Oberbergischer Kreis

Encyclopedia : O : OB : OBE : Oberbergischer Kreis

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|- | Area:||918.53 km² |- | Inhabitants:||290.308 (2003) |- | pop. density:||316 inh./km² |- | Car identification:||GM |- | Homepage:||http://www.oberbergischer-kreis.de |- !colspan=2 align=center bgcolor=#DEFFAD|Map |- |colspan=2 align=center| |}

The Oberbergische Kreis is a Kreis (district) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ennepe-Ruhr, Märkischer Kreis, Olpe, Altenkirchen, Rhein-Sieg, Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, and the urban districts Remscheid and Wuppertal.

Contents

1 Name
2 Geography
3 Coat of arms
4 Politics

4.1 District Administrator
4.2 District Administrator for the management

5 Economy
6 Places of interest
7 Towns and municipalities
8 External links

Name

The area of the Bergisches Land belonged to the County of Berg for most of the medieval times, which still gives the district its name. What is called "Oberbergisch" ('upper Bergian') lies in the southeast of that earldom: Already in 1740, a description of what had meanwhile become a duchy made a distinction between the "Niederbergisch" part north of the river Wupper and the "Oberbergisch" to its south.

In 1816, after the whole Rhineland was annexed to Prussia, the districts of Waldbröl, Homburg, Gimborn, Wipperfürth, and Lennep were created on the area now covered by the district. In 1825 the districts Gimborn and Homburg were merged to the district Gummersbach. In 1932 it was merged with the district of Waldbröl, and then for the first time called Oberbergischer Kreis. The restructuring of the districts in 1969/75 did then create the district to its current extent.

Geography

The Oberbergischer Kreis covers the hills west of the Sauerland and north of the Westerwald. It constitutes the eastern part of the Bergisches Land nature reserve. Situated at an altitude of 200-530 meters above sea level, it is rich in wood and water (numbering ten artificial lakes) and thus a recreational area for citizens from Cologne, the Ruhr area and the Netherlands.

The prevailing rock is greywacke, which was and in places still is mined in large stone quarries.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is a combination of the heraldic signs of the territories the district belonged to. The red-white bar in the top symbolizes the County of Mark and the lion that of Berg. Homburg Castle (near Nümbrecht) was the seat of the Princes of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.

Politics

District Administrator

1945-1951: Dr. August Dresbach, CDU
1951-1952: Fritz Eschmann, SPD
1952-1956: Wilhelm Henn, CDU
1956-1961: Fritz Eschmann, SPD
1961-1964: Reinhard Kaufmann, CDU
1964-1969: Dr. Heinrich Schild, CDU
1969-1989: Hans Wichelhaus, CDU
1989-1994: Hans-Leo Kausemann, CDU
1994-1999: Herbert Heidtman, SPD

Since the October 1st, 1999 there is only one (directly elected) District Administrator who at the same time is head of management:

1999-2004: Hans-Leo Kausemann, CDU
2004-today: Hagen Jobi, CDU

District Administrator for the management

1946-1979: Dr. Friedrich-Wilhelm Goldenbogen, CDU
1979-1987: Dr. Dieter Fuchs, CDU
1987-1994: Dr. Gert Ammermann, CDU
1995-1999: Heribert Rohr, SPD

Economy

The district's economy is marked by small and middle-sized industry, particularly in the areas of plastic and metal processing.

Places of interest

Homburg Castle

The so-called 'colored churches' (with medieval wall and cover paintings) are known nationally
Stalactite cave in Wiehl
Rhenish industry museum in Engelskirchen
House Dahl
Open-air museum in Lindlar
Gimborn Castle
Homburg Castle
Hückeswagen Castle and the historical part of Hückeswagen
Ehreshoven Castle

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Bergneustadt Gummersbach Hückeswagen Radevormwald Waldbröl Wiehl Wipperfürth	Engelskirchen Lindlar Marienheide Morsbach Nümbrecht Reichshof

External links

[Official website] (German)
[Touristical website] (German)
[Kreisinformationssystem Oberberg] (German)

	Cities and Districts in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
Cities	Aachen \| Bergisch Gladbach \| Bielefeld \| Bochum \| Bonn \| Bottrop \| Dortmund \| Duisburg \| Düsseldorf \| Essen \| Gelsenkirchen \| Hagen \| Hamm \| Herne \| Köln (Cologne) \| Krefeld \| Leverkusen \| Mönchengladbach \| Mülheim \| Münster \| Oberhausen \| Remscheid \| Solingen \| Wuppertal
Districts	Aachen \| Borken \| Kleve (Cleves) \| Coesfeld \| Düren \| Ennepe-Ruhr \| Euskirchen \| Gütersloh \| Heinsberg \| Herford \| Hochsauerland \| Höxter \| Lippe \| Märkischer Kreis \| Mettmann \| Minden-Lübbecke \| Oberbergischer Kreis \| Olpe \| Paderborn \| Recklinghausen \| Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis \| Rhein-Erft-Kreis \| Rhein-Kreis Neuss Rhein-Sieg-Kreis \| Siegen-Wittgenstein \| Soest \| Steinfurt \| Unna \| Viersen \| Warendorf \| Wesel

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