| Herford | |
 Map of North Rhine-Westphalia highlighting the district of Herford |
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| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Adm. region | Detmold |
| District seat | Herford |
| Area | 449.95 km² |
| Population | 253,751 (31/12/2006) |
| Pop. density | 564 /km² |
| Licence plate code | HF |
| Web page | http://www.kreis-herford.de |
Herford (IPA: [ˈhɛʁfɔʁt]) is a Kreis (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Minden-Lübbecke, Lippe, the urban district of Bielefeld, and the districts Gütersloh and Osnabrück.
History
The region is also known as Wittekind's land, as the last fights of Wittekind's Saxon tribes against Charlemagne took place here. He is believed to be buried in the town of Enger.
When the area became part of the Prussian province Westphalia, the first district Herford was created in 1816. In 1832 it was merged with the district Bünde. In 1911, the city of Herford left the district; however, it lost its status as an independent urban district in 1969. The district reached its current size in 1973 when the municipality Uffeln, which was formerly in the district Minden, was merged into the city Vlotho.
Geography
The district is located between the two mountain chains of the Wiehengebirge in the north and the Teutoburg Forest in the south. To the northeast it is bounded by the Weser river.
Coat of arms
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The black horse of Wittekind is depicted in the coat of arms of the district. After Wittekind was baptized Charlemagne gave him a white horse as present, which is now in the coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. |
Towns and municipalities
| Towns | Municipalities |
|---|---|
External links
- Official website (German)
- Herforder Pils
.svg) Urban and rural districts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany  |
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| Urban districts | Aachen · Bielefeld · Bochum · Bonn · Bottrop · Dortmund · Duisburg · Düsseldorf · Essen · Gelsenkirchen · Hagen · Hamm · Herne · Köln (Cologne) · Krefeld · Leverkusen · Mönchengladbach · Mülheim · Münster · Oberhausen · Remscheid · Solingen · Wuppertal |  |
| Rural 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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