Home > North Rhine-Westphalia

With eighteen million inhabitants inhabiting 34,080 km² in western-northwestern Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia (German Nordrhein-Westfalen) is largest in population though only fourth in area among Germany's sixteen federal states. The capital is Düsseldorf.

1 Geography

North Rhine-Westphalia borders on (from the west and clockwise) Belgium, the Netherlands and the German states of Lower Saxony, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate.

The state is centred on the sprawling Rhine-Ruhr urbanised region, in turn centred on the great Ruhr industrial complex, consisting of the cities of EssenEssen [ˈɛsn̩] is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the Ruhr river, there being the second largest city of the Ruhr area and the 5th largest city of Germany. Population: 585,000 (2002). Despite its size, the c, DortmundDortmund is a city in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Population: 587,288 (1 January 2004). The River Ruhr flow to the south of the city and the Datteln-Hamm Canal to the north. The Dortmund-Ems Canal termin, DuisburgDuisburg is a german City in the western part of the Ruhr Area (known as the Ruhrgebiet in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a district-free city in the Dusseldorf Region. The harbour of Duisburg is the largest inland port in the world. Duisburg has a Univers, BochumBochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area between the cities of Essen and Dortmund. Population (2002): 394,400. History Although Bochum was founded in the 14th century, the town was insignificant until the 19th ce and GelsenkirchenGelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population as of 31 December 2002 was 274,926. Gelsenkirchen was first documented in 1150, but it remained a tiny village until the 19th c. All these cities form a huge agglomeration, that is grouped along the Ruhr riverEssen-Kettwig The Ruhr is a large river in western Germany starting near the town of Winterberg in Sauerland and ending in the Rhine in the city of Duisburg. Along the river, a number of large industrial cities are found, forming the Ruhr area. German riv. The Ruhr is a tributary of the Rhine, which enters the state in the south and leaves northwest towards the Netherlands. Major cities on the Rhine are Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bonn.

For many people North Rhine-Westphalia is synonymous with industrial areas and agglomerating cities. They ignore that the greatest part of the state's area is covered with forests and fields. The southern parts of the Teutoburg Forest are located in the northeast. In the southwest North Rhine-Westphalia shares in a small part of the Eifel, located on the borders with Belgium and Rhineland-Palatinate. The southeast is occupied by the sparsely populated regions of Sauerland and Siegerland.

Main rivers, that run at least partially through North Rhine-Westphalia, include: Rhine, Ruhr, Ems, Lippe and Weser.

See also List of places in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The state consists of 5 administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke), divided into 31 districts ( Kreise) and 23 district-free cities (kreisfreie Städte). Together North Rhine-Westphalia has 396 municipalities (1997), including the district-free cities, which are municipalities by themselves.

The districts of North Rhine-Westphalia:

Furthermore there are 23 independent towns, which don't belong to any district:

The districts are grouped into five Regierungsbezirke, belonging to one of two Kommunalverbände (formerly called Landschaftsverbände).

• Nordrhein
  • Cologne
  • Düsseldorf
• Westfalen-Lippe
  • Arnsberg
  • Münster
  • Detmold