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 2012)[1]
• Total	263,720
• 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 "Higher 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.

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 two highest elevations - the Langenberg near Olsberg with 843m, and the better known Kahler Asten with 842m near Winterberg.

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

Town twinnings

Hochsauerland is twinned with the following cities:

• Livingston

Notable persons

• Franz Hoffmeister (died 1943), Roman Catholic priest

Notable places

• Abbey Bergkloster, Bestwig ^[2]
• Abbey Grafschaft, Schmallenberg
• Abbey Königsmünster, Meschede ^[3]

References

1. ↑ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 31 July 2013. 
2. ↑ Herzlich willkommen Bergkloster Bestwig im Hochsauerlandkreis/Nordrhein-Westfalen
3. ↑ Anfahrt mit der Bahn

External links

Media related to Hochsauerlandkreis at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (German)
• Touristic website (German)

v t e Urban and rural districts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany Urban districts Bielefeld Bochum Bonn Bottrop Dortmund Duisburg Düsseldorf Essen Gelsenkirchen Hagen Hamm Herne Köln (Cologne) Krefeld Leverkusen Mönchengladbach Mülheim Münster Oberhausen Remscheid Solingen Wuppertal Rural districts Aachen Borken Coesfeld Düren Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis Euskirchen Gütersloh Heinsberg Herford Hochsauerlandkreis Höxter Kleve (Cleves) Lippe Märkischer Kreis Mettmann Minden-Lübbecke Oberbergischer Kreis Olpe Paderborn Recklinghausen Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis Rhein-Erft-Kreis Rhein-Kreis Neuss Rhein-Sieg-Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein Soest Steinfurt Unna Viersen Warendorf Wesel

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