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.
Prinzipalmarkt
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The Prinzipalmarkt is the historic principal marketplace of Münster, Germany. It is shaped by historic buildings with picturesque pediments attached to one another and it extends from St. Lamberts Church in the north to the Townhouse Tower in the south and is home to luxurious shops and cafés. The centre of the side, opposite the south-eastern entrance to Cathedral Square, is dominated by the Historical City Hall of Münster. Having been largely destroyed during World War II, the Prinzipalmarkt was reconstructed from 1947 to 1958, karl-Heinz Kirchhoff, Der Prinzipalmarkt mit Michaelisplatz, Gruetgasse, Syndikatgasse und Syndikatplatz. Münster, Aschendorff,2001, ISBN 3-402-06643-2 official website panorama picture of the Prinzipalmarkt 360°-panorama picture of the Prinzipalmarkt im Kulturatlas Westfalen
3.
Emperor William Monument (Porta Westfalica)
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It was erected by the then Prussian Province of Westphalia between 1892 and 1896 and emerged against the background of a rising German national identity. The monument, which is around 88 metres high, is classified as one of Germany’s national monuments, the architect of this prominent monument was Bruno Schmitz and the sculptor was Kaspar von Zumbusch. Since 2008, the monument has formed part of the Road of Monuments, as a result of its dominant geographical site, it is the most important landmark of the town of Porta Westfalica and of northern East Westphalia. The Emperor William Monument is located at the eastern end of the range of the Wiehen Hills on the eastern slopes of the Wittekindsberg. It is here that the Weser breaks out of the German Central Uplands and winds across the North German Plain, the site used to be on the eastern border of the old Province of Westphalia with Porta Westfalica. The monument lies within the municipality of Barkhausen in the borough of Porta Westfalica. To the east, immediately below the stairway to the broad base of the monument, is a point that is 202.9 m. Following the death of Emperor William I, monuments in his honour were built all over Prussia, on 15 March 1889, the government of the Province of Westphalia voted with a small majority to erect their Emperor William Monument at the Westphalian Gate. Caspar von Zumbusch of Herzebrock was commissioned to create the statue of William I. A competition was held by the province to select an architect to design its setting and 58 were submitted, the prizegiving jury, which also came from Zumbusch awarded first prize to Berlin architect, Bruno Schmitz, whose design was chosen for the monument. Another first prize was awarded to Dresden architects, Richard Reuter, preparations for its construction began in summer 1892. Around 13,000 cubic metres of brickwork was built and 3,000 metres of stairway. On 18 October 1896 the monument was inaugurated in the presence of Emperor William II, in the Weimar Republic, the emperor had abdicated, so the monument’s 25th anniversary passed without being marked. In 1921 a memorial tablet in honour of those who had fallen in the First World War was added, not until 1926 did the monument become a focal point again when the national associations held a “German Day” here. There are frequently good views from the Emperor William Monument of the town of Porta Westfalica, fred Kaspar, Das Kaiserdenkmal an der Porta-Westfalica. Die Preisbewerbung für das Kaiser Wilhelm Denkmal der Provinz Westfalen, W. Fricke, Die Porta Westfalica und ihr Kaiser-Denkmal. T. T. Bruns Verlag, Minden i. W.1896, küster, Das Kaiser Wilhelm-Denkmal auf dem Wittekindberge an der Porta Westfalica. Reinhard Neumann, Die Teilnahme der Minden-Ravensberger Posaunenchöre bei der Denkmalseinweihung an der Porta Westfalica
4.
Porta Westfalica (gorge)
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It is located in the district of Minden-Lübbecke in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 1973, Porta Westfalica is also the name of a town, since 2006, it is a national geotope. The name Porta Westfalica is a Latin term that Gate to Westphalia, coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of Westphalia. Despite its Latin name, the term was not coined in Roman times, media related to Porta Westfalica at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Wewelsburg
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The castle has a triangular layout - three round towers connected by massive walls. After 1934, it was used by the SS under Heinrich Himmler and was to be expanded into a complex acting as the central SS cult-site, after 1941, plans were developed to enlarge it to be the so-called Center of the World. In 1950, the castle was reopened as a museum and youth hostel, the castle today hosts the Historical Museum of the Prince Bishopric of Paderborn and the Wewelsburg 1933-1945 Memorial Museum. Predecessor buildings existed, Wifilisburg was used during the 9th and 10th centuries against the Hungarians, another one was built by Earl Friedrich. After his death, the building was demolished in 1123/24 by peasants whom he had oppressed, in 1301, the Earl von Waldeck sold the Wewelsburg to the Prince-Bishop of Paderborn. A document about this acquisition proves that two fortress-like buildings stood on the hill, the Bürensches Haus and the Waldecksches Haus, from 1301 to 1589, the Prince-Bishops of Paderborn assigned the estate to miscellaneous liege lords. The masonry of both buildings was integrated in the current triangular Renaissance castle. In its current form, the Wewelsburg was built from 1603 to 1609 as secondary residence for the Prince-Bishops of Paderborn and its location is near what was then believed to be the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest of 9 BC. The Wewelsburg was taken several times during the Thirty Years War, in 1646 it was occupied and then razed by Swedish troops – namely by the army commanded by General Carl Gustav Wrangel. After 1650, the destroyed castle was rebuilt by Prince-Bishop Theodor Adolf von der Recke. He carried out some architectural changes, the three towers of the castle got their baroque domes, from 1589 to 1821, the castle was the place of residence of a bursary officer. Two witch trials took place in the Wewelsburg in 1631, during the Seven Years War, the basement rooms were probably used as a military prison. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle fell progressively into ruin, in 1802, during German mediatisation the castle came into the possession of the Prussian state. On 11 January 1815, the North Tower was gutted by a fire that was started by a lightning strike, from 1832 to 1934, a rectory existed in the eastern part of the south wing of the castle. In 1924, the became the property of the district of Büren and was changed into a cultural center. By 1925, the castle had been renovated into a museum, banquet hall, restaurant. After 1925, the renovation activities decreased, in 1932, the local head of the district authority ordered about seventy members of the Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst, to be housed at the Wewelsburg. They were unemployed and supported by the state as Notstandsarbeiter, through the rent, the district of Büren thus hoped to recoup some of the running costs of the castle
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.
Freudenberg, Westphalia
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Freudenberg is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town lies on the German-Dutch holiday road called the Orange Route, joining towns, cities, Freudenberg lies in hilly uplands between 243 and 505 m above sea level. The 17 constituent communities share roughly 55 km², of two thirds is made up of broadleaf and spruce forest. Among these, the town is the biggest, and the next in size after that is Büschergrund. The town of Freudenberg in its current form came into being through municipal reform on 1 January 1969, the oldest constituent communities are most likely the two that were both mentioned in documents in the 11th century, namely Plittershagen and Oberholzklau in 1079. Freudenberg is known to have been an Amt and court seat as of the early 15th century, the village and the castle of Freudenberg had their first documentary mention in 1389. The castle was founded over the Weibe Valley together with a settlement by the Counts of Nassau as a corner post of their domain, count Johann IV of Nassau, Vianden and Diez gave the Freudenberg townsfolk their freedom rights on 7 November 1456. This was a kind of town rights, but the document bestowing this distinction upon the town is taken as evidence of town rights being granted Freudenberg. Documents give clues that Freudenberg was established early on as a Flecken. The historic town core is still called Alter Flecken. In 1540, both the castle and the town were damaged by a fire. On William the Richs orders, there came into being about the mid 16th century new building works, the market town was given a new town wall with four gates. In the northwest, the Hohenhainer Tor was built, in the northeast the Weihertor, in the southeast the Braastor, however, owing to yet another town fire on 9 August 1666, the town was once again laid waste. Prince Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen built the town anew, using much the same layout, planned in 1540, the castle, however, was not restored, and to this day, all that can be seen of it are a few wall remains. In 1969, the new, greater Freudenberg came into being with the merger of the seventeen former municipalities named herein, if the later is the case, it might heraldically be described thus, In azure a crenellated town gate Or with two crenellated towers Or. In either case, the current arms, granted in 1911 and confirmed in 1970, are based on the towns oldest known seal. This seals colours were not known, the blue and gold seen today are the colours of the old house of Nassau-Siegen. Mór, Hungary, arising from youth exchanges, at the Südwestfälische Freilichtbühne Freudenberg, before a breathtaking backdrop of forest and crags, two new productions are staged every year for children and adults
8.
Rhineland
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The Rhineland is the name used for a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine River, chiefly its middle section. In the High Middle Ages, numerous Imperial States along the river emerged from the stem duchy of Lotharingia. The term covered the whole occupied zone west of the Rhine including the bridge-heads on the eastern banks, after the collapse of the French dominated West Bank in the early 19th century, the regions of Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg were annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1822 the Prussian administration reorganized the territory as the Rhine Province, following the First World War, the western part of Rhineland was occupied by Entente forces, then demilitarized under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German forces remilitarized the territory in 1936, as part of a diplomatic test of will, stretching down to the North Palatine Uplands in the south, this area, except for the Saarland, more or less corresponds with the modern use of the term. The southern and eastern parts are mainly hill country, cut by valleys, principally the Middle Rhine up to Bingen and its Ahr, Moselle. The border of the North German plain is marked by the lower Ruhr, in the south, the river cuts the Rhenish Massif. The area encompasses the western part of the Ruhr industrial region, toponyms as well as local family names often trace back to the Frankish heritage. The lands on the shore of the Rhine are strongly characterised by Roman influence. In the core territories, large parts of the population are members of the Catholic Church. On the right bank of the Rhine, between the Main and the Lahn, were the settlements of the Mattiaci, a branch of the Germanic Chatti, while farther to the north were the Usipetes and Tencteri. Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine. The Frankish conquerors of the Rhenish districts were singularly little affected by the culture of the Roman provincials they subdued, by the 8th century the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germania and northern Gaul. On the division of the Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun the part the province to the east of the fell to East Francia. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split up into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. After the Imperial Reform of 1500/12, the territory was part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian, Upper Rhenish, aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine played a large role in German history. At the Peace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the bank of the Rhine was taken by France. The population was about 1.6 million in small states
9.
Lippe (district)
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Lippe is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, the district of Lippe is named after the Lords of Lippe and their Principality of Lippe. It was a state within the Holy Roman Empire and retained statehood until 1947, the Lippe district nearly covers the same area as the historic county of Lippe. The first mention of this country was in 1123, it grew in power slowly in the following centuries, in 1528 it became a county, in 1789 it was elevated to a principality. Unlike many other countries of the Holy Roman Empire in the area, Lippe kept its independence in the Napoleonic era and it was one of the smaller member states of the German empire. After the death of Prince Woldemar in 1895, the two lines of the House of Lippe fought over the regency for over a decade. The last prince of Lippe was forced to abdicate in 1918 after the end of World War I when Germany became a republic, in 1932 the Free State of Lippe was subdivided into two districts, Detmold and Lemgo. In 1969/70 the 168 cities and municipalities were merged to 16, the Lippe district covers the northern part of the Teutoburg Forest, which also contain the highest elevation of the district, the 496 meter high Köterberg near Lügde. The lowest elevation is at the Weser river with 45.5 m, the main river is the Werre, and at the northern border of the district the Weser. The Lippe River, which shares the name, does not flow through Lippe. The small territories of Lippstadt, Lipperode, and Cappel that belonged to Lippe until the mid 19th century, the most famous dish served in Lippe is the Pickert. In the past it was known as a meal for poor people, the main ingredients are potatoes, flour and raisins. - Religious history of Lippe from the Reformation until the twentieth century
10.
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
11.
Country
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A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography. Sometimes the word countries is used to both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it refers only to states. The word country comes from Old French contrée, itself derived from Vulgar Latin contrata and it most likely entered the English language after the Franco-Norman invasion during the 11th century. Areas much smaller than a state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country, Constable Country. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the territory, as in the German Bundesländer. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, the term country is frequently used to refer to sovereign states. There is no agreement on the number of countries in the world. There are 206 sovereign states, of which 193 states are members of the United Nations, all are defined as states by declarative theory of statehood and constitutive theory of statehood. The latest proclaimed state is South Sudan in 2011, the Kingdom of Denmark, a sovereign state, comprises Metropolitan Denmark and two nominally separate countries—the Faroe Islands, and Greenland—which are almost fully internally self-governing. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, a state, comprises four separate countries, Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao. The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely, some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas territories, with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own
12.
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
13.
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
14.
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
15.
Detmold (region)
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Detmold is one of the five Regierungsbezirks of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north-east of the state. It is congruent with the administratively not existent area of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, the Regierungsbezirk was created in 1947 when the former state of Lippe was incorporated into North Rhine-Westphalia by merging the former Regierungsbezirk Minden with the territory of Lippe-Detmold. The Regierungsbezirk Minden dates back to 1815, when the municipality type Regierungsbezirk was created initially, the Regierungsbezirk Detmold is located in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia and therefore it forms the area where the German low mountains are divided from the North German Plain. As the Regierungsbezirk has an expanse of circa 6,500 km² it is one fifth of the area of North Rhine-Westphalia, North and east of the Regierungsbezirk there is the German state of Lower Saxony, south there is the state of Hessen. At the western border there is the Regierungsbezirk of Arnsberg and the Regierungsbezirk of Münster, the administration is located in Detmold in the district of Lippe. Since 21 July 2005 Marianne Thomann-Stahl is the leader of the administration, the Regierungsbezirk consists of six districts with 69 municipalities, and of one district-free city. The Regierungsbezirk Detmold has two roots, the East Westphalian part belonged to the former Prussian Province of Westphalia. In 1946 the Prussian Province formed the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia along with the northern Rhineland, the region roughly around the todays district of Lippe was called Land Lippe until 1947 and it was a separate German State just like Prussia. Until 1918 it had been a principality, then a Free State and so it has a different historical background than East Westphalia
16.
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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Borken (district)
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Borken is a Kreis in the northwestern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in the Münster region. Neighboring districts are Steinfurt, Coesfeld, Recklinghausen, Wesel, Cleves, Bentheim in the Lower Saxony, during the era of the Holy Roman Empire the area was subordinate to the Prince-Bishopric of Münster for centuries. In 1803 the bishops lost this territory, and the short-lived Principality of Salm was founded, after the Napoleonic Wars the region became a part of the Prussian province of Westphalia in 1815. At that time the district was created, together with the district Ahaus, in 1923 the city Bocholt left the district and became a district-free city. In 1975 the district got its current size by incorporating the district Ahaus, the district is located in the western part of the Münsterland, a rather flat and rural area. Media related to Kreis Borken at Wikimedia Commons Official Website
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Coesfeld (district)
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Coesfeld is a Kreis in the northwestern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, west of the city of Münster. Neighboring districts are Steinfurt, district-free Münster, Warendorf, district-free Hamm, Unna, in medieval times the region was subordinate to the bishopric of Münster. When the area part of the Prussian province Westphalia in 1816 the new administration created two districts, Coesfeld and Lüdinghausen. Except minor changes they stayed until the reorganization in 1975 when both were merged to form the current district. A few municipalities from the district Münster were also added, while others formerly belonging to the district were moved to neighboring districts, the district is located in the Münsterland, a mostly rural area. The Lippe River forms part of the border of the district in the south, media related to Kreis Coesfeld at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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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
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Herford (district)
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Herford is a Kreis in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Minden-Lübbecke, Lippe, the district of Bielefeld. The region is known as Wittekinds land, as the last fights of Wittekinds Saxon tribes against Charlemagne took place here. He is believed to be buried in the town of Enger, when the area became part of the Prussian province Westphalia, the first district Herford was created in 1816. In 1832 it was merged with the district Bünde, in 1911, the city of Herford left the district, however, it lost its status as an independent urban district in 1969. The district reached its current size in 1973 when the municipality Uffeln, the district is located between the three mountain chains of the Wiehen Hills in the north and the Teutoburg Forest in the south. To the northeast it is bounded by the Weser river, media related to Kreis Herford 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
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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
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Paderborn (district)
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Paderborn is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Gütersloh, Lippe, Höxter, Hochsauerland, Paderborn was part of the Bishopric of Paderborn until it was included into Prussia in 1802. After the Napoleonic wars when Prussia created the province Westphalia it also created five districts covering the area of the previous state - Brakel, Büren, Höxter, Paderborn. In 1975 Paderborn and Büren districts were merged to the current Paderborn district, at the same time the towns and municipalities in the district were merged to form the todays ten towns municipalities. It is a district with urban municipalities. The Paderborn district is located at the slope of the Teutoburg Forest, west of the Eggegebirge. The highest elevation is on the side of the Totenkopf at the border near Bleiwäsche. The main river in the district is the Lippe, which has its source in Bad Lippspringe, the red cross in chief of the coat of arms symbolizes the clerical state Paderborn, the historic precursor of todays district. The wave line stands for the rivers in the district. The symbol in the field derives from the Lords of Büren, media related to Kreis Paderborn at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Recklinghausen (district)
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Recklinghausen is a Kreis in the centre of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is surrounded by the districts of Borken, Coesfeld, Unna, Gelsenkirchen, Bottrop. The district administration is located in the city of the same name, apart from the Region Hannover, Kreis Recklingshausen is the largest non-city district in Germany by population. During medieval times, the area surrounding present-day Recklinghausen was known as Vest Recklinghausen, from 1446 to 1576, this area was leased to the lordship of Gemen and Schaumburg-Lippe. In 1811, the territory was added to the Grand Duchy of Berg, the district was created in 1816. After several changes it obtained its present borders with the last reorganizations of 1975-76 and it is also one of the oldest districts located in Germany. The district Recklinghausen is located at the north of the Ruhr area with the parts of Ruhr area to the south. The Lippe River flows through the district, landstinget Sörmland, Sweden Media related to Kreis Recklinghausen at Wikimedia Commons, Official website Official mapserver Corpus juris of the county of Recklinghausen
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Siegen-Wittgenstein
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Siegen-Wittgenstein is a Kreis in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Olpe, Hochsauerlandkreis, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Lahn-Dill, Westerwaldkreis, in 1816–1817, the two districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein were created as parts of the Prussian province of Westphalia. In 1974, the two districts were merged, and in 1984 the name Siegen-Wittgenstein was adopted, geographically, it covers the hills southeast of the Sauerland hills, the Siegerland and Wittgensteiner Land. The two upper sections show, to the right, the arms of the Dukes of Nassau, who founded Siegen, and to the left, at the bottom a miners lamp and a coppicing hook are depicted, in reference to the mining and charcoal-burning history of the district. Media related to Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein at Wikimedia Commons Official webpage History and genealogy for Wittgenstein
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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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Steinfurt (district)
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Steinfurt is a Kreis in the northern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bentheim, Emsland, district-free Osnabrück and the Osnabrück district, Warendorf, district-free Münster, Coesfeld, the district is situated at the Lower Saxon border, north of Münster. The Ems river runs through the district south to north. The highest point in the region is the Westerbecker Berg at 234 metres above sea level, in late medieval times Steinfurt became an independent earldom. Originally it was a part of the earldom of Bentheim, before it became independent in 1454, in 1804 Steinfurt was reunited with Bentheim, before it became a part of the Prussian province of Westphalia in 1815. The new government in 1816 created the districts Steinfurt and Tecklenburg, in 1975, the old district Steinfurt was merged with the district Tecklenburg, and together with Greven and Saerbeck from the former district Münster the current district was formed. Steinfurt is twinned with, Ealing Media related to Kreis Steinfurt at Wikimedia Commons Official website Corpus juris of the Principality of Münster / Steinfurt, Anholt, Gemen
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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
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Warendorf (district)
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Warendorf is a Kreis in the northern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Steinfurt, Osnabrück, Gütersloh, Soest, district-free city Hamm, Coesfeld, in medieval times the region was part of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. When it became part of the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the new government in 1816 created the districts of Warendorf, in 1975 these two districts were merged to form todays district. The district is located east of the city of Münster, the Ems river runs through the district from east to west. The Lippe River forms part of the border of the district. Media related to Kreis Warendorf at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Bielefeld
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Bielefeld is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 336,352, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold, the historical centre of the city is situated north of the Teutoburg Forest line of hills, but modern Bielefeld also incorporates boroughs on the opposite side and on the hills. Bielefeld is home to a significant number of operating companies, including Dr. Oetker, Gildemeister. It has a university and several Fachhochschulen, Bielefeld is also famous for the Bethel Institution, and for the Bielefeld Conspiracy, which satirises conspiracy theories by claiming that Bielefeld does not exist. This concept has been used in the marketing and alluded to by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a crossing the Teutoburg Forest. After the Cologne-Minden railway opened in 1849, the Bozi brothers constructed the first large mechanised spinning mill in 1851, the Ravensberg Spinning Mill was built from 1854 to 1857, and metal works began to open in the 1860s. Between 1904 and 1930, Bielefeld grew, opening a railway station, a municipal theatre, and finally. The Dürkopp car was produced 1898-1927 and these pieces were issued by the Bielefeld Stadtsparkasse and were sent all around the world in the early 1920s. These pieces are known as Stoffgeld – that is, money made from fabric, nazi Germany The towns synagogue was burned in 1938. In 1944, B-17 Flying Fortresses bombed Bielefeld on September 20 and October 7, american troops entered the city in April 1945. The British presence was scaled back after the reunification of Germany. In 1973 the first villages on the side of the Teutoburg Forest were incorporated. In Bielefeld, the annual high temperature is 14 °C, the annual low temperature is 6 °C. Bielefeld was a town, and in the early 1920s the Towns Savings Bank issued money made of linen, silk. These items were known as stoffgeld, in addition to the manufacture of home appliances and various heavy industries, Bielefeld companies include Dr. Oetker, Möller Group, Seidensticker and Bethel Institution with 17.000 employees. Bielefeld University was founded in 1969, among its first professors was the notable contemporary German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. Two major autobahns, the A2 and A33, intersect in the south east of Bielefeld, the Ostwestfalendamm expressway connects the two parts of the city, naturally divided by the Teutoburg Forest
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Bochum
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Bochum is a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and part of the Arnsberg region. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, with a population of nearly 365,000, it is the 16th most populous city in Germany. The city lies on the low rolling hills of Bochum land ridge, the highest point of the city is at Kemnader Straße in Stiepel at 196 metres above sea level, the lowest point is 43 metres at the Blumenkamp in Hordel. The terrain of Bochum is characterised by rolling hills that rarely have more than three per cent graduation, the city extends north to south 13 km and 17.1 km east to west. The circumference of the city limits is 67.2 km, There is sedimentary rock of carbon and chalk. The geological strata can be visited in the quarry of the Zeche Klosterbusch. The urban area is divided into the river Ruhr catchment in the south, the Ruhr tributaries are the Oelbach, Gerther Mühlenbach, Harpener Bach, Langendreer Bach, Lottenbach, Hörsterholzer Bach and the Knöselbach. The Ruhr in combination with upstream reservoirs is used for drinking water abstraction. The Emscher tributaries are Hüller Bach with Dorneburger Mühlenbach, Hofsteder Bach, Marbach, Ahbach, Kabeisemannsbach, the ecological restoration of the Emscher tributaries initiated by the Emschergenossenschaft started with the Internationale Bauausstellung Emscher Park in 1989. The citys south has woods, the best known of which are the Weitmarer Holz and these are generally mixed forests of oak and beech. The occurrence of holly gives evidence of Bochums temperate climate, Bochum is divided into six administrative districts with a total of 362,213 inhabitants living in an urban area of 145.4 km2. Bochum-Mitte includes Innenstadt, Hamme, Hordel, Hofstede, Riemke, Grumme, Wattenscheid includes Wattenscheid-Mitte, Leithe, Günnigfeld, Westenfeld, Sevinghausen, Höntrop, Munscheid and Eppendorf. There are 74,602 inhabitants living in an area of 23.87 km², North includes Bergen, Gerthe, Harpen, Kornharpen, Hiltrop and Voede-Abzweig. There are 37,004 inhabitants living in an area of 18.86 km², East includes Laer, Werne, and Langendreer. There are 55,193 inhabitants living in an area of 23.46 km², south includes Wiemelhausen, Stiepel and Querenburg. There are 50,866 inhabitants living in an area of 27.11 km², southwest includes Weitmar, Sundern, Linden and Dahlhausen. There are 56,510 inhabitants living in an area of 19.50 km², Bochum dates from the 9th century, when Charlemagne set up a royal court at the junction of two important trade routes. It was first officially mentioned in 1041 as Cofbuokheim in a document of the archbishops of Cologne, the population of Bochum increased from about 4,500 in 1850 to 100,000 in 1904
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Bottrop
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Bottrop is a city in west central Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, the city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives, chemicals, textiles, and machinery. Bottrop grew as a mining center beginning in the 1860s, was chartered as a city in 1921, in 1975 it unified with the neighbour communities of Gladbeck and Kirchhellen, but Gladbeck left it in 1976, leading to Kirchhellen becoming a district of Bottrop as Bottrop-Kirchhellen. The total area of the territory is about 101 square kilometres. The longest north-south distance is 17 kilometres, and from west to east 9 kilometres, the highest peak within the citys territory is 78 metres, the lowest one being 26 metres above sea level. Bottrop is divided into 3 boroughs, they are, Bottrop-Mitte, Bottrop-Süd and Bottrop-Kirchhellen, each one having a borough representation and they are 11 Altstadt 12 Nord-Ost 13 Süd-West 21 Fuhlenbrock-Heide 22 Fuhlenbrock-Wald From 1919 until 1976 Kirchhellen was its own town. From 1976 until 1978 it was a part of GlaBotKi, in 1978 Kirchhellen became part of Bottrop. Most of Kirchhellen is Catholic - there are three churches there, the Quadrat is a Museum housing permanent exhibitis on local history and displaying works by Josef Albers as well as many temporary exhibitions. City Hall is regarded as the emblem of the city, saalbau, convention center Alpincenter - the worlds longest indoor ski slope Tetraeder - a 50 m tall walkable steel tetrahedron, placed on a 90 m slag heap. It has been the landmark since its construction in 1995. bottrop-portal. de Informations about Bottrop with Images, facts. Media related to Bottrop at Wikimedia Commons
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Gelsenkirchen
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Gelsenkirchen is a city in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. It is located in the part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2015 was c, Gelsenkirchen was first documented in 1150, but it remained a tiny village until the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution led to the growth of the entire area. In 1840, when the mining of coal began,6,000 inhabitants lived in Gelsenkirchen, in the early 20th century, Gelsenkirchen was the most important coal mining town in Europe. It was called the city of a thousand fires for the flames of mine gasses flaring at night, in 1928, Gelsenkirchen was merged with the adjoining cities of Buer and Horst. The city bore the name Gelsenkirchen-Buer, until it was renamed Gelsenkirchen in 1930, during the Nazi era Gelsenkirchen remained a centre of coal production and oil refining, and for this reason it was bombed in Allied air raids during World War II. There are no longer colliers in Gelsenkirchen with the city searching for a new image, today Germanys largest solar power plant is located in the city. In Gelsenkirchen-Scholven there is a power station with the tallest chimneys in Germany. Gelsenkirchen is home of the football club Schalke 04, which is named after the borough Schalke, while the clubs stadium. They did not live in houses as such, but in small yards gathered together near each other, later, the Romans pushed into the area. In about 700, the region was settled by the Saxons, a few other parts of town which today lie in Gelsenkirchens north end were mentioned in documents from the early Middle Ages, some examples being, Raedese, Middelvic, Sutheim and Sculven. Many nearby farming communities were identified as iuxta Bure. It was about 1150 when the name Gelstenkerken or Geilistirinkirkin appeared up for the first time, at about the same time, the first church in town was built in what is now Buer. This ecclesia Buron was listed in a directory of churches by the sexton from Deutz. This settlement belonged to the Mark, however, in ancient times and even in the Middle Ages, only a few dozen people actually lived in the settlements around the Emscher basin. Up until the middle of the 19th century, the area in and around Gelsenkirchen was only thinly settled and almost exclusively agrarian. In 1815, after belonging to the Grand Duchy of Berg, the land now comprising the city of Gelsenkirchen passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. This arrangement came to an end only in 1928, in 1868, Gelsenkirchen became the seat of an Amt within the Bochum district which encompassed the communities of Gelsenkirchen, Braubauerschaft, Schalke, Heßler, Bulmke and Hüllen
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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
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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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Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia
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Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen, like most other cities in the region, Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century. Herne is located on the axis between Bochum to the South and Recklinghausen to the North, Münster yet further North, Gelsenkirchen to the West and Castrop-Rauxel. The physical border between Herne and Recklinghausen in fact is, and has been for a time, the bridge at the Bochumer Strasse across the Rhine-Herne Canal. After World War II Herne was known as Die Goldene Stadt because of the limited damage suffered during World War II. In reference to the Kreuzkirche, if you will, but seems to be obliterated, razed, eliminated, forgotten. Herne, Wanne and Eickel as well as independent settlements or villages like Baukau, Börnig, Crange. Farms bearing these names were probably or possibly founded in the 11th and 12th centuries and were integrated at one time or another into the city of Herne. In 1860 the first of a number of coal mines started operating. In the following thirty years the population increased twentyfold, for the first time, Herne would be called a city. The same process took place in Wanne and Eickel, the two of which merged in 1926 to form the new city of Wanne-Eickel. In 1975 Wanne-Eickel, by then a city with over 70,000 inhabitants, was incorporated into Herne, Herne was targeted by the RAF on 4 June 1940, early in World War II, and air-raids became daily and nightly occurrences. On one occasion, three high-explosive torpedo-bombs were dropped, severely damaging a number of houses in the Vincke-Strasse and resulting in the deaths of all the inhabitants, phosphorus bombs were dropped in several locations and caused fires that lasted for days. Herne was probably targeted because of the coal mines as well as the Rhein-Herne Kanal with two double chambered locks at that time, within the city-confines of Herne and at the Northern edge. Goldfinger and Otto Normalverbraucher star Gerd Fröbe is or was a native of Wanne-Eickel, the Krupp Treibstoffwerke oil refinery near the local Shamrock ¾ coal mine was bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. A fair called Cranger Kirmes is held in the citys Crange district every first week of August and this is the second largest carnival in Germany with an average of around 4,500,000 visitors. Its origins can be traced back to the 15th century, when farmers started trading horses on Saint Lawrence’s Day and that is why the official opening always takes place on the first Friday in August. The horse market tradition is kept up, by arranging a horse show, today there are about 500 stalls every year covering 111,000 square metres, meaning that it takes a 5 kilometre walk to see the whole fairground
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Province of Westphalia
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The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813 and this state shared only the name with the historical region, containing mostly Hessian and Eastphalian regions and only a relatively small part of the region of Westphalia. Although Prussia had long owned territory in Westphalia, King Frederick William III had preferred to incorporate the Kingdom of Saxony first and it was not until the Congress of Vienna in 1815 that the Province of Westphalia came into being. The Sayn-Wittgensteiner principalities of Hohenstein and Berleburg, along with the principality of Nassau-Siegen In 1816, the Prussian central government appointed upper presidents as their representatives in the province, supervising the implementation of central prerogatives in Westphalia. Between 1920 and 1933 their appointment needed the consent of the provincial diet, the provincial diet, until 1886 represented by the Westphalian estates of the realm elected their president titled land captain. These districts and cities then formed the corporation called the provincial federation. The elected speaker of the diet, first titled land director. Between 1920 and 1933 the provincial diet was directly elected by the Westphalian elctorate, kolbow was still elected, by a provincial diet dominated by Nazi mandataries, his successors were appointed, with the diet officially dissolved in 1934
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Early Middle Ages
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The Early Middle Ages marked the start of the Middle Ages of European history, lasting from the 6th to the 10th century CE. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the Early Middle Ages largely overlap with Late Antiquity. The term Late Antiquity is used to emphasize elements of continuity with the Roman Empire, the period saw a continuation of trends begun during late classical antiquity, including population decline, especially in urban centres, a decline of trade, and increased immigration. The period has been labelled the Dark Ages, a characterization highlighting the relative scarcity of literary and cultural output from this time, especially in Northwestern Europe. However, the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, continued to survive, many of these trends were reversed later in the period. In 800 the title of emperor was revived in Western Europe by Charlemagne, whose Carolingian Empire greatly affected later European social structure, Europe experienced a return to systematic agriculture in the form of the feudal system, which introduced such innovations as three-field planting and the heavy plow. Barbarian migration stabilized in much of Europe, although Northern Europe was greatly affected by the Viking expansion, starting in the 2nd century, various indicators of Roman civilization began to decline, including urbanization, seaborne commerce, and population. Archaeologists have identified only 40 percent as many Mediterranean shipwrecks from the 3rd century as from the first, estimates of the population of the Roman Empire during the period from 150 to 400 suggest a fall from 65 million to 50 million, a decline of more than 20 percent. Some scholars have connected this de-population to the Dark Ages Cold Period, Early in the 3rd century Germanic peoples migrated south from Scandinavia and reached the Black Sea, creating formidable confederations which opposed the local Sarmatians. In Dacia and on the north of the Black Sea the Goths. The arrival of the Huns in 372–375 ended the history of these kingdoms, the Huns, a confederation of central Asian tribes, founded an empire with a Turkic-speaking aristocracy. They had mastered the art of shooting composite recurve bows from horseback. The Goths sought refuge in Roman territory, agreeing to enter the Empire as unarmed settlers, however many bribed the Danube border-guards into allowing them to bring their weapons. The discipline and organization of a Roman legion made it a fighting unit. The Romans preferred infantry to cavalry because infantry could be trained to retain the formation in combat, while cavalry tended to scatter when faced with opposition. While a barbarian army could be raised and inspired by the promise of plunder, the legions required a government and taxation to pay for salaries, constant training, equipment. The decline in agricultural and economic activity reduced the empires taxable income, in the Gothic War, the Goths revolted and confronted the main Roman army in the Battle of Adrianople. The general decline in discipline also led to the use of smaller shields, not wanting to share the glory, Eastern Emperor Valens ordered an attack on the Therving infantry under Fritigern without waiting for Western Emperor Gratian, who was on the way with reinforcements
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Demonym
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A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
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Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
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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
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German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
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Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
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Free State of Prussia
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The Free State of Prussia was a German state formed after the abolition of the Kingdom of Prussia in the aftermath of the First World War. It was the state of the German Reich during the time of the Weimar Republic, comprising almost 5⁄8 of its territory. Free state is another German term for republic that was coined in contrast to the Latin word, the democratic Free State of Prussia was rendered incapacitated when it was taken over by the Preußenschlag of 1932–33 and Otto Braun was forced from office. His government went to court over this ouster, but in 1933 the Nazi regime seized control of the Prussian government, from 1933, the Free State was deprived of parliamentary democracy and ruled exclusively under the leadership of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Initially, Prussia was administered by high-ranking Nazi Hermann Göring who was appointed Minister-President of Prussia, after the end of World War II Otto Braun approached US officials to reinstate the legal Prussian government. They and the other Allied Occupation forces, who had occupied all of Germany, were opposed to the idea, except for its overseas colonies, Alsace-Lorraine and the Bavarian portion of the Saargebiet, all German territorial losses as a result of World War I were Prussian losses. As specified in the Treaty of Versailles, the kingdom lost territory to Belgium, Denmark. The Saargebiet was administered by the League of Nations until 1935, the Rhine Province became a demilitarised zone. The bulk of Prussias losses were to Poland, including most of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia, Danzig was placed under the administration of the League of Nations as the Free City of Danzig. These losses separated East Prussia from the rest of the country, in particular, it was thought that the French would seek to annex the Rhineland. Both the Reich and Prussian governments in Berlin were dominated by traditionalist sentiment, essentially, apart from its territorial losses and having its government placed on a democratic footing, Prussia continued unchanged. It remained by far the largest state of the Reich, with more territory, during the 500 years of Hohenzollern rule, Prussia had been synonymous with authoritarianism. In contrast, Prussia was a bulwark of democracy during the Weimar Republic, the restrictive Prussian three-class franchise was abolished shortly after Kaiser William II abdicated. Power now passed from the Junker landowners and great industrialists to Red Berlin, Prussia now became a stronghold of the left. From 1919 to 1932, Prussia was governed by a coalition of the Social Democrats, Catholic Centre, unlike in other states of the German Reich, majority rule by democratic parties in Prussia was never endangered. Otto Braun, a Social Democrat from East Prussia, served as Prussian minister-president almost continuously from 1920 to 1932. A capable leader, he implemented several trend-setting reforms together with his minister of the interior, Carl Severing, for instance, a Prussian minister-president could be forced out of office only if there was a positive majority for a potential successor. This concept, known as the vote of no confidence, was carried over into the Basic Law of the FRG
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