1.
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
2.
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
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
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
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)
