The Sauerland is a rural hilly area spreading across most of the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, heavily forested and sparsely inhabited. Despite the sparse habitation, loud construction work has been known to disturb the more individualistic inhabitants. North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen or short: NRW) is - in population and economic output - the largest Federal State of Germany. ... FOREST, which describes itself as the voice and friend of the smoker, is a United Kingdom political pressure group that campaigns for the right of people to smoke tobacco and opposes attempts to ban or reduce tobacco consumption, as well as casting doubt on medical claims of the health risks...

History

The name Sauerland does not originate from the German word sauer meaning sour, but from the word sur from medieval Low German, meaning sour/difficult. This indicates that in older times this area was difficult to travel through on account of the hills and valleys. Low German (also called Plattdeutsch, Plattdüütsch or Low Saxon) is a name for the regional language varieties of the Low Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany, southern Denmark and eastern Netherlands. ...

One part of the Sauerland belonged to the County of the Mark based on Altena; the other part to the County (later Duchy) of Westphalia, which was owned by the bishops of Cologne. The Duchy of Limburg covered a very small area in the lower Lenne river valley. After the Napoleonic Wars the whole area became part of Prussia, in the new province Westphalia, which after World War II was incorporated into the new federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Today it is split among the districts Märkischer Kreis, Olpe and Hochsauerland. The western part of the Hessian district Waldeck-Frankenberg also considers itself to be part of the Sauerland. Mark was a medieval territory in todays North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Map of Germany showing Altena For other meanings of Altena, see Altena (disambiguation) Altena is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Westphalia (German: Westfalen) is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Münster, Bielefeld, and Osnabrück and included in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. ... Cologne Cathedral with Hohenzollern Bridge Cologne (German: (help· info) [kÅ“ln]; Kölsch: Kölle) is Germanys fourth-largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of... Hagen-Hohenlimburg (formerly known as Limburg an der Lenne, changed to Hohenlimburg in 1903), on the Lenne river, is a borough of the city of Hagen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... The Lenne is a river in the Sauerland area in western Germany. ... Combatants Allies: • United Kingdom, • Prussia, • Austria, • Russia France Commanders Strength Casualties Full list Full list The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Casualties Military dead: 18 million Civilian dead: 33 million Full list Military dead: 7 million Civilian dead: 4 million Full list World War II, also known as the Second World... North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen or short: NRW) is - in population and economic output - the largest Federal State of Germany. ... The Märkische Kreis is a district (Kreis) in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Olpe is a Kreis (district) in the south-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Hochsauerland is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Hesse (German: Hessen) is one of Germanys sixteen federal states (Bundesländer) and has an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants. ... Waldeck-Frankenberg is a Kreis (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. ...

Geography

Hills of the Sauerland

In the west the hills continue into the Bergische Land, to the south into the Siegerland, and in the north-east to the Teutoburg Forest. The major rivers of the Sauerland are the Ruhr and the Lenne. Several smaller rivers were converted into artificial lakes by dams to store water for the nearby Ruhr area. The biggest of these lakes are those of the Möhne and Bigge. Sauerland, photographed by Thomas Klein-Hitpaß File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Sauerland, photographed by Thomas Klein-Hitpaß File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Berg was a medieval territory in todays North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen (now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoining it to the west. ... View over the Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest (German: Teutoburger Wald) is a range of low, forested mountains in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, which was believed to be the environ of a decisive battle in AD 9. ... For the conurbation see Ruhr Area. ... The Lenne is a river in the Sauerland area in western Germany. ... Scrivener Dam, in Canberra, Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ... Map of the Ruhr Area The Ruhr Area (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquially Ruhrpott or Kohlenpott) is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large (former) industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. ... The Möhne Reservoir is an artificial lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund. ...

The highest elevations of the Sauerland are the Langenberg (843m) near Olsberg. Much better known, because of its weather observation station, is the Kahler Asten (842m) near Winterberg. Both belong to the mountain range called the Rothaargebirge. Olsberg is a town and a municipality in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Winterberg is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

Economy

The Sauerland is an old industrial region. The availability of iron ore together with abundant wood and water allowed iron production to begin there long before the Ruhr area started to grow due to its coal deposits. Today there are only a few remains of this early industry; only wire production is still important in Altena. Map of the Ruhr Area The Ruhr Area (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquially Ruhrpott or Kohlenpott) is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large (former) industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). ... Map of Germany showing Altena For other meanings of Altena, see Altena (disambiguation) Altena is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

The Sauerland today is an area very popular for tourism. The forests and small cities make it very popular for hiking, and several of the cities have the title Bad (Spa) because of their very good air quality. The higher elevations are also a popular winter sports area, especially for Dutch people. The bob sleigh track in Winterberg is famous, as is the ski jumping in Willingen. The Dutch are the inhabitants of the Netherlands. ... Willingen is a municipality of the Waldeck-Frankenberg Kreis (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. ...

Geology

"Felsenmeer"

The Sauerland is part of the bigger hill chain called Rheinisches Schiefergebirge ('Rhine slate mountains'), which includes the Bergisches Land', Westerwald, Siegerland, and, separated by the Rhine valley, the Eifel, Hohes Venn and Hunsrück. Most of the stone was created in the Middle and Upper Devonian period when the area was a shallow sea; thus limestone and slate are the most abundant stones. Some areas are karstified. Sauerland has several caves, especially in the northern part. The hills began to be created in the late Pliocene; only the Rothaargebirge is younger. The process of uplift has long ceased. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1490x948, 749 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Sauerland Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1490x948, 749 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Sauerland Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... The Westerwald is a mountain chain in Germany. ... The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen (now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoining it to the west. ... At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... The Eifel is a hilly region in Germany. ... The Hautes Fagnes (-French, in German: Hohes Venn, English translation: high fens) is a highland in Belgium and Germany, between the Ardennes and the Eifel highlands. ... A typical view of the Hunsrück countryside. ... Disambiguation: Devonian is also an adjective relating to the English county of Devon or the people there. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Slate Slate is a fine-grained, homogeneous, metamorphic rock which was derived from an original sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low grade regional metamorphism. ... Karst topography occurs when a landscape is marked by underground drainage patterns. ... The Pliocene epoch (formerly Pleiocene) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ...

External links

• Tourism website (German)
• http://www.sauerland-travel.de/ - source for travel, accommodation and information about the Sauerland region (German)