Heiden is a municipality in the
district of Borken in the state 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 ...
. It is located approximately 5 km east of
Borken.
Its most important symbol are the ''
devil stones''.
Geography
Location
Heiden is located in the west of the
Westphalian Lowland
The Westphalian Lowland, also known as the Westphalian Basin is a flat landscape that mainly lies within the German region of Westphalia, although small areas also fall within North Rhine (in the extreme southwest) and in Lower Saxony (on the nort ...
near to the changeover to the
Ruhr area
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
in the south.
In the north of Heiden are ''The Mountains'' (''Die Berge''). Heiden is surrounded by many woods.
Neighbouring places
In the north Heiden borders the city of Borken and the city of
Velen
Velen is a town in the district Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with about 12,000 citizens. It consists of the two settlements of Velen and Ramsdorf and the four rural regions Ostendorf-Krueckling, Bleking-Holthausen, Nordvelen and Wald ...
, in the east borders the municipality of
Reken
Reken is a municipality in the district of Borken, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...
.
The southern border of Heiden to
Dorsten
Dorsten (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Dössen'') is a town in the district of Recklinghausen (district), Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of about 75,000.
Dorsten is situated on the western rim of ...
is also the border to the district of
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...
.
Division
Officially, Heiden has no division. Nevertheless, there are hamlets outside the urban settlement of Heiden. On the one hand, there are the dispersed settlements of
Leblich with its Hamlets ''Buschausen'', ''Leblich'' and ''Heiden along the Railway Street'' in the south and on the other hand ''Nordick'' and ''Lammersfeld'' in the north.
History
Early history
In one of Heidens forests (''The Uhlen'') you can find the ''devil stones'' (in German ''Teufelssteine'' or in
Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle L ...
''Düwelsteene'') these are the remains of a
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
dolmen
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...
from 3500–2800 B.C. These are the earlist evidence of human settlement in the local area.
Foundation/Name
Heiden was founded as the farm ''Heghinc''. In the year 870, Heiden was first mentioned in a donation to a monastery.
During its development to a settlement, Heiden was also named ''Heidion'', ''Heithene'', ''Hethen'' and finally ''Heyden''.
The origin of the Name ''Heiden'' is the
heathland
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
(German: ''Heideland''), which is the natural landscape in Heidens area.
Since 1975, Heiden is a municipality.
Politics
The parties and associations in the municipal council were voted every five years.
Patrick Voßkamp (
CDU), whose term began in 2020, is the current mayor. He was preceded by Hans-Jürgen Benson (
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
), whose term began in 2015. Before 2015, the independent candidate Heiner Buß was mayor for 15 years.
Twin towns
*
Heilbad Heiligenstadt
Heilbad Heiligenstadt is a spa town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Eichsfeld district.
Geography
Heiligenstadt is approximately 14 km east of the tripoint where the states of Thuringia, Hesse and Lower Saxony meet. It lies ...
, Thuringia,
*
Lancaster, Wisconsin,
*
Rybno, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship,
Gallery
File:Heiden, moderne kerk op centraal plein foto6 2012-03-28 15.26.jpg, Heiden, modern church on the central square
File:Heiden (Rathaus).jpg, The modern municipal building, also on the central square
File:Kranenmeer in Heiden.JPG, The lake ''Kranenmeer'' near Heiden
References
External links
Official website
Borken (district)
{{Borken-geo-stub