Hochsauerlandkreis

Hochsauerlandkreis
District
Country  Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Adm. region Arnsberg
Capital Meschede
Area
  Total 1,958.71 km2 (756.26 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2014)[1]
  Total 261,561
  Density 130/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration HSK
Website http://www.hochsauerlandkreis.de

Hochsauerlandkreis (meaning “High Sauerland District” in German) is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest, Paderborn, Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, Märkischer Kreis.

The district is named “High Sauerland” because two of the highest mountains of the Sauerland, Langenberg and Kahler Asten are in its territory. With 2,766 (Langenberg) and 2,762 ft (Kahler Asten) these are also the highest mountains of North Rhine-Westphalia.

History

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.

Geography

Geographically the district covers a big part of the Sauerland mountains, including the highest and third highest elevation – the Langenberg near Olsberg with 843 m, and the better known Kahler Asten with 842 m near Winterberg. These are also the two highest mountains of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was inherited from the former district Arnsberg. It shows the eagle as the symbol of the Earls of Arnsberg. When their county lost independence in 1368 it fell to the bishops of Cologne, thus the sign on the breast of the eagle shows the Cologne cross.

Towns and municipalities

Towns Municipalities
  1. Arnsberg (73,897)
  2. Brilon (25,644)
  3. Hallenberg (4,435)
  4. Marsberg (20,110)
  5. Medebach (7,876)
  1. Meschede (30,358)
  2. Olsberg (21,577)
  3. Schmallenberg (25,149)
  4. Sundern (28,165)
  5. Winterberg (12,918)
  1. Bestwig (11,446)
  2. Eslohe (8,936)

Town twinnings

Hochsauerland is twinned with the following cities:

Notable persons

Notable places

References

  1. "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 23 September 2015.
  2. Herzlich willkommen Bergkloster Bestwig im Hochsauerlandkreis/Nordrhein-Westfalen
  3. Anfahrt mit der Bahn

External links

Media related to Hochsauerlandkreis at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 51°15′N 8°20′E / 51.25°N 8.33°E / 51.25; 8.33

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.