Hörde is a ''

Stadtbezirk A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as " borough". In Germany, ''Stadtbezirke'' usually only exist in a me ...

'' ("City District") and also a ''Stadtteil'' ('' Quarter'') in the south of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, in

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 betwee ...

. Hörde is situated at 51°29' North, 7°30' West, and is at an elevation of 112 metres

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. It is situated in the southern part of

, a major town in the Ruhrgebiet. It is made up of the areas of Wellinghofen, Höchsten, Benninghofen, Loh, Holzen, Sommerberg, Syburg, and Wichlinghofen, as well as Hörde itself. The region was formerly a

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

area, particularly for the production and working of steel. The river Emscher flows through Hörde. It flows through the former "Phoenix" industrial park, which is currently being restored to a natural area. When finished, the Emscher will once again be a clean river, and there will be a lake (Phoenix-See).

Coat of arms

The

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the ''Stadtbezirk'' shows the ''Hörder Burg'' (Hörde Castle), overlaid with a red-and-white chequered band that was used as the sign of the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

s of

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

. The semicircle is originally green and represents a meadow. The background is golden.

History

Originally Hörde was a separate town (until 1929), rather than forming part of Dortmund. The name derives from the natural surroundings: "Hörde" derives from "Huryde" or "Huride", meaning "fold". The town was founded by the Counts of Mark in opposition to their principal enemy, the town of Dortmund. The first settlers were Wellinghofer, who had been resettled by the count. The count wanted to surround Dortmund by separate towns (including the towns of Herdecke,

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum * Dortmun ...

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous German federal state of N ...

Castrop Castrop, since 1 April 1926, is part of Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name comes from ''trop/torp'' for village (German ''Dorf'') and ''chasto/kast'' for shed. The oldest mention is from 834 as ''Villa Castrop''. During t ...

Lünen Lünen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund, on both banks of the River Lippe. It is the largest town of the Unna district and part of the Ruhr Area. In 2009 a biogas plant was built to provide elect ...

Unna Unna is a city of around 59,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district. The newly refurbished Unna station has trains to all major cities in North Rhine Westphalia including Dortmund, Cologne, Münster, Hamm, ...

und

Schwerte Schwerte ( Westphalian: ''Schweierte'') is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Schwerte is situated in the Ruhr valley, at the south-east border of the Ruhr Area. South of Schwerte begins the mountainous ...

). In 1388, the "Großen Dortmunder Fehde" (great feud of Dortmund) took place, where the city of Dortmund battled against the alliance of surrounding towns. The struggle ended in 1390, with defeat for Hörde and its allies. Until 1929 Hörde was an independent city, and the capital of the eponymous region, before being incorporated by Dortmund. During the time of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, a

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

jail was located in a Hörde police station. In 1945, the murder of many political prisoners which took place in Dortmund Rombergpark was organised from here.

Notable sights

A symbol of Hörde is the ''Schlanke Mathilde'' ("Slim Matilda"), rebuilt in 1983 from historical pictures. It represented a former mayor's wife, and was allegedly built by the citizens of the town to annoy the mayor, whose wife was far from slim. The Hörder Burg (Hörde castle) is located in the east of the town, close to the river Emscher. It was built in the 12th century, and today houses a museum.

External links

Official sitePhoenix-Lake
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horde Dortmund