Herscheid is a municipality in the southern

Märkischer Kreis The Märkischer Kreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Unna, Soest, Hochsauerland, Olpe, Oberbergischer Kreis, Ennepe-Ruhr, and the city of Hagen. History The district was create ...

, in

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 ...

Geography

Herscheid is located in the ''Ebbegebirge'' (''"Ebbe Mountains"''), a part of the

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

mountains. Altitudes in the municipality extend from 250m above sea level in the valley of the ''Schwarze Ahe'' up to the highest elevation, the high ''Nordhelle''. The municipality covers an area of , of which 58% is forest and 33% is used agriculturally. Most of the area is protected as a nature reserve, the ''Naturpark Ebbegebirge''.

Neighbouring places

Werdohl Werdohl () is a town in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Werdohl is located in the hills of the Sauerland, at a double meander of the river Lenne and its confluent, the Verse. The highest elevation is ...

Plettenberg Plettenberg (; Westphalian: ''Plettmert'') is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Plettenberg is located to the west of the Sauerland hills. The highest elevation of the town area is in the ''Ebbegebir ...

Meinerzhagen Meinerzhagen (sometimes spelled Meinertzhagen; ) is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Meinerzhagen is located in the hills of the Sauerland. The highest elevation is the Nordhelle with 652 m above sea le ...

Lüdenscheid Lüdenscheid () is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Sauerland region. Geography Lüdenscheid is located on the saddle of the watershed between the Lenne and Volme rivers which b ...

History

The first written document mentioning ''Hertsceido'' dates from 1072 in a charter from

Grafschaft Abbey Grafschaft Abbey (german: Kloster Grafschaft) is a community of the Sisters of Mercy of Saint Charles Borromeo, formerly a Benedictine monastery, in Schmallenberg-Grafschaft in the Sauerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. First foundation ...

of bishop Anno of Cologne. However, the settlements in what is now the municipal area probably date back to the 4th century. From the 12th century till 1753 the parish of Herscheid formed a court district. During the French occupation (1806 till 1814), the ''Mairie Ebbe'' covered Herscheid and neighbouring Valbert. The station ''Hüinghausen'' was made for

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Herscheid is above a fess abased chequy of three rows gules and argent, a demi-stag salient proper. The stag, or deer, (German ''Hirsch'') has a double significance: it refers both to the etymological origin of the name ''Herscheid'' as ''area where deer live'' and also to the old hunting privileges formerly enjoyed here (said to have been given by one of the

Counts of the Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

as reward for help in fighting in the Ebbe mountains against the episcopal state of Cologne). The red-and-white chequered

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ''fesse'', from Old French ''faisse'', from Latin ''fascia'', "band") is a charge on a coat of arms (or flag) that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield.Wo ...

of the Counts also appears, Herscheid having been formerly part of their territory. The coat of arms was designed by

Otto Hupp Hermann Joseph Otto Hubert August Constantin Hupp (May 21, 1859 – January 31, 1949) was a German graphical artist. His main working area was heraldry, yet he also worked as a typeface designer, creating commercial symbols and metal works. Life a ...

, and was granted on October 17, 1935. The coat of arms is also featured on the town flag.

Persons of interest

Wilhelm Ackermann Wilhelm Friedrich Ackermann (; ; 29 March 1896 – 24 December 1962) was a German mathematician and logician best known for his work in mathematical logic and the Ackermann function, an important example in the theory of computation. Biography ...

, German mathematician *

Otto Corbach Otto Corbach (1877–1938) was a German journalist and publicist. Corbach was born in Herscheid and moved to Qingdao in 1900, at that time the administrative centre of the Kiautschou Bay concession. He had a position as an accountant, probably fo ...

, (1877-1938) journalist

References

External links

Official site
Märkischer Kreis {{MärkischerKreis-geo-stub