Porta Westfalica

Porta Westfalica

View over Porta Westfalica to the Weser hills

Coat of arms
Porta Westfalica

Coordinates: 52°13′0″N 8°56′0″E / 52.21667°N 8.93333°E / 52.21667; 8.93333Coordinates: 52°13′0″N 8°56′0″E / 52.21667°N 8.93333°E / 52.21667; 8.93333
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region Detmold
District Minden-Lübbecke
Government
 • Mayor Stephan Böhme (SPD)
Area
 • Total 105 km2 (41 sq mi)
Elevation 46 - 303 m (−948 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
 • Total 35,430
 • Density 340/km2 (870/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 32457
Dialling codes 0571, 05706, 05722, 05731, 05751
Vehicle registration MI
Website www.porta-westfalica.de

Porta Westfalica is a town in the district of Minden-Lübbecke, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

The name "Porta Westfalica" is Latin and means "gate to Westphalia". Coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of Westphalia. The name was coined by scholars of the 19th century.

History

The town Porta Westfalica was established in 1973 by merging fifteen villages surrounding the gorge. The centre of the modern town is the former village of Hausberge, which was first mentioned in 1096.

The Emperor William Monument was erected near the town by the then Prussian Province of Westphalia between 1892 and 1896[2] The monument, which is around 88 metres[2] high, is classified as one of Germany’s national monuments.

From March 18, 1944 until April 1, 1945 a concentration camp was established in the Barkhausen quarter.[3] From February 1, 1945 until April 1, 1945 a camp was used in the Hausberge quarter.[4] In the Lerbeck quarter also was a concentration camp in use from October 1, 1944 until April 1, 1945.[5] In the Neesen quarter was a location for the forced labour for some of the inmates.[6] All of these camps were subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp.

On 10 January 2015, Belgian footballer Junior Malanda died in a car accident near the town, aged 20.[7]

Geography

Porta Westfalica is situated on the right bank of the Weser (except for the Barkhausen quarter), near the Porta Westfalica gorge, where the river runs through the passage between the mountain chains of the Wiehen Hills in the west and the Weser Uplands in the east. The gorge appears like a gate to the region Westphalia, which lies to the south of it. It is overlooked by the Jakobsberg and Wittekindsberg hills.

View of Porta Westfalica from a postcard dated 1904.

Neighbouring places

Division of the town

The town of Porta Westfalica consists of 15 districts:

  • Hausberge (5,255 inhabitants)
  • Lohfeld (1,487 inhabitants)
  • Barkhausen (4,143 inhabitants)
  • Neesen (2,455 inhabitants)
  • Lerbeck (3,724 inhabitants)
  • Nammen (2,398 inhabitants)
  • Wülpke (664 inhabitants)
  • Kleinenbremen (2,691 inhabitants)
  • Eisbergen (3,673 inhabitants)
  • Veltheim (2,838 inhabitants)
  • Möllbergen (1,706 inhabitants)
  • Holtrup (1,089 inhabitants)
  • Vennebeck (1,064 inhabitants)
  • Costedt (494 inhabitants)
  • Holzhausen (4,287 inhabitants)

Twin Towns

Monument of Kaiser Wilhelm I

Buildings and structures

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 18 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 Information board with the title Emperor William Monument at the northern approach to the monument at commons.wikimedia.org
  3. ↑ The camp is listed as No. 77 Barkhausen official German list.
  4. ↑ The camp is listed as No. 585 Hausberge a.d. Porta in the official German list.
  5. ↑ The camp is listed as No. 843 Lerbeck/Westfalen in the official German list.
  6. ↑ The location is listed as No. 1024 Neesen, Kreis Minden, in the official German list.
  7. ↑ "Junior Malanda funeral draws over 1,000 mourners including Wolfsburg team-mate Kevin de Bruyne". Daily Mail. Press Association. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

References

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