Herford () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz, Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford, Osnabrück. Geography This is the northernmost district of North ...

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

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

of Bielefeld, and the districts Gütersloh and Osnabrück.

History

The region is also known as ''Wittekind's land'', as the last fights of

Wittekind Widukind, also known as Wittekind, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish province, massacred th ...

's Saxon tribes against

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

took place here. He is believed to be buried in the town of Enger. When the area became part of the

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 ...

n province Westphalia, the first district Herford was created in 1816. In 1832 it was merged with the district

Bünde Bünde ( Low German ''Buine'') is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Bünde is situated between Osnabrück (west), Hannover (east) and Bielefeld (south). Waterways The town is crossed from west to e ...

. In 1911, the city of Herford left the district; however, it lost its status as an independent urban district in 1969. The district reached its current size in 1973 when the municipality Uffeln, which was formerly in the district Minden, was merged into the city

Vlotho Vlotho () is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Vlotho is located along the Weser river, south of the Wiehengebirge, bordering on the Ravensberger Hügelland in the west, Lipperland in the south, ...

Geography

The district is located between the three mountain chains of the Wiehen Hills in the north and the Teutoburg Forest in the south. To the northeast it is bounded by the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Br ...

river.

Coat of arms

The black horse of

is depicted in the coat of arms of the district. After Wittekind was baptized

gave him a white horse as present, which is now in the coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

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