Herford (district)

Herford
District
Country  Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Adm. region Detmold
Capital Herford
Area
 • Total 449.95 km2 (173.73 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2015)[1]
 • Total 252,122
 • Density 560/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration HF
Website http://www.kreis-herford.de

Herford (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛʁfɔʁt]) is a Kreis (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Minden-Lübbecke, Lippe, the urban district of Bielefeld, and the districts Gütersloh and Osnabrück.

History

The region is also known as Wittekind's land, as the last fights of Wittekind's 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, which was formerly in the district Minden, was merged into the city Vlotho.

Geography

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.

Coat of arms

The black horse of Wittekind is depicted in the coat of arms of the district. After Wittekind was baptized Charlemagne gave him a white horse as present, which is now in the coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

Towns and municipalities

Towns Municipalities
  1. Bünde
  2. Enger
  3. Herford
  4. Löhne
  5. Spenge
  6. Vlotho
  1. Hiddenhausen
  2. Kirchlengern
  3. Rödinghausen

References

  1. ↑ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 18 July 2016.

Media related to Kreis Herford at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 52°10′N 8°35′E / 52.167°N 8.583°E / 52.167; 8.583

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/21/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.