Gütersloh () is a Kreis (
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
) in the north-east of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Neighboring districts are
Osnabrück,
Herford, district-free
Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...
,
Lippe
Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...
,
Paderborn,
Soest and
Warendorf.
History
It was created in 1973 in the reorganization of the districts in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
, when the previous districts of Halle and Wiedenbrück were merged. Also the districts Bielefeld,
Paderborn, Beckum und Warendorf had to cede parts of their area to the newly formed district. The precursor districts were created in 1816 after the new
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n province of
Westphalia was established.
Today, the district Gütersloh has one of Germany's largest exile communities of
Assyrians.
Geography
The east of the district is covered by the
Teutoburg Forest, which also contains the highest elevation of the district, the ''Hengeberg'' (316m). In the west there is the source of the
Ems river
The Ems ( ; ) is a river in northwestern Germany. It runs through the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, and discharges into the Dollart Bay which is part of the Wadden Sea. Its total length is . The state border between th ...
. The Ems valley also contains the lowest point of the district, near
Harsewinkel with 56m.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was adopted with the creation of the district in 1973 by combining the symbols from the arms of the previous districts Halle and Rheda-Wiedenbrück. The three elements derive from the medieval counties in the area now covered by the district.
The golden eagle in the bottom of the coat comes from the duchy of Rietberg. The wheel in the middle derives from the sign of the city
Osnabrück, which owned the Amt Reckenberg. The chevrons in the top part are the symbol of the duchy of Ravensberg.
Towns and municipalities
Economy
Some important companies are located in the district of Guetersloh:
* Beckhoff Automation Technology
*
Bertelsmann Media
*
Claas Combine harvesters
* Gerry Weber Fashion
*
Miele Consumer electronic goods
Nobilia InternationalKitchens
*
Storck Candies
*
Telefonica Internet Services
*
Tönnies Meat Processors
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutersloh (District)
Districts of North Rhine-Westphalia
Detmold (region)