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Selected1 panorama

Panoramic view of the old town of Cologne
Panoramic view of the old town of Cologne
Panoramic view of the old town of Cologne - photo by Ahgee

Introduction


North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen [ˈnɔɐ̯tʁaɪn vɛstˈfaːlən] , usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW) is the westernmost, most populous, and economically most powerful state of Germany. The state was formed in 1946, by merger of two rather distinct territories of the historic Free State of Prussia: the Rhine Province and the Province of Westphalia. The former Free State of Lippe was joined in 1947.

North Rhine-Westphalia is situated "deep in the West" of Germany and includes the plains of the Lower Rhine region and parts of the Central Uplands (Mittelgebirge) up to the gorge of Porta Westfalica. The state comprises a land area of 34,083 km² (13,158 square miles) and shares borders with Belgium in the southwest and the Netherlands in the west and northwest. It has borders with the German states of Lower Saxony to the north and northeast, Rhineland-Palatinate to the south and Hesse to the southeast.

North Rhine Westphalia has a population of approximately 18 million inhabitants, and is centred around the polycentric Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, which includes the formerly industrial Ruhr region and the Rhenish cities of Bonn, Cologne (Köln) and Düsseldorf. 30 of the 80 largest cities in Germany are located within North Rhine-Westphalia. The state's capital is Düsseldorf, the state's largest city is Cologne.

As the most urbanised federal state in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia possesses the country's highest density of cultural, educational and research institutions, the densest transport infrastructure and the highest number of multinational corporations. North Rhine-Westphalia contributes about 22% to Germany's gross domestic product and accounts for about 28% of the country's foreign direct investments.[1]

Topics

Geography Rhineland | Eifel (National Park) | Cologne Bight | Lower Rhine | Lower Rhine region | Westphalia | Münsterland | Sauerland | Ostwestfalen-Lippe | Lippe
History Germania Inferior | Ripuarian Franks | Salian Franks | Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle | Electorate of Cologne | Duchy of Berg | Duchy of Cleves | Rhine Province | Province of Westphalia | Occupation of the Ruhr | International Authority for the Ruhr | European Coal and Steel Community
Politics Constitution of North Rhine-Westphalia | Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia | List of Ministers-President of North Rhine-Westphalia
Economy Companies | Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region | Ruhr Region | WestLB | E.ON | Metro AG | Deutsche Telekom | Düsseldorf International Airport | Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr | NRW.INVEST | Blue Banana
Culture NRW Forum | Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen | Rhein in Flammen | Ruhrtriennale | The Industrial Heritage Trail | Westdeutscher Rundfunk | Lied für NRW | Art Cologne | Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Landmarks World Heritage Sites: Aachen Cathedral | Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl | Cologne Cathedral | Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex | Further sites: Benrath Palace | Historical City Hall of Münster | Hermannsdenkmal | Neuer Zollhof
Sport Football clubs: Borussia Dortmund | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1. FC Köln | FC Schalke 04 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Ice hockey clubs: Kölner Haie | DEG Metro Stars | Iserlohn Roosters
Society Cooperative Dictionary of the Rhinelandic Colloquial Language | Rhenish Carnival | Cologne Gay Pride | International Women's Film Festival Dortmund/Cologne | Karlspreis

Selected article

Peace of Westphalia denotes the two peace treaties of Osnabrück (15 May 1648) and Münster (24 October 1648) that ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The Peace of Westphalia treaties involved the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III (Habsburg), the Kingdoms of Spain, France, Sweden, the Dutch Republic and their allies, the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and sovereigns of the Free imperial cities.

The treaties resulted from the first modern diplomatic congress, thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe, based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign.

Selected biography

Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛɐ̯tiː foːkts], born on 30 December 1946 in Kaarst, near Neuss) is a German football manager.

As a player Vogts spent his entire career with Borussia Mönchengladbach and was part of the German squad that won the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He managed the German national team from 1990 until 1998 and is currently manager of the Azerbaijan national team.

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

  1. ^ data by NRW.INVEST