1.
Richard Meinertzhagen
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Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, CBE, DSO was a British soldier, intelligence officer and ornithologist. He had a military career spanning Africa, where he was credited with creating and executing the infamous Haversack Ruse. The discovery of stolen museum bird specimens resubmitted as original discoveries had raised doubts on a number of scores as to the veracity of ornithological records he claimed as well. Meinertzhagen was born into a wealthy, socially connected British family and his mother was Georgina Potter, sister of Beatrice Webb, a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Meinertzhagens surname derives from Meinerzhagen in Germany, the home of an ancestor, on his mothers side, he was of English descent. Among his relations were many of Britains titled, rich and influential personages, although he had his doubts, he also claimed to be a distant descendant of Philip III of Spain. His nephew, Daniel Meinertzhagen, was a chairman of Lazard and his niece, Teresa Georgina Mayor, married Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild. In 1895, at the age of eighteen, he obeyed his fathers wishes to join the family bank as a clerk. He was assigned to offices in Cologne and Bremen, there he picked up the German language but remained uninterested in banking. After he returned to the home office in England in 1897. In 1911, he married Armorel, the daughter of Colonel Herman Le Roy-Lewis and this marriage was dissolved in 1919. Meinertzhagens passion for bird-watching began as a child and he and his brother Daniel were encouraged by a family friend, the philosopher Herbert Spencer, who, like another family friend, Charles Darwin, was an ardent empiricist. Spencer would take young Richard and Daniel on walks around the home in Mottisfont, urging them to observe, around 1887 they kept a pet sparrowhawk, which was taken to Hyde Park to let it prey on sparrows. The first serious ornithologist that Richard met was Brian Hodgson, Daniel took an interest in bird illustration which brought them in contact with Archibald Thorburn and led to an introduction to Joseph Wolf and G. E. They had first met Richard Bowdler Sharpe at the Natural History Museum in 1886 and noted that he was fond of encouraging children. He was sent to India to join a battalion of his regiment, other than routine regimental soldiering, he participated in big-game hunting, was promoted, sent on sick leave to England, and after recovery posted to the relocated battalion at Mandalay in Burma. He was promoted Lieutenant on 8 February 1900 and he then started his “zealous campaign” for a transfer to Africa, and in April 1902 was seconded for service with the Foreign Office, who attached him to the 3rd Battalion of the Kings African Rifles. The following month he arrived at Mombasa in British East Africa
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
9.
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
