Westphalia (German: Westfalen [vɛstˈfaːlən]) is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Bielefeld, Bochum, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Münster, and Osnabrück and included in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Bielefeld (ˈbiːləfɛlt is a district-free town in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Bochum (ˈboːχʊm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Dortmund (ˈdɔʁtmʊnt is a City in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Gelsenkirchen (ˌgɛlzənˈkɪʁçən is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Münster ( is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Osnabrück (ɔsnaˈbʁʏk is a City in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the Lower Saxony ( German: Niedersachsen ch is pronounced before an s --> lies in north-western Germany and is second

Three entities known (or partly-known) as Westphalia, superimposed upon the modern state borders of Germany:
Green: Kingdom of Westphalia (1807-1813)
Red: Province of Westphalia (1815-1946)
Dark grey: North Rhine-Westphalia (1946-)

The name "West-phalia" probably means "West-Plain". The Kingdom of Westphalia was a historical state that existed from 1807 - 1813 in parts of present-day Germany. The Province of Westphalia (Provinz Westfalen was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815-1946 North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the The second word, "Falen", is related to the Germanic words "Field", "Flat", and "Floor" (all of which are related to the Latin "planus" through a common Proto-Indo-European root, *pele, meaning "flat, (to) spread").

Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north of the Ruhr River. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge The Weser (ˈveːzɐ is a River in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann The Ruhr is a medium-size River in western Germany ( North Rhine-Westphalia) a right tributary (east-side of the Rhine. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia" was applied to several different entities in history. For this reason specifications of area and population are greatly differing. They range between 16,000 and 22,000 km² in land area, and between 4. 3 million and 8 million inhabitants. There is however consent that both Münster and Osnabrück as well as Bielefeld and Dortmund are part of Westphalia.

History

Roman Incursion

Around 1 A. D. there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück (as mentioned, it is disputed whether this is in Westphalia) and some of the tribes who fought at this battle came from the area of Westphalia. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in the year 9 A

Charlemagne

Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his His war against the Saxons also took place (partly) in what is thought of as westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück and lots of other places in Westphalia. Blessed Widukind or Wittekind (c 730&ndash808 was a Saxon leader Duke of Saxony (corresponding to modern-day Westphalia and the chief antagonist Widukind was buried in Enger, which is also a subject of a legend. Enger is a town in the Herford district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Middle Ages

Originally Westphalia was a part of the Duchy of Saxony, until it was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa in 1180. The mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian Stem duchy " covering the greater part of Northern Germany. Frederick I Barbarossa (1122 &ndash 10 June 1190) was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only a small area south of the Lippe River. The Duchy of Westphalia was a historic territory in the greater region of Westphalia, located in the east of modern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Lippe (ˈlɪpə is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

There is no dominant religion in Westphalia. Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism are on relatively equal footing. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther Lutheranism is strong in the eastern and northern parts with numerous free churches. Münster and especially Paderborn are thought of as Catholic. Osnabrück is divided almost equally between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Prussia

Parts of Westphalia came under Prussian control during the 1600 and 1700 but most of it stayed divided little duchies and other feudal areas of power.

After the defeat of the Prussia Army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt the Treaties of Tilsit those parts where lost and became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813. The Kingdom of Westphalia was a historical state that existed from 1807 - 1813 in parts of present-day Germany. Year 1807 ( MDCCCVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1813 ( MDCCCXIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common It was founded by Napoleon and was a French vassal state. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The term vassal state commonly refers to any state that was subordinate to another in the pre-modern international system This state only shared the name with the historical region; it contained only a relatively small part of Westphalia, consisting instead mostly of Hessian and Eastphalian regions. Hesse (Hessen is a state of Germany with an area Eastphalia (Ostfalen Eastphalian: Oostfalen) is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing eastern Lower Saxony and western

After the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Prussia received a large amount of territory in the Westphalian region and created the province of Westphalia in 1815. The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising The Province of Westphalia (Provinz Westfalen was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815-1946 Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The northernmost portions of the former Westphalia, including the town of Osnabrück, had become part of the states of Hanover and Oldenburg. Osnabrück (ɔsnaˈbʁʏk is a City in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due The Kingdom of Hanover (Königreich Hannover was established in October of 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian Oldenburg ( Low German: Ollnborg) is a historical state in today's Germany named for its capital Oldenburg.

The present state of North Rhine-Westphalia is composed of the former Prussian province of Westphalia, the northern half of the former Prussian Rhine Province, and the former state of Lippe. North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the The Rhine Province (Rheinprovinz also known as Rhenish Prussia ( Rheinpreußen) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free This article is about the district Lippe. For the like-named river see Lippe River.

Westphalia is known for the 1648 Peace of Westphalia (in fact the two treaties of Münster and Osnabrück), which ended the Thirty Years' War. The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of For the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War see Char Bouba war. For the band see The 30 Years War.

A linguistic definition of Westphalia includes the former Prussian province (except Siegen-Wittgenstein), Lippe and the region around Osnabrück. Siegen-Wittgenstein is a Kreis (district in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Osnabrück (ɔsnaˈbʁʏk is a City in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due Present-day common use, however, restricts the notion to the present part of North Rhine-Westphalia, because of the name. North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the

Westphalia is also the location of Baron Thunder-Ten-Tronckh's castle in Voltaire's novella Candide, from which place Candide began (and ended) his voyage. François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French --> Candide ou l'Optimisme (1759 is a French Satire by the Enlightenment Philosopher Voltaire, English translations of which

Volkswagen released a model of their Type 2 van named the "Westfalia". The Volkswagen Type 2 (also known as Transporter) was the second automotive line introduced by German automaker Volkswagen. Volkswagen began subcontracting to the Westfalia-werke in Rheda-Wiedenbrück or more typically Westfalia to build the official Volkswagen Camper cars sold in the early 1950s through

Points of interest

The biggest culture cave of Europe is located in Balve. Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Sir Peter Lely, appointed Principal Painter to Charles II of England in 1662 was born Pieter van der Faes in Westphalia in 1618. Sir Peter Lely ( 14 September, 1618 - 30 November, 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

In Attendorn you can find a cave with limestones. Attendorn is a German town in the Olpe district in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Westphalia is the primary setting for Voltaire's Candide. François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French --> Candide ou l'Optimisme (1759 is a French Satire by the Enlightenment Philosopher Voltaire, English translations of which

External links

• Map of Germany centered on the region
• Information and resources on the history of Westphalia on the Web portal "Westphalian History"

See also

• Peace of Westphalia
• Westphalian sovereignty