The territory of Mark was for long restricted to the lands between the Ruhr and Lippe rivers, new territories in the north were gained during the 14th century in wars against the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. In 1332 Count Adolph II married Margarete, the daughter of Count Dietrich VIII of Cleves, adolphs younger son Adolph III upon the death of Dietrichs brother Count John acquired the County of Cleves on the western banks of the Rhine in 1368. In 1391 Adolph III also inherited the Mark from his elder brother Engelbert III, in 1509 the heir to the throne of Cleves-Mark John III the Peaceful married Maria, the daughter of Duke William IV of Berg and Jülich. The dynasty of Jülich-Cleves-Berg became extinct in 1609, when the insane last duke John William had died and it then became part of the Kingdom of Prussia after 1701. In 1807 the County of the Mark passed from Prussia to France in the Treaties of Tilsit, in 1808 Napoleon then gave Mark to the elevated Grand Duchy of Berg, which was divided into four departments along the lines of Napoleonic France
pronunciation (help·info)) is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, in the northern stretches of the Sauerland.
Péronne, France (since 1967)
Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK (since 1972)
Pinsk, Belarus (since 1990)
Owensville, Missouri, United States (since 2005)
