Hochsauerlandkreis (meaning “High Sauerland District” in German) is a Kreis (district) in the east 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 betwee ...

. Neighboring districts are Soest,

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

, Höxter,

Waldeck-Frankenberg Waldeck-Frankenberg is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Höxter, Kassel, Schwalm-Eder, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Hochsauerland. History The district was created in 1972 by merg ...

, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, Märkischer Kreis. The district is named “High Sauerland” because two of the highest mountains of the Sauerland mountainous landscape, Langenberg and

Kahler Asten Kahler may refer to: Places * Kahler, Luxembourg, a small town in the commune of Garnich * Kahler Asten, a German mountain range Other uses * Kahler (surname) * Kahler's disease, a cancer otherwise known as ''multiple myeloma'' * Kahler Tremolo Sy ...

are in its territory. With 2,766 ft / 843 m (Langenberg) and 2,762 ft / 842 m (Kahler Asten) these are also the highest mountains of

History

The district was established in 1975 in the reorganization of the districts in

by merging the previous districts Arnsberg, Brilon and Meschede.

Geography

Geographically the district covers a big 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, including the highest and third highest elevation – the Langenberg near Olsberg with 2,766 ft / 843 m, and the better known

with 2,762 ft / 842 m near

Winterberg Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle o ...

. These are also the two highest mountains of

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was inherited from the former district

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hochs ...

. It shows the eagle as the symbol of the Earls of Arnsberg. When their county lost independence in 1368 it fell to the bishops of

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 ...

, thus the sign on the breast of the eagle shows the Cologne cross.

Towns and municipalities

Town twinnings

Hochsauerland is twinned with the following cities: * West Lothian, Scotland

Notable persons

* Franz Hoffmeister (died 1943), Roman Catholic priest

Notable places

* Abbey Bergkloster, Bestwig * Abbey Grafschaft, Schmallenberg * Abbey Königsmünster, Meschede

References

External links

*
Touristic website
{{Coord, 51.25, 8.33, display=title, format=dms Districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Sauerland 1975 establishments in West Germany