VIERSEN (DISTRICT)

'Viersen' is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Cleves, Wesel, district-free Krefeld, Neuss, district-free Mönchengladbach, Heinsberg and the Dutch province of Limburg.

Contents

History

Geography

Coat of arms

Cities and municipalities

External links

History

In 1816, the new Prussian government created the district of ''Kempen''. Originally belonging to the Regierungsbezirk Kleve, it was dissolved in 1822, and since then has belonged to Düsseldorf. In 1929 the district was enlarged significantly and renamed to ''Kempen-Krefeld''.
In 1975 the district again changed its borders and was renamed to ''Viersen'' even though Kempen remained the capital. Viersen city replace Kempen as the capital in 1984.
Since 1983 the district has had been twinned with Cambridgeshire in England.

Geography

The district is located in the lowlands between the Rhine and the Meuse river. Highest elevation is at ''Süchtelner Höhen'' with 90.7 m, with the lowest at ''Pielbruch'' with 28.6 m.

Coat of arms

At the top of the coat of arms is the black cross of the Cologne bishops, as the district used to belong to the clerical state Cologne. The golden lion on blue ground is the symbol of the duchy of Guelders; the black lion on golden ground the symbol of the duchy of Jülich.

Cities and municipalities

district-depending municipalities ★ Brüggen:16.211 inhabitants ★ Grefrath:15.929 inhabitants ★ Niederkrüchten:15.457 inhabitants ★ Schwalmtal:19.279 inhabitants

medium district-depending cities ★  Kempen:36.323 inhabitants ★ Nettetal:42.434 inhabitants ★ Tönisvorst:30.238 inhabitants ★ Willich:51.939 inhabitants

large district-depending cities ★ Viersen:76.330 inhabitants

based on data from: 31. December 2005>

External links

★ Official website (German)