Westphalia

Being a part of the North German Plain, most of Westphalia's north is flat. In the south the German Central Uplands emerge. Westphalia is divided into the following landscapes.[8]

Flat to hilly (498 m or 1,634 ft and under): East Westphalia, Münsterland, eastern Ruhr Metropolitan Area, Tecklenburg Land, Westphalian Hellweg

Hilly to mountainous (up to 843 m or 2,766 ft): Westphalian part of the Sauerland, Siegerland, Wittgenstein

Westphalia is roughly the region in between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located both north and south of the Ruhr River. Other important rivers are the Ems and the Lippe.[10]

The Langenberg (843 m or 2,766 ft) and the Kahler Asten (842 m or 2,762 ft) in the Sauerland part of the Rothaar Mountains are Westphalia's and also North Rhine-Westphalia's highest mountains.

The term "Westphalia" contrasts with the much less used term "Eastphalia", which roughly covers the southeastern part of the present-day state of Lower Saxony, western Saxony-Anhalt and northern Thuringia.[3][11]

Westphalia is divided into three governmental districts. These are subdivided into further districts and independent cities.

All districts and independent cities of the governmental districts of Arnsberg and Münster are considered to be a part of Westphalia as a historic region. The District of Lippe as successor of the Free State of Lippe in the Governmental District of Detmold is rather considered to be a separate historic region.

The traditional symbol of Westphalia is the Westphalian Steed: a white horse on a red field. It is derived from the Saxon Steed in the coat of arms of the medieval Duchy of Saxony which most of today's Westphalia was part of. In official contexts the coat of arms of Westphalia is being used by the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association,[12] which represents these two historic parts of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia uses the Westphalian Steed to represent Westphalia as one of its parts alongside the Lippish Rose representing Lippe and the Rhine River representing the Northern Rhineland.[13]

Prussia already used the Westphalian Steed in the coat of arms of its Province of Westphalia.

The coat of arms of Lower Saxony uses a different version of the Saxon Steed since the state also covers large parts of the Old Saxons' duchy.

The colours of Westphalia are white and red. The flag of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association uses these colours with the Westphalian coat of arms in its centre.[12]

The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia is a combination of the Northern Rhineland's colours green/white and the Westphalian white/red.[14]

The flag of the Prussian Province of Westphalia already displayed the colours white and red.

The flag of Lower Saxony shows the colours of Germany and the Saxon Steed.

Composed in Iserlohn in 1886 by Emil Rittershaus, the Westfalenlied is an unofficial anthem of Westphalia.

Around AD 1 there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück, which at this time was a place of settlement of the Westphalians, who were a part of the Germanic tribe of the Saxons. Some of the tribes who fought at this battle came from the area of Westphalia.[16][17]

Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts. His Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück and other places in Westphalia. Widukind was buried in Enger, which is also a subject of a legend.[3]

Westphalia within Saxony circa 1000 CE

  Westphalia

  Other parts of Saxony

  Rest of the German Kingdom

Along with Eastphalia, Angria and Nordalbingia, Westphalia (Westfalahi) was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony. At the time, large portions of its territory in the north lay in what today is Lower Saxony. Following the deposition of the Saxon duke Henry the Lion in 1180 and the subsequent belittlement of the duchy, Westphalia was elevated to a duchy in its own right by Emperor Barbarossa. The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only a small area south of the Lippe River.[3]

Modern Westphalia was a part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire, which comprised territories of Lower Lorraine, Frisia and parts of the former Duchy of Saxony.

Ratification of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 in Münster by Gerard Terborch (1617–1681)

As a result of the Protestant Reformation, there was no dominant religion in Westphalia. Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism were on a relatively equal footing. Lutheranism was strong in the eastern and northern parts with numerous free churches. Münster and especially Paderborn were considered to be Catholic. Osnabrück was divided almost equally between Catholicism and Protestantism.[18]

Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, but most of it remained divided by duchies and other areas of feudal power. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended the Thirty Years' War. The concept of nation-state sovereignty resulting from the treaty became known as "Westphalian sovereignty".[18]

Prussian Westphalia edged in red, the Kingdom of Westphalia edged in green with the territorial overlap of former Minden-Ravensberg, pasted over today's borders with North Rhine-Westphalia in dark grey.

Westphalia (red), within the Kingdom of Prussia, within the German Empire

After the defeat of the Prussian Army by the French at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 made the easternmost portion of today's Westphalia part of the French client Kingdom of Westphalia until 1813, when the kingdom was dissolved by the Russians. While this state shared its name with the historical region, it only contained a relatively small part of Westphalia, rather consisting of mostly Hessian and Eastphalian regions.[19]

Following to the Congress of Vienna, Prussia received a large amount of territories in the Westphalian region and created the Province of Westphalia in 1815. After in 1816, the former Duchy of Westphalia and the counties of Wittgenstein and in 1851 the condominium of Lippstadt had joined the province, Westphalia had received its modern territorial shape.[19][2]

In 1816, the governmental districts of Arnsberg, Minden and Münster were created.[19][2]

After World War II in 1946, the present state of North Rhine-Westphalia was created by the British military government from the former Prussian Province of Westphalia and the northern half of the former Prussian Rhine Province. The old governmental districts of 1816 stayed in place. When in 1947 the former Free State of Lippe with its capital Detmold joined North Rhine-Westphalia, the "Governmental District of Minden" was enlarged by this territory and renamed "Governmental District of Detmold". In total, North Rhine-Westphalia is subdivided into five governmental districts (Regierungsbezirke). Westphalia today consists of the old governmental districts of Arnsberg and Münster and of Detmold except of the District of Lippe which is a separate historical region and state part of North Rhine-Westphalia. Inhabitants of the region call themselves Westphalians and their home region Westphalia even though there is no administrative division by that name.[4]