Country Germany Adm. region Arnsberg Time zone CET (UTC+1) Population 331,575 (31 Dec 2010) Administrative region Arnsberg | State North Rhine-Westphalia Founded 1 August 1929 Vehicle registration EN, WIT Capital Schwelm | |
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University Witten/Herdecke University Clubs and Teams TSG Sprockhövel, TSG Herdecke Points of interest Ruhr, Haus Kemnade, Hardenstein Castle, Henrichshütte, LWL‑Industriemuseum Henrichshütte Hattingen | ||
The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is a district in the center of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the southern Ruhr urban area and has ca. 324,000 inhabitants (2012). The district's seat (capital city) is Schwelm; the largest of its nine towns is Witten.
Contents
- Map of Ennepe Ruhr Kreis Germany
- Geography
- Municipalities
- Adjacent cities and districts
- History
- Coat of arms
- References
Map of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, Germany
Geography
The name of the district describes its geographical location – it is located in the valleys of the rivers Ruhr and Ennepe. Geologically it is part of the north-eastern Rhenish Massif, a Mittelgebirge landscape; only small parts of Witten belong to the flat Westphalian Lowland.
Municipalities
The district consists of nine municipalities, all entitled "Stadt" (town or city).
Adjacent cities and districts
The Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the district-free cities of Bochum, Dortmund and Hagen, the districts of Märkischer Kreis (with Schalksmühle and Halver) and Oberbergischer Kreis (with Radevormwald), the city of Wuppertal, the district of Mettmann (with Velbert) and the city of Essen.
History
The district was created in 1929 by merging the former district of Schwelm with parts of the former districts of Hattingen and Hagen. In 1970 and 1975 it was modified a bit during the reorganization of the districts in North Rhine-Westphalia; most notable was the inclusion of the previously independent city of Witten in 1975.
Coat of arms
In the middle of the coat of arms there is the checked red-white bar of the County of Mark, which owned the area in medieval times. The two wavy lines above and below depict the two rivers which gave the district its name, the Ruhr and the Ennepe.