Euskirchen () is a Kreis (district) in the south-west 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 state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
,
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
Aachen,
Düren,
Rhein-Erft-Kreis,
Rhein-Sieg,
Ahrweiler,
Daun,
Bitburg-Prüm
The Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm ( lb, Äifelkrees Béibreg-Prüm) is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) Luxembourg, Belgium and the districts of Euskirchen, Vulkaneifel, Bernkastel-Wittlich a ...
, and the
Liège province
Liège (; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium.
Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Du ...
(
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
).
History
In 1827 a first district around the city of
Euskirchen was created, however much smaller than today. In 1932 the district of Rheinbach was dissolved, whereby the Euskirchen district gained its southern part. In 1972 the Euskirchen district grew again by the inclusion of the Schleiden district.
Geography
Geographically, the south-western half of the district is inside the
Eifel hill chain. This land is hardly suitable for agriculture, and therefore in historical times the region was rather poor. Areas further to the north-east are more flat and have historically been used to grow a variety of crops, most notably sugar beets. The only other source of wealth was the iron ore, but today the many forests there make the area interesting for tourists.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows the four signs of the main historical territories or rulers of the district. Top-left are the roses of the counts of
Arenberg
Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family.
History
First mentioned in the 12 ...
, top-right the lion of
Jülich, bottom-right the wave-line of the counts of Manderscheid-Blankenheim, and bottom-left the
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
cross.
The coat of arms was granted in 1973.
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official Website(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Euskirchen (District)
Districts of North Rhine-Westphalia
States and territories established in 1827
1827 establishments in Prussia