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129-410: The Littfe is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany in the township of Kreuztal ( Westphalia ). Its length is 12.7 kilometres (7.9 mi). The well is southeast of Welschen-Ennest (a part of Kirchhundem ) in the village of Burgholdinghausen . Littfe flows through Littfeld , the village that has got its name by the river, Krombach and Eichen . In the centre of Kreuztal it flows into

258-483: A three-union strike  [ de ] , although the Christian Miners' Union refused to lend its support. As a result, strike participation reached only about 60%. The strike was prosecuted with great bitterness and violent riots led the police and military to intervene in the end. The strike eventually broke up without success. Alongside the miners, Westphalian workers in other areas also participated in

387-545: A border with North Rhine-Westphalia: North Rhine-Westphalia has a population of approximately 18.1 million inhabitants (more than the entire former East Germany , and slightly more than the Netherlands ) and is centred around the polycentric Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region , which includes the industrial Ruhr region with the largest city of Dortmund and the Rhenish cities of Bonn , Cologne and Düsseldorf . 30 of

516-792: A deep of 293 m below sea level. At the same time, this is the deepest human-made dip in Germany. The most important rivers flowing at least partially through North Rhine-Westphalia include: the Rhine , the Ruhr , the Ems , the Lippe , and the Weser . The Rhine is by far the most important river in North Rhine-Westphalia: it enters the state as Middle Rhine near Bad Honnef, where still being part of

645-562: A framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. The two main parties are, as on the federal level, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party . From 1966 to 2005, North Rhine-Westphalia was continuously governed by the Social Democrats or SPD-led governments. The state's legislative body is the Landtag ("state parliament house"). It may pass laws within

774-544: A general election to elect at least 181 members of the Landtag. Only parties who win at least 5% of the votes cast may be represented in parliament. The Landtag, the parliamentary parties and groups consisting of at least 7 members of parliament have the right to table legal proposals to the Landtag for deliberation. The law that is passed by the Landtag is delivered to the Minister-President, who, together with

903-399: A long civic heritage to look back on, places like Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen grew from small villages to major centres in a matter of decades. Other settlements that became major industrial cities included Witten , Hamm , Iserlohn , Lüdenscheid , and Hagen (now on the edge of the mining area), as well as Bielefeld . A characteristic of the rapidly growing industrial cities was

1032-521: A profitable economic sector everywhere. In many places, yields at the beginning of the nineteenth century were insufficient to support the growing population. The number of poor and landless peasants grew. Many of them sought opportunities to work outside their home regions. Travelling merchants like the Kiepenkerl and the Sauerland peddlers  [ de ] became a symbol of the region. In

1161-472: A range of other territories that had previously been independent principalities. The population included a large population of Catholics, a significant development for Prussia, which had hitherto been almost entirely Protestant. The politics of the province in the early nineteenth century saw local expectations of Prussian reforms, increased self-government, and a constitution largely stymied. The Revolutions of 1848 led to an effervescence of political activity in

1290-627: A relatively small part of Westphalia, consisting instead mostly of Hessian and Eastphalian regions. After the Congress of Vienna , the Kingdom of Prussia received a large amount of territory in the Westphalian region and created the province of Westphalia in 1815. The northernmost portions of the former kingdom, including the town of Osnabrück , had become part of the states of Hanover and Oldenburg . The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia

1419-676: A result, some of the pre-industrial areas in Westphalia became marginal and were only able to succeed by concentrating on particular products (e.g. lead production in Hüsten  [ de ] ). Even more new pit mines and mining companies were established in the Ruhr region in the following years, such as the Schalker Verein  [ de ] . Moreover, older factories grew into massive enterprises with several thousand employees. By

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1548-444: A room for only a couple of hours a day) were common. Corporations sought to plug this gap to some extent with company housing or workers' settlements. The ulterior motive for this was the creation of a workforce that was loyal to the corporation and would not engage with the labour movement . The population growth led to the development of a number of towns and villages into large cities. While some cities, like Dortmund and Bochum, had

1677-663: A sustainable manner. Only a few places, like Schmallenberg with its concentration on sock production  [ de ] , saw new industrial developments. The expansion of mining in the region  [ de ] also slowed. As the nineteenth century progressed, the coal mining industry in the Ruhr grew ever stronger. In the 1850s, Hermannshütte, Rothe Erde, Aplerbecker Hütte  [ de ] , Hörder Bergwerks- und Hütten-Verein  [ de ] , and Henrichshütte  [ de ] in Hattingen were established. As

1806-584: A willingness to make concessions, the strike gradually petered out. The strike in the Westphalian and Rheinish coal mining areas provided a model for miners in Sauerland, the Aachen coalfields  [ de ] , and even in Silesia in the same year. Moreover, the strike had clearly shown that organisation was necessary to advocate for workers' interests. On 18 August 1889, what which would later be known as

1935-643: Is below the national average in GRDP per capita . The state of North Rhine-Westphalia was established by the British military administration 's "Operation Marriage" on 23 August 1946 by merging the province of Westphalia and the northern parts of the Rhine Province , both being political divisions of the former state of Prussia within the German Reich . On 21 January 1947, the former state of Lippe

2064-568: Is divided almost equally between Catholicism and Protestantism. After the defeat of the Prussian Army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt , the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 made the Westphalian territories part of the Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813. It was founded by Napoleon and was a French vassal state . This state only shared the name with the historical region; it contained only

2193-510: Is green-white-red with the combined coats of arms of the Rhineland (white line before green background, symbolizing the river Rhine), Westfalen (the white horse) and Lippe (the red rose). After the establishment of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946, the tricolor was first introduced in 1948, but was not formally adopted until 1953. The plain variant of the tricolor is considered the civil flag and state ensign, while government authorities use

2322-593: Is hosted in Cologne . It is the largest video game convention in Europe. North Rhine-Westphalia has always been Germany's powerhouse with the largest economy among the German states by GDP figures . In the 1950s and 1960s, Westphalia was known as Land von Kohle und Stahl ( Land of Coal and Steel ). In the post-World War II recovery, the Ruhr was one of the most important industrial regions in Europe, and contributed to

2451-474: Is now Rhineland-Westphalia and neighbouring Belgium and the Netherlands . In spite of its dismembered condition and the sufferings it underwent at the hands of its French neighbours in various periods of warfare, the Rhenish territory prospered greatly and stood in the foremost rank of German culture and progress. Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of

2580-410: Is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states ( Berlin , Hamburg and Bremen ), it is also the most densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of 34,084 km (13,160 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest German state by size. North Rhine-Westphalia features 30 of the 81 German municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants, including Cologne (over 1 million),

2709-518: Is the NRW-Nordpunkt near Rahden in the northeast of the state. The Nordpunkt has located the only 100 km to the south of the North Sea coast. The deepest natural dip is arranged in the district Zyfflich in the city of Kranenburg with 9.2 m above sea level in the northwest of the state. Though, the deepest point overground results from mining. The open-pit Hambach reaches at Niederzier

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2838-670: The Westphälisches Dampfboot , "The people of Europe, freed from the oppressive nightmare, have almost caught their breath." The journal Hermann , published in Hamm supported the introduction of a new calendar era , on the model of the French revolutionary calendar . The left also looked to France for their political programme and called for "Wealth, Education, and Freedom for all." There were also countervailing opinions, like that of Bielfeld superintendent and later member of

2967-500: The 80 largest cities in Germany are located within North Rhine-Westphalia. The state's capital is Düsseldorf; the state's largest city is Cologne. In 2022, there were 164,496 births and 234,176 deaths. The following table shows the ten largest cities of North Rhine-Westphalia: The following table shows the population of the state since 1930. The values until 1960 are the average of the yearly population, from 1965

3096-506: The County of Mark , the return to their old connection with Prussia was celebrated. In Siegerland , acceptance of Prussian rule was eased by the fact that Protestantism was the main religion. Catholic areas, like the former prince-bishoprics of Münster and Paderborn and the Duchy of Westphalia, were particularly sceptical of the new lords. The Catholic nobility, which had played a leading role in

3225-725: The Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior . Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the right bank, where the Sugambri neighboured several other tribes including the Tencteri and Usipetes . North of

3354-604: The Kingdom of Westphalia as a client state of the First French Empire in 1807. Although named for the historical region of Westphalia , it contained mostly Hessian , Angrian and Eastphalian territories and only a relatively small part of the region of Westphalia. After the reconquest of the region by the Sixth Coalition in 1813, it was put under the administration of the General government between

3483-637: The Mittelrhein wine region . It changes into the Lower Rhine near Bad Godesberg and leaves North Rhine-Westphalia near Emmerich at a width of 730 metres. Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The Pader , which flows entirely within the city of Paderborn , is considered Germany's shortest river. For many, North Rhine-Westphalia is synonymous with industrial areas and urban agglomerations. However,

3612-943: The North German Plain . A few isolated hill ranges are located within these lowlands, among them the Hohe Mark, the Beckum Hills , the Baumberge and the Stemmer Berge . The terrain rises towards the south and in the east of the state into parts of Germany's Central Uplands . These hill ranges are the Weser Uplands – including the Egge Hills , the Wiehen Hills , the Wesergebirge and

3741-795: The Prussian National Assembly , Clamor Huchzermeyer  [ de ] , who spoke of a "disgraceful event", in which the "simple Philistine " expected "that a constitution would sweep all misery and inequality from the world." He feared instead the "collapse of all order" and general "disorder." After news reached Westphalia of the February Revolution in Paris and the March Revolution in various parts of Germany, including Berlin and Vienna , rural uprisings broke out in parts of Westphalia, especially in

3870-898: The Randstad , the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Region . North Rhine-Westphalia was established in 1946 after World War II from the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and the northern part of Rhine Province ( North Rhine ), and the Free State of Lippe by the British military administration in Allied-occupied Germany and became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. The city of Bonn served as

3999-594: The Sauerland , the Wittgenstein  [ de ] , and Paderborn . Some of the buildings of the stewards of Schloss Bruchhausen  [ de ] in Olsberg were attacked and the documents inside were burnt, as people sung songs of freedom. Manors were attacked elsewhere, also, for example in Dülmen . This rural revolt was quickly defeated by the military. In the areas of Westphalia where industrialisation

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4128-782: The Teutoburg Forest in the east, the Sauerland , the Bergisches Land , the Siegerland and the Siebengebirge in the south, as well as the left-Rhenish Eifel in the southwest of the state. The Rothaargebirge in the border region with Hesse rises to height of about 800 m above sea level. The highest of these mountains are the Langenberg , at 843.2 m above sea level, the Kahler Asten (840.7 m) and

4257-584: The Thirty Years' War . The concept of nation-state sovereignty resulting from the treaty became known as " Westphalian sovereignty ". As a result of the Protestant Reformation , there is no dominant religion in Westphalia. Catholicism and Lutheranism are on relatively equal footing. Lutheranism is strong in the eastern and northern parts with numerous free churches. Münster and especially Paderborn are thought of as Catholic. Osnabrück

4386-594: The Weser . The Bergisch-Markisch Railway Company 's Elberfeld–Dortmund railway followed in 1849 and the Royal Westphalian Railway Company was established in the same year. Regions like Sauerland, which were only connected to the railway network in the 1860s or 1870s, remained economically marginal even in this age of economic growth. Some parts of these regions experienced a marked process of deindustrialisation . Instead, in many places, forestry took over, from that point on practiced in

4515-478: The eastern provinces of Prussia and beyond. The large number of Polish-speaking workers established their own societies, labour unions and pastoral care organisations, which operated in their own language. A particular population profile developed in the mining districts, which differed from the rest of Westphalia in some respects, such as dialect ( Ruhrdeutsch ). In 1871, the province of Westphalia had 1.78 million inhabitants, around 14% more than in 1858. By 1882,

4644-618: The state flag ( Landesdienstflagge ) which is defaced with the state's coat of arms . The state ensign can easily be mistaken for a distressed flag of Hungary , as well as the former national flag of Iran (1964–1980). The same flag was used by the Rhenish Republic (1923–1924) as a symbol of independence and freedom. The horse on the coat of arms is a reference to the Saxon Steed , a heraldic motif associated with both Westphalia and Lower Saxony . The horse first featured in

4773-506: The "Alte Verband" ("Old Union") was established in Dotmund- Dorstfeld . The Christian Miners' Union was founded in 1894 and a Polish Union in 1902. The Hirsch-Dunckersche Gewerkvereine  [ de ] began attempts at organisation in the 1880s, but remained insignificant. With respect to unionisation, the miners also provided a model for other groups of workers. In 1905, another strike  [ de ] broke out in

4902-589: The 15th century coat of arms of the Duchy of Westphalia, before being inherited by the Prussian province of Westphalia and finally the modern state of North Rhine-Westphalia. North Rhine-Westphalia encompasses the plains of the Lower Rhine region and parts of the Central Uplands ( die Mittelgebirge ) up to the gorge of Porta Westfalica . The state covers an area of 34,083 km (13,160 sq mi) and shares borders with Belgium ( Wallonia ) in

5031-673: The Bochum region, which grew into a general strike of all mining unions. In total, around 78% of miners in the region participated in the strike. Although it eventually had to break up, it had indirect success, since the Prussian government met many of the workers' demands through revisions to the General Mining Act. In 1912, the Alte Verband, Polish Union and the Hirsch-Dunckersche Union joined together in

5160-402: The Clemensberg (839.2 m). The planimetrically determined centre of North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the south of Dortmund- Aplerbeck in the Aplerbecker Mark (51° 28' N, 7° 33' Ö). Its westernmost point is situated near Selfkant close to the Dutch border, the easternmost near Höxter on the Weser . The southernmost point lies near Hellenthal in the Eifel region. The northernmost point

5289-425: The German Wirtschaftswunder . As of the late 1960s, repeated crises led to contractions of these industrial branches. On the other hand, producing sectors, particularly in mechanical engineering and metal and iron working industry, experienced substantial growth. Despite this structural change and an economic growth which was under national average, the 2018 GDP of 705 billion euro (1/4 of the total German GDP) made NRW

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5418-479: The Hollandgänger. Within Westphalia, the low cost of labour enabled the expansion of pre-industrial manufacturing, which made products for export. In the "Northwest German linen belt," which stretched from western Münsterland, through Tecklenburg , Osnabrück , and Minden-Ravensberg, to modern Lower Saxony , household production developed into proto-industrial levels. Especially in Minden-Ravensberg, pre-industrial linen production played an important role. The fabric

5547-433: The Landtag as a forum for the expression of their views (the lower classes had no voting rights). The Baron vom Stein as first Landmarschall  [ de ] (presiding officer of the Landtag) did not restrict discussion to purely local matters, and under the surface the constitutional question played an important role in discussions in the Landtag in 1826 and in the next Landtag in 1828. This became even clearer during

5676-422: The Landtag consisted of the representatives of the districts and cities, elected by means of the Prussian three-class franchise . The Landtag elected a head of government for the province, known as the Landeshauptman or "Headman of the State" (Landesdirektor before 1889). Especially following the Kulturkampf , the Centre Party ( Zentrum ), based on the traditional patterns from the early nineteenth century and

5805-402: The Landtag of 1830/31, when Franz Anton Bracht  [ de ] and even the noble Baron of Fürstenberg openly called for the establishment of a constitution for Prussia. The question of what such a constitution should look like was fiercely debated. Most nobles, including Fürstenberg, sought a restoration of the old order, while the bourgeoisie pursued early liberal ideas. In this, Bracht

5934-579: The Napoleonic Wars, retained special privileges of their own well into the nineteenth century. They maintained a certain amount of control or oversight over schools and churches. The second major problem for unification was the question of the redemption of manorial rights by the peasants within the context of peasant liberation . Although a law was passed in 1820 that allowed for redemption through monetary rents, there were also numerous individual regulations and regional peculiarities. Redemption remained controversial until 1848 and prompted significant conflicts in

6063-629: The Prussian National Assembly and of the Prussian People" in Münster in 1848. After the Prussian National Assembly was dissolved on 5 December 1848, democratic candidates like Johann Matthias Gierse  [ de ] managed to win election to the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia . The end of the revolution in Westphalia came with the comprehensive defeat of the Iserlohn Uprising  [ de ] in June 1849. A few Westphalian revolutionaries, like Temme and Waldeck, were later subject to political prosecutions. By summer 1849, Westphalian democrats had already begun departing for America . At

6192-460: The Prussian States (PrALR) were the fundamental basis of the law. In the Duchy of Westphalia and the two Sayn-Wittgensteiner principalities, however, the old regional legal traditions were retained until the introduction of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (civil law code) on 1 January 1900. The establishment of the province provoked different reactions in the region. In areas that had already been under Prussian control, like Minden-Ravensberg and

6321-433: The Prussian government was the prime motor of change. In the longer term, the combination of such different territories into a single province had consequences for identity and self-perception. Throughout the 19th century, there always remained a consciousness of the old territories' pasts, but alongside this a Westphalian self-perception also developed (fostered by the Prussian government). This often came into competition with

6450-433: The Revolution of 1848, largely monopolised politics in the Catholic parts of the province. The party was focussed on religious confession and was supported regardless of social class by Catholic workers, farmers, bourgeoisie, and nobility. Westphalia was the party's heartland. The party grew out of a meeting of politicians in Soest in the 1860s, to discuss the foundation of a Catholic political party. The 1870 Soest Programme

6579-425: The Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the left bank of the Rhine was resigned to France, and in 1806, the Rhenish princes all joined the Confederation of the Rhine . After the Congress of Vienna, Prussia

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6708-437: The Ruhr region near Essen . In Westphalia, the first shaft mine was Zeche Vereinigte Präsident  [ de ] in Bochum , opened in 1841. In 1818, Friedrich Harkort and Heinrich Kamp  [ de ] established Mechanische Werkstätten Harkort & Co.  [ de ] , a mechanised ironworks, in Wetter and in 1826 in the same place they established the first puddling furnace in Westphalia. Later,

6837-449: The Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri . As the power of the Roman empire declined, many of these tribes came to be seen collectively as Ripuarian Franks and they pushed forward along both banks of the Rhine, and by the end of the fifth century had conquered all the lands that had formerly been under Roman influence. By the eighth century, the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germany and northern Gaul, but at

6966-403: The Weser and the Rhine  [ de ] . It was not until the Congress of Vienna in 1815 that the Province of Westphalia came into being. Although Prussia had long owned territory in Westphalia, King Frederick William III made no secret of the fact that he would have preferred to annex the entirety of the Kingdom of Saxony . The province was formed from several territories: In 1816,

7095-468: The area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts. His Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold , Bielefeld , Lemgo , Osnabrück, and other places in Westphalia. Widukind was buried in Enger , which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern , Westphalia ( Westfalahi )

7224-514: The areas with the lowest numbers of large estates. One thing that initially contributed to the acceptance of Prussia was the policy of reform which aimed at the establishment of a "civic order". This involved the creation of a predictable system of administration and justice, rights of self-administration for communities, the emancipation of the Jews , and the liberation of the economy from guilds . The educated bourgeois class (the Bildungsbürgertum ), both Protestant and Catholic, recognised that

7353-509: The basic ideas of the Prussian reformers. It provided for the election of district councils which were basically drawn from the circle of the landed nobility and gave the people of the districts only a right to present their views for consideration; the appointment was reserved for the king. Equally untimely was the revised civic ordinance ( Städteordnung ) of 1831, which heavily restricted the voting right for town councils and provided for organs of self-government which were really just offices of

7482-434: The beginning of Prussian rule, the province had around 1.1 million inhabitants, of which 56% were Catholic, 43% Protestant, and 1% Jewish . With the foundation of the province, the new administrative structure created during the Prussian reforms was introduced. The administrative incorporation of the province into the Prussian state was chiefly accomplished by the first Oberpräsident , Ludwig von Vincke . The province

7611-444: The beginning of the 19th century, Westphalia was already a very economically and socially diverse region. Agriculture was dominant and in many places it was still practiced in very traditional and ineffective ways. In most areas, small and medium farms were most common. Only in the Münsterland and Paderborn regions were larger establishments widespread. These areas, as well as the Soest Börde , were especially suitable for agriculture. On

7740-420: The beginning of the counter-revolution notably increased political excitement. In many parts of Westphalia, the power of the democrats increased, while the discontent of the people with hesitant liberals like Johan Sommer was palpable. In the face of the threat to the revolution's accomplishments, the democrats and constitutional rebels resolved to cooperate, culminating in the "Congress for the matter and rights of

7869-407: The central government. A notable exception was the conservative attitude of rural people in the pietistic Lutheran milieu of Minden-Ravensberg. The vast majority of politically active bourgeoisie joined constitutional or democratic clubs. The liberals founded an umbrella organisation of constitutional societies in the provinces of Rhineland and Westphalia at a congress in Dortmund in July 1848. In

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7998-439: The central government. The municipality ordinance ( Landgemeindeordnung ) was similar. During the Vormärz , the period leading up to the German revolutions of 1848–1849 , the importance of the constitutional question in Westphalia was not matched by interest in German unification , which was very low. The mayor of Rhede in Münsterland wrote in 1833, "The Hambach Festival and Burschenschaft colours have no meaning to

8127-434: The competency of the state, e.g. cultural matters, the education system, matters of internal security, i.e. the police, building supervision, health supervision and the media; as opposed to matters that are reserved to Federal law. North Rhine-Westphalia uses the same electoral system as the Federal level in Germany: " Personalized proportional representation ". Every five years the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia vote in

8256-402: The continued prevalence of tuberculosis , work-related illnesses like silicosis , and the general strain on the environment from mining and industry. The new industrial cities only acquired cultural infrastructure, like museums and theatres later on. These were concentrated in the old cities, which had a civic tradition, and did not appear in the newly formed industrial centres until well into

8385-410: The debate included Adam Storck  [ de ] and Friedrich von Hövel  [ de ] . This optimistic attitude shifted with the beginning of the Restoration Period, when the absence of a national constitution and the censorship of the press became clear. Dietrich Wilhelm Landfermann  [ de ] , who was later a member of the Reichstag , wrote as a schoolboy in 1820, that it

8514-520: The developing German national consciousness. Bourgeois Westphalians like Johann Friedrich Joseph Sommer  [ de ] and Benedikt Waldeck were particularly hopeful for the promulgation of a constitution. In newspapers like the Rheinisch-Westfälischen Anzeiger and Hermann  [ de ] , the desire for a constitution was clearly articulated from the beginning. Draft constitutions were issued by Sommer and Arnold Mallinckrodt  [ de ] of Dortmund . Other participants in

8643-417: The disappointment about the failure of the promised reforms to materialise, the arrest of Archbishop of Cologne Clemens August Droste zu Vischering in 1837, during the " Cologne troubles  [ de ] " led to a greater politicisation of Westphalian Catholicism. The liberal Catholic journalist, Johann Friedrich Joseph Sommer wrote "contemporary events, like those of the last ten years, have stirred up

8772-421: The district of Essen was transferred to the Rhine Province . The new province had an area of 20,215 km (7,805 sq mi). The establishment of Westphalia and the neighbouring Rhine Province marked a decisive economic and demographic shift to the west for Prussia. It also marked a significant expansion of the number of Catholics in Prussia, which had hitherto been nearly exclusively Protestant . At

8901-414: The district of Arnsberg alone, there were twenty-eight such societies by October. In the other two districts, the number of societies was clearly lower and in Münster the local association was split by internal conflicts. The democratic societies only managed to reach an agreement at a congress in September 1848. In Münster, the local democratic association had at least 350 members. The labour movement , in

9030-422: The districts and municipalities, while the Landschaftsverband has a directly elected assembly. The five government regions of North Rhine-Westphalia each belong to one of the two Landschaftsverbände : The state's area covers a maximum distance of 291 km from north to south, and 266 km from east to west. The total length of the state's borders is 1,645 km. The following countries and states have

9159-430: The docile Westphalian and have contributed no little degree to bring a kind of religious somnolence to an end." At the same time, Sommer saw the mass unrest in connection with the riots as a precursor of the revolutions of 1848. The "state must give way, for the first time, power quakes before the popular mood." In the 1830s and 1840s, the discussion circles of liberals, democrats, and even some socialists consolidated (e.g.

9288-524: The drafting of laws, and had only advisory functions on important matters. The representatives were not allowed to discuss administrative matters and their minutes were subject to censorship. The first Provinziallandtag of the Province of Westphalia  [ de ] met in the Münster City Hall in 1826. The high voter turnout shows that, despite all the restrictions, the bourgeoisie saw

9417-467: The economically strongest state of Germany by GRP figures , as well as one of the most important economical areas in the world. Of Germany's top 100 corporations, 37 are based in North Rhine-Westphalia. On a per capita base, however, North Rhine-Westphalia remains one of the weaker among the Western German states. North Rhine-Westphalia attracts companies from both Germany and abroad. In 2009,

9546-429: The establishment of a sense of common purpose like that of the miners. The political culture of Westphalia, reflected above all in the long-term shifts in electoral results, was closely linked to the religious and social structure of the province, but also to the political debates of the first half of the nineteenth century. In particular, religion played a central role in Westphalia. As in the rest of Germany this led to

9675-460: The establishment of several new cities which formed the basis of the modern Ruhr urban area. It also led to the development of a strong labour movement, which led several large strikes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. After World War II , the province was combined with the northern portion of Rhine Province and the Free State of Lippe to form the modern German state of North Rhine-Westphalia . Napoleon Bonaparte founded

9804-807: The expansion of higher education in the 1960s. The rapid expansion of mining and industry in the Ruhr region in the context of the Industrial Revolution led to a drastic transformation of the province's society and economy and massive population growth. With the introduction of the General Mining Act in 1865, the privileges of the "Bergknappen" ("ordinary miners") came to an end, and thereafter miners did not differ from other workers in their employment rights. Initially, they reacted to falling wages, extended hours and other issues as normal, with – generally unsuccessful – petitions to government administration. Increasingly, they began to adopt

9933-457: The federal capital until the reunification of Germany in 1990 and as the seat of government until 1999. Culturally, North Rhine-Westphalia is not a uniform area; there are significant differences, especially in traditional customs, between the Rhineland region on the one hand and the regions of Westphalia and Lippe on the other. Its economy is the largest among German states by GRDP but

10062-566: The following months, the political excitement declined markedly. In Catholic areas, the election of Archduke John of Austria as regent ( Reichsverweser ) of the new German Empire by the Frankfurt Parliament was met with great enthusiasm and patriotic celebrations were held in Winterberg and Münster, for example. However, the reaction to this election showed that the difference between Catholics and Protestants in Westphalia

10191-685: The form of the Allgemeine Deutsche Arbeiterverbrüderung  [ de ] ( General German Workers' Brotherhood ) had very little representation in Westphalia, compared with the Rhineland. There was a strong labour association in Hamm, which played a leading role in the democratic camp and maintained contacts with the Arbeiterverbrüderung at the same time. In total, the number of democratic and republican associations remained substantially lower than

10320-429: The formation of Catholic and social democratic milieus, which heavily shaped the lives of their members "from the cradle to the grave." This tendency was less marked among the liberals and conservatives . On 1 August 1886, the districts and cities of Westphalia formed a Provinzialverband  [ de ] ("provincial union"), a body whose members henceforth met as the Westphalian provincial Landtag. Henceforth,

10449-568: The forms of action used by other groups of workers. The first miners' strike in the Ruhr  [ de ] took place in 1872. It was local, limited, and unsuccessful. In 1889, the pent-up anger of the previous decades was unleashed in a major strike  [ de ] , in which roughly 90% of the 104,000 miners then working in the region participated. The strike began in Bochum on 24 April and Essen on 1 May. They were joined spontaneously by numerous other workers. A central strike committee

10578-446: The general absence of the bourgeoisie. The middle class was notably weak. The cities concentrated at first on the most essential infrastructure, like supply routes, rubbish collection, public transport, schools, etc. Improved hygiene conditions brought the death rate down markedly, especially among children. Epidemics like cholera ceased to play a significant role. On the other hand, the limits of these positive developments are clear from

10707-412: The industrialised areas of Westphalia, but especially in the Ruhr, the social consequences of industrialisation were substantial. In these areas, the working class became the largest social group by some margin. Immigration meant that the population growth over time was erratic. The supply of housing was insufficient and, in the Ruhr, lodgers and Schlafgänger  [ de ] (people who rented

10836-495: The industrialist Friedrich Harkort , who promoted his views in his famous Arbeiterbriefen (Workers' Letters). In the elections to the Prussian National Assembly and the Frankfurt Parliament , the political leanings of the candidates were not the decisive factor. Rather, their reputation among the people played a central role in their nomination. In Sauerland, therefore, the conservative Joseph von Radowitz ,

10965-628: The interior ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia reported that the number of mosques with a Salafist influence had risen from 3 to 9, which indicated both an actual increase and improved reporting. According to German authorities, Salafism is incompatible with the principles codified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany , in particular: democracy , the rule of law , and political order based on human rights . The politics of North Rhine-Westphalia takes place within

11094-419: The journal Weserdampfboot  [ de ] ). In addition, the agrarian reforms which were negatively received by many rural groups, led to growing dissatisfaction. To this were added several bad harvests in the 1840s, which caused the price of food to rise notably, particularly in the cities. Traditional manufacturing also faced a stark structural crisis . A consequence of the difficult social situation

11223-783: The kingdom of Lotharingia . By the time of Otto I (d. 973), both banks of the Rhine had become part of the Holy Roman Empire , and the Rhenish territory was divided between the duchies of Upper Lorraine on the Moselle and Lower Lorraine on the Meuse. The Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into numerous small, independent, separate vicissitudes and special chronicles. The old Lotharingian divisions became obsolete, although

11352-455: The labour movement. In the metal industry, these actions were focused on small and medium-sized enterprises and the labour movement was not able to establish a toehold in the larger companies for various reasons. In particular, employers in the iron and steel industry defended their "Lord-of-the-Manor position" by firing workers as necessary. This was enabled by the starkly differentiated internal structure of these companies, which militated against

11481-432: The largest part of the state is used for agriculture (almost 52%) and forests (25%). The state consists of five government regions ( Regierungsbezirke ), divided into 31 districts ( Kreise ) and 23 urban districts ( kreisfreie Städte ). In total, North Rhine-Westphalia has 396 municipalities (1997), including the urban districts, which are municipalities by themselves. The government regions have an assembly elected by

11610-414: The later bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler . In the province itself, political clubs and journals of every stripe were established. The spectrum ranged from Catholic and liberal pamphlets to Karl Marx 's radical Neue Rheinische Zeitung . The range of political opinions was as diverse as the media landscape. However, conservative groups generally included only protestant officers and officials of

11739-643: The liberal / ultramontanist Johann Friedrich Sommer, and the democrat Carl Johann Ludwig Dham  [ de ] were all elected. Leading Westphalians in the Prussian National Assembly included the democrats Benedikt Waldeck and Jodocus Temme  [ de ] . In constitutional discussions in Berlin, Waldeck and Sommer played notable roles on the left and right respectively. In Frankfurt, Westphalia's representatives included Georg von Vincke , Gustav Höfken  [ de ] , and

11868-463: The liberal ones. In the Catholic parts of Westphalia, the first organisations of political Catholicism also developed at this time. The Pius Associations were established in many places, but were focused on the association in the provincial capital. In petitions, workers' groups and community representatives called on their delegates to speak on behalf of their demands in the national assemblies. In

11997-404: The middle of the nineteenth century at the latest, the Westphalian portion of the Ruhr was clearly the economic centre of the province. The developing industry initially pulled numerous jobseekers mostly from the agriculturally and economically stagnant parts of the province. From around the 1870s, the supply of workers within Westphalia was exhausted and companies increasingly drew workers in from

12126-1127: The ministers involved, is required to sign it and announce it in the Law and Ordinance Gazette. These are the minister-presidents of North Rhine-Westphalia : For the current state government, see Wüst cabinet . The state has Aachen Cathedral , the Cologne Cathedral , the Zeche Zollverein in Essen , the Augustusburg Palace in Brühl and the Imperial Abbey of Corvey in Höxter which are all World Heritage Sites . North Rhine-Westphalia hosts film festivals in Cologne , Bonn, Dortmund , Duisburg , Münster , Oberhausen and Lünen . Other large festivals include Rhenish carnivals , Ruhrtriennale . Every year Gamescom

12255-813: The name survives for example in Lorraine in France, and throughout the Middle Ages and even into modern times, the nobility of these areas often sought to preserve the idea of a preeminent duke within Lotharingia, something claimed by the Dukes of Limburg , and the Dukes of Brabant . Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military and political links between what

12384-478: The northern part of the province, the Hollandgänger  [ de ] travelled to work in the Netherlands. Brickmakers  [ de ] from east Westphalia and the neighbouring principality of Lippe also migrated to work. The Tödden trade  [ de ] , in which men would make linen at home in winter and then travel to the Netherlands to sell it the following summer, developed from

12513-547: The old prince-bishoprics, were mostly hostile. Twenty years after the province's establishment, Jacob Venedey called the Rhenanians and Westphalians Musspreußen  [ de ] ("have-to-be-Prussians"). In practice, the incorporation of the region into the Prussian state faced a number of problems. Firstly, the administrative unification was opposed by the mediatised houses ( Standesherren ). These nobles, who had ruled small principalities of their own before

12642-417: The old village smithies and cottage metalworking enterprises was the establishment of a modern metalworking industry in Westphalia itself, based on coal from the Ruhr. Decisive for the development of the mining in the Ruhr  [ de ] was the invention of longwall mining , which allowed the removal of the ore without stripping off the surface layer. This was employed for the first time in 1837 in

12771-510: The other hand, agriculture in Minden-Ravensberg and the southern Bergisches Land was fairly unproductive. Even in the pre-industrial period, some agricultural products were exported. Westphalian ham was a known export commodity, for example. Industrialisation encouraged the integration of agricultural activity with the new centres of industrial production. The increased demand led to an expansion of pig farming . Cereals produced in

12900-543: The peace-loving inhabitants of this land." Public feeling in Sauerland and Minden-Ravensberg seemed similar. German nationalism only became a force in Westphalia in the 1840s. In many municipalities, singing clubs were formed, which nurtured national myths. Westphalian participation in the Cologne Cathedral construction festival and the gatherings in support of the Hermannsdenkmal was considerable. A lively mass of associations and clubs developed. In addition to

13029-580: The population at year end is used. Source: Statistische Ämter des Bundes Und der Länder As of 2020 , 50% of the population of the state adhered to the Roman Catholic Church , 25% to the Protestant Church in Germany , and 28% of the population is irreligious or adheres to other denominations or religions. North Rhine-Westphalia ranks first in population among German states for both Roman Catholics and Protestants. In 2016,

13158-489: The population had grown more than 20% and the growth from then to 1895 was similarly high. In the ten years between 1895 and 1905, the population grew by more than 30%, surpassing 3.6 million. The highest growth took place in Arnsberg district, the centre of Westphalian industry. Between 1818 and 1905, the population of Münster and Minden districts grew by slightly more than 100%, but that of Arnsberg grew by over 400%. In all

13287-407: The province were an important raw material for the brewing industry that developed first in the Ruhr and later elsewhere. In Dortmund alone, there were more than eighty individual breweries. The huge market for agricultural goods in the nearby industrial areas meant that in the fertile parts of the province, agriculture was the dominant industry well into the twentieth century and that it remained

13416-476: The province, but the failure of the revolution was accepted with little resistance. Before the nineteenth century, the region's economy had been largely agricultural and many rural poor travelled abroad to find work. However, from the late eighteenth century, the coal mining and metalworking industries of the Ruhr in the south of the province expanded rapidly, becoming the centre of the Industrial Revolution in Germany. This resulted in rapid population growth and

13545-466: The provincial Landtags in the period before 1848 , since these bodies were dominated by the landed nobility. The uncertainties surrounding land ownership were a cause of rural uprisings at the beginning of the Revolutions of 1848 . In the longer term, the fear that the peasants would be expelled from their land by great estates was not fulfilled. Instead, the two western provinces of Prussia remained

13674-528: The republican rule of the French. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium (see German-speaking Community of Belgium ). Around AD 1, numerous incursions occurred through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this battle came from

13803-647: The river Ferndorfbach . The name's origin is built by the Celtic words Let and apha , which mean loam and water . This article related to a river in North Rhine-Westphalia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia , commonly shortened to NRW , is a state ( Land ) in Western Germany . With more than 18 million inhabitants, it

13932-527: The same time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, and then the Saxons. On the division of the Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun , the part of the province to the east of the river fell to East Francia , while that to the west remained with

14061-482: The southwest and the Netherlands ( Limburg , Gelderland and Overijssel ) in the west and northwest. It has borders with the German states of Lower Saxony to the north and northeast, Rhineland-Palatinate to the south and Hesse to the southeast. Approximately half of the state is located in the relative low-lying terrain of the Westphalian Lowland and the Rhineland , both extending broadly into

14190-664: The state capital Düsseldorf (630,000), Dortmund and Essen (about 590,000 inhabitants each) and other cities predominantly located in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area , the largest urban area in Germany and the fourth-largest on the European continent . The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at the heart of the European Blue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas like

14319-538: The state had the most foreign direct investments ( FDI ) anywhere in Germany. Around 13,100 foreign companies from the most important investment countries control their German or European operations from bases in North Rhine-Westphalia. Province of Westphalia The province was formed and awarded to Prussia at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars . It combined some territories that had previously belonged to Prussia with

14448-424: The twentieth century. There was little provision for higher education . Although the universities of Münster and Paderborn were established in the 18th century, these were reduced to "rump universities" with only a limited offering of courses at the beginning of Prussian rule. Münster was only promoted to full university status in 1902. The establishment of higher education in the Ruhr area only really began during

14577-538: The works were relocated to Dortmund where they developed into Rothe Erde . Further ironworks were established in Hüsten ( Hüstener Gewerkschaft  [ de ] ), Warstein , Lünen ( Westfalia Hütte ), Hörde ( Hermannshütte  [ de ] ), Haspe ( Hasper Hütte  [ de ] ), Bochum ( Bochumer Verein  [ de ] ), and other places. These new coal-powered ironworks were far more productive than their charcoal -based pre-industrial equivalents. A precondition for industrial development

14706-588: Was smelted at places like Wendener Hütte and made into finished products in the western part of the region (e.g. wire drawing in Altena , Iserlohn, and Lüdenscheid , or sewing needles  [ de ] at Iserlohn). These businesses were partially cooperative and organised into a network by Reidemeisters . In the southern part of the Ruhr, coal was exported for neighbouring regions from early times. Zeche Alte Haase  [ de ] in Sprockhövel

14835-565: Was active from the beginning of the 17th century, for example. At the start of the nineteenth century, parts of the province were the first areas to see the Industrial Revolution in Germany and in the High industrial period  [ de ] it was among the economic hubs of the German Empire. The end of Napoleon's Continental System opened the region up to English industrial products. Household-based textile production in particular

14964-496: Was as great as ever. In the old Prussian areas, the duty of establishing unity and freedom was seen as resting above all with Prussia, while in Catholic Westphalia, the establishment of the Frankfurt Parliament was seen as a step towards a united state under Catholic leadership. Thus, the conflict between supporters of the little or greater solutions to the German question intersected with religious affiliation. Only

15093-488: Was awarded the entire Rhineland , which included the Grand Duchy of Berg , the ecclesiastic electorates of Trier and Cologne , the free cities of Aachen and Cologne, and nearly a hundred small lordships and abbeys. The Prussian Rhine province was formed in 1822 and Prussia had the tact to leave the lower Rhenish districts in undisturbed possession of the liberal institutions to which they had become accustomed under

15222-469: Was beginning to take hold, like the County of Mark, some factories were attacked. In the cities, there was talk of the appointment of a liberal government and the victory of the revolution was celebrated almost everywhere with parades and black-red-gold flags . However, there was also an anti-revolutionary movement, especially in the old Prussian parts of the province. In the County of Mark, this centred around

15351-408: Was bought up and sold on by Verleger (transporters). In southern Westphalia, there was a major iron extraction and processing region in Siegerland , parts of the Duchy of Westphalia, and the Sauerland, which extended over the provincial borders to the Bergisches Land and Altenkirchen . The iron ore extracted in Siegerland  [ de ] and eastern Sauerland  [ de ]

15480-553: Was divided administratively into three Regierungsbezirke ("government districts"): Arnsberg , Minden , and Münster . The borders of the province were slightly altered in 1851 and during the Weimar Republic. In general, the Prussian administration focussed on the alignment of political institutions and administration, but legally they were distinct. In most parts of Westphalia, the General State Laws for

15609-659: Was established. The success of textile enterprises was subsequently a basis for the establishment of iron and metalworking industries in the region. However, the new mechanised industry could not employ the available workforce like the old cottage industry. In the linen-producing areas of Westphalia, poverty and overseas emigration from rural areas rose sharply in the 1830s and 1840s. In the ironworking and metalworking areas in southwestern Westphalia, industrial competition from overseas initially had only negative consequences. Some pre-industrial enterprises, like sheet metal production in and around Olpe , disappeared. More devastating for

15738-541: Was formed. The workers sought higher wages, the introduction of an eight-hour day , and various other changes. That the miners' old loyalty to authority had not been forgotten is shown by the fact that the strike committee sent a deputation to Kaiser Wilhelm II . Although he criticised the strike, he agreed to launch an official investigation of the strikes. Since the Dortmund District Association for Mining Interests  [ de ] indicated

15867-582: Was merged with North Rhine-Westphalia. The constitution of North Rhine-Westphalia was then ratified through a referendum . The first written account of the area was by its conqueror, Julius Caesar , the territories west of the Rhine were occupied by the Eburones and east of the Rhine he reported the Ubii (across from Cologne) and the Sugambri to their north. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as

15996-488: Was not able to compete with this in the long term and eventually disappeared from the market. Conversion to industrial forms of production in and around Bielefeld enabled a transition to the new circumstances. The Ravensberg Spinning Mill  [ de ] , founded in 1854 by Hermann Delius  [ de ] , was the largest flax mill in Europe. In 1862, the "Bielfeld Action Society for Mechanical Weaving" ( Bielefelder Actiengesellschaft für mechanische Weberei )

16125-412: Was not for the "pathetic squabbles of princes" that people had fought in 1813, but so that "justice and law would have to be the foundation of public life as well as citizenship." The establishment of provincial parliaments ( Landtags  [ de ] ) in 1823 had little impact on the criticism, since they lacked central legislative powers. They had no right to raise taxes, were not involved in

16254-626: Was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony . In 1180, Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa . The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only a small area south of the Lippe River . Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, but most of it remained divided duchies and other feudal areas of power. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended

16383-478: Was supported by industrialist Friedrich Harkort and publisher Johann Hermann Hüffer  [ de ] among others. Other members of the "opposition" included the mayor of Hagen , Christian Dahlenkamp  [ de ] and the mayor of Telgte , Anton Böhmer  [ de ] . Even among the landed nobility, there were supporters of liberalism, such as Georg von Vincke . The district ordinance ( Kreisordnung ) of 1827 also clearly diverged from

16512-486: Was the expansion of transport infrastructure. From the end of the 18th century, rural highways ( Chaussee ) began to be constructed, rivers in the lower part of the Ruhr were made navigable for ship traffic, and canals were built. Most of all, railways were the motor of industrial development. In 1847, the Cologne-Minden Railway Company completed a west-east branch line from the Rhine to

16641-405: Was the high level of emigration . Between 1845 and 1854, around 30,000 people left the province, most heading overseas. Almost half of these people came from the crisis-ridden linen-producing areas in the eastern part of Westphalia. In Westphalia, there were very diverse reactions to the outbreak of revolution in 1848. The democratic left of the "Rhede Circle" celebrated the coming of a new era in

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