Siegen-Wittgenstein

Siegen-Wittgenstein
District
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Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Adm. region	Arnsberg
Capital	Siegen
Area
• Total	1,131.47 km2 (436.86 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2013)
• Total	274,904
• Density	240/km2 (630/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration	SI
Website	siegen-wittgenstein.de

County of Wittgenstein
Grafschaft Wittgenstein
State of the Holy Roman Empire
1174–1357
Coat of arms of the Counts of Wittgenstein
Capital		Wittgenstein Castle
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	1174
•	Merged with     Sayn-Sponheim	1357 1357
Succeeded by Sayn-Wittgenstein

Siegen-Wittgenstein is a Kreis (district) in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Olpe, Hochsauerlandkreis, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Lahn-Dill, Westerwaldkreis, Altenkirchen.

History

In 1816–1817, the two districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein were created as parts of the Prussian province of Westphalia. In 1974, the two districts were merged, and in 1984 the name Siegen-Wittgenstein was adopted.

Geography

Geographically, it covers the hills southeast of the Sauerland hills, the Siegerland and Wittgensteiner Land.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Siegen-Wittgenstein

The two upper sections show, to the right, the arms of the Dukes of Nassau, who founded Siegen, and to the left, those of the Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein. At the bottom a miner's lamp and a coppicing hook are depicted, in reference to the mining and charcoal-burning history of the district.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Bad Berleburg Bad Laasphe Freudenberg Hilchenbach Kreuztal Netphen Siegen	Burbach Erndtebrück Neunkirchen (Siegerland) Wilnsdorf

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Official webpage (German)
• History and genealogy for Wittgenstein