Bestwig is a municipality in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany .
6-524: Bestwig is situated on the river Ruhr , approx. 10 km east of Meschede . It lies on the German Autobahn A 46 . Bestwig has a railway station, connecting the town through local trains to Dortmund Hauptbahnhof , Winterberg and Hagen Hauptbahnhof . Since 2009, the municipality is officially divided into 6 so-called Ortschaften , each containing of one to five villages ( Ortsteile ). Bestwig, surrounded by many acres of pine tree forests,
12-455: Is a centre of Christmas tree production . Tourism , however, is the most important source of income. The Sauerland forests are popular among hikers and, in winter, skiing is possible. Bestwig has no official partnership with another town, but has close to ties to Niederorschel ( Thuringia , Germany ) and Niederwiesa ( Saxony , Germany ). The coat of arms shows a silver Saint Andrew's Cross on blue ground. The Saint Andrew's Cross
18-631: Is a reference to the patron of the parish church in Velmede, Saint Andrew . The colors silver and blue show the allegiance to the former county of Arnsberg. Ruhr (river) The Ruhr is a river in western Germany ( North Rhine-Westphalia ), a right tributary (east-side) of the Rhine . The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 670 metres (2,200 ft). It flows into
24-705: The Ruhr from 1923 to 1924 by French forces, due to the Weimar Republic 's failure to continue paying reparations from World War I , provoked passive resistance , which saw production in the factories grind to a halt. As a result, the German hyperinflation crisis grew even worse. During World War II , two of the dams on the Ruhr, the Möhne Dam and the Sorpe Dam were targets for Operation Chastise , in which special "bouncing bombs" were developed to take out
30-611: The lower Rhine at an elevation of only 17 metres (56 ft) in the municipal area of Duisburg . Its total length is 219 km (136 mi), its average discharge is 79 cubic metres per second (2,800 cu ft/s) at Mülheim near its mouth. Thus, its discharge is, for example, comparable to that of the river Ems in Northern Germany or the River Thames in the United Kingdom . The Ruhr first passes
36-484: The towns of Meschede , Arnsberg , Wickede , Fröndenberg , Holzwickede , Iserlohn , and Schwerte . Then the river marks the southern limit of the Ruhr area , passing Hagen , Dortmund , Herdecke , Wetter , Witten , Bochum , Hattingen , Essen , Mülheim , and Duisburg . The Ruhr area was Germany's primary industrial area during the early- to mid-20th century. Most factories were located there. The occupation of
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