Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part 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

Diepholz Diepholz (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Deefholt'') is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the rivers Hunte and Lohne, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwes ...

, Nienburg, Schaumburg,

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. ...

Herford Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

Geography

This is the northernmost district of North Rhine-Westphalia. It protrudes into Lower Saxon territory. The

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

River enters the district in the southeast and leaves to the north. In the south of the district the river runs through a narrow gorge, which is formed by two mountain chains, the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...

in the west and the

Wesergebirge The Weser Hills (''Wesergebirge''), also known in German as the ''Weserkette'' ("Weser Chain"),"Ein anderes Bild als die Bergländer der oberen Weser bieten die ''Weserkette'', das ''Wiehengebirge'' und der ''Teutoburger Wald'', see Christian Deg ...

in the east. This gorge is called Porta Westfalica, since it marks the ancient border of

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

History

Minden-Lübbecke is roughly identical with the medieval

Bishopric of Minden The Prince-Bishopric of Minden () was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It was progressively secularized following the Protestant Reformation when it came under the rule of Protestant rulers, and by the Peace of Westphal ...

. At its biggest extent in the 13th century, it later lost territory until it came finally to be around the size of today's district. In the 17th century the principality came into the possession of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

and thus

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, ...

. Lost for a time to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

ic France, it came back to Prussia in 1813, and was then part of the

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

. In 1816 the districts of Minden and Rahden were created, but in 1832 the Rahden district was merged with parts of the abolished Bünde district, and the administrative seat of the new district was

Lübbecke Lübbecke (; ) is a town in northeast North Rhine-Westphalia in north Germany. This former county town lies on the northern slopes of the Wiehen Hills (''Wiehengebirge'') and has around 26,000 inhabitants. The town is part of district of Minden- ...

. The district within today's borders was created in 1973 when the two districts of Minden and Lübbecke were merged.

Miscellaneous

The district is also known as ''Mühlenkreis'', as it has many reconstructed historic mills, many linked by the Westphalian Mill Route.

Coat of arms

In the right half of the coat of arms are the chevrons from the arms of the counts of Ravensberg, who owned part of the district's land. The keys are the sign of the Prince-Bishops of Minden after their patron

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

. After the district was merged with Lübbecke a second key was added, to symbolize the two historic parts. This new arms were granted in 1973.

Towns and municipalities

Nature reserves

There are over 60 nature reserves in Minden-Lübbecke district, covering a total of around 7,100 ha, i.e. 6.2% of the district's area. The largest are: * Bastau meadows with 1,778 ha * Weseraue with 774 ha * Mindener Wald with 515 ha * Großes Torfmoor with 511 ha * Heisterholz with 402 ha * Staustufe Schlüsselburg with 268 ha * Am Oppenweher Moor with 255 ha * Oppenweher Moor with 215 ha

References

External links

Official Website
(German) Districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Detmold (region) {{MindenLübbecke-geo-stub