Hörde is a ''

Stadtbezirk A (; 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, usually only exist in a metropolis with more than 150,000 in ...

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

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, in

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 ...

. 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 a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. It is situated in the southern part of

, a major town in the

Ruhrgebiet The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a wikt:polycentric, polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/k ...

. 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 heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

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: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

. 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 Herdecke () is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located south of Dortmund in the Ruhr Area. Its location between the two Ruhr (river), Ruhr reservoirs Hengsteysee and Harkortsee has earned it t ...

, Witten,

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

, Castrop,

Lünen Lünen () is a town with around 86,000 inhabitants in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund, on both banks of the Lippe (river), River Lippe. It is the largest town of the Unna (district), Unna district and part of the R ...

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

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 mountain ...

). 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, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, a

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...

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