The Siegerland is a region of

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 ...

covering the old district of

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

(now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in

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 ...

) and the upper part of the district of

Altenkirchen Altenkirchen () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approximately 40 km east of Bonn and 50 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("co ...

, belonging to the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

adjoining it to the west. Geologically, the Siegerland belongs to the Rhenish Massif (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, ''Rhenish Slate Mountains''). The point of highest elevation is the ''Riemen'', at 678 metres above sea level. The river

Sieg The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine. The river is named after the Sicambri. It is in length. The source is located in the Rothaargebirge mountains. From here t ...

, a right tributary of the river

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, has its source in the town of

Netphen Netphen () is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the river Sieg, roughly 7 km northeast of Siegen. Geography Location Netphen lies on the Rothaargebirge's southern slope and forms the ...

in the

Rothaar Mountains The Rothaar Mountains (german: Rothaargebirge, , also ''Rotlagergebirge''), or Rothaar, is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany. It is believed that its name must once have been ...

. The region around 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 ...

is centered in the middle of

. It includes the municipalities of Hilchenbach,

, Kreuztal, Freudenberg and

, and the communities of

Wilnsdorf Wilnsdorf is a municipality in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography The southern municipal limits, with the Kalteiche peak, part of the Rothaargebirge, form not only the community's highest point, at ...

, Burbach and Neunkirchen, all in North Rhine-Westphalia, and in the Rhineland-Palatinate the municipalities of

Kirchen Kirchen (Sieg) is a town and Luftkurort (climatic spa) in the district of Altenkirchen in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg, approx. 12 km southwest of Siegen. Among its notable features is the Freu ...

Herdorf Herdorf () is a town in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Heller, approx. 20 km south-west of Siegen. Twin towns — sister cities Herdorf is twinned with: * Saint-Laurent-du-Pon ...

and Betzdorf, with the community of Daaden. The population is approximately 300,000. The region also has a dialect Siegerländisch which is spoken by many of its inhabitants.

References

External links

Siegerland: general and tourist information

''This article is based on the German Wikipedia article'' Regions of North Rhine-Westphalia Regions of Rhineland-Palatinate Rhenish Massif Cultural landscapes of North Rhine-Westphalia {{RhinelandPalatinate-geo-stub