Gütersloh () is a Kreis (

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

) in the north-east of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Neighboring districts are

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford (district), Herford. Geography ...

, district-free

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The ...

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

, Soest and

Warendorf Warendorf (, Westphalian: ''Warnduorp'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of Warendorf District. The town is best known today for its well-preserved medieval town centre, for horse-riding, and the opportunities it prov ...

History

It was created in 1973 in the reorganization of the districts in

, when the previous districts of Halle and Wiedenbrück were merged. Also the districts Bielefeld,

, Beckum und Warendorf had to cede parts of their area to the newly formed district. The precursor districts were created in 1816 after the new

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n province of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

was established. Today, the district Gütersloh has one of Germany's largest exile communities of Assyrians.

Geography

The east of the district is covered by the

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

, which also contains the highest elevation of the district, the ''Hengeberg'' (316m). In the west there is the source of the

Ems river The Ems (german: Ems; nl, Eems) is a river in northwestern Germany. It runs through the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, and discharges into the Dollart Bay which is part of the Wadden Sea. Its total length is . The stat ...

. The Ems valley also contains the lowest point of the district, near

Harsewinkel Harsewinkel () is a town in Gütersloh District in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the river Ems, some 15 km north-west of Gütersloh. It is the home and domicile of Europe's leading combine harvester manufacturer C ...

with 56m.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was adopted with the creation of the district in 1973 by combining the symbols from the arms of the previous districts Halle and Rheda-Wiedenbrück. The three elements derive from the medieval counties in the area now covered by the district. The golden eagle in the bottom of the coat comes from the duchy of Rietberg. The wheel in the middle derives from the sign of the city

, which owned the Amt Reckenberg. The chevrons in the top part are the symbol of the duchy of Ravensberg.

Towns and municipalities

Economy

Some important companies are located in the district of Guetersloh: * Beckhoff Automation Technology *

Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...

Media *

Claas } CLAAS is an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Harsewinkel, Germany, in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. Founded in 1913 by August Claas, CLAAS is a family business and one of the market and technology leaders in harv ...

Combine harvesters * Gerry Weber Fashion *

Miele Miele ( ; ) is a German manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances and commercial equipment, headquartered in Gütersloh, Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The company was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann, and has always been a family-o ...

Consumer electronic goods
Nobilia International
Kitchens *

Storck August Storck KG () is a German candy producer with headquarters in Berlin, owned by Axel Oberwelland. Its subsidiary in the United Kingdom has been the company Bendicks in Winchester since 1988. The main facility of Storck in Germany is ...

Candies * Telefonica Internet Services * Tönnies Meat Processors

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutersloh (District) Districts of North Rhine-Westphalia