North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

North Rhine-Westphalia, state in west central Germany, bounded on the north and
northeast by the state of Lower Saxony, on the east by the state of Hesse, on the south by
the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and on the west by Belgium and the Netherlands.
Düsseldorf is the capital. Other important cities are Essen, Cologne, Dortmund, and
Bonn, the German administrative capital. The northwestern part of the state is a lowland,
which rises in the northeast into the hilly Teutoburger Wald. The eastern, southern, and
western parts are rolling uplands, which in the west reach an elevation of 800 m (2625
ft). The uplands are cut by a series of valleys, namely, the Rhine, Ruhr, and Möhne. The
Rhine, Ems, and Weser rivers, the main rivers in the state, flow in a southern to northern
direction. Area, 34,069 sq km (13,154 sq mi); population (1990 estimate) 17,349,700.

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most industrialized and most populous state in western
Germany. Coal mining, coke production, pig-iron production, and steelmaking, the chief
industries, are centered in the Ruhr Valley, which has some of the largest reserves of
bituminous coal in western Europe. Other industries include the manufacture of textiles,
chemicals, and machinery. The state also produces about one-third of the electricity of
western Germany. Extensive agricultural areas are found throughout the state. The
Rhineland is known for its wine production. Cereals, potatoes, and beets are grown
throughout Westphalia. Dairy farming and cattle and hog raising are also important.
Because of the well-known cathedrals and castles along the Rhine River, tourism is a
major industry.

Under the 1950 constitution, the state is governed by a cabinet, headed by a minister-
president. The cabinet is responsible to the popularly elected diet. The state is divided
into six administrative districts.

The Rhine area was the homeland of numerous German tribes who successively fought
the Celts and other German peoples, the Romans, and the Franks. Merovingian and
Carolingian rulers used the Rhineland as a base for penetrating Germany from the 6th to
the 9th century. After the breakup of the Carolingian empire, a number of separate
bishoprics and duchies emerged. These small states fell prey to their stronger neighbors:
France moved into Lorraine in the 16th century and into Alsace in the 17th century; also
in the 17th century Brandenburg gained a foothold in Westphalia and gained Cleves and
Mark. Although Louis XIV, king of France, was not able to extend his control, the French
Revolution (1789-1799) and the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) helped to consolidate
many of the small states. The left bank of the Rhine was ceded to France in 1801. Further
changes came with the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806 and the
kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. Although the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) undid
much of this partition, France, Prussia, and Bavaria gained new areas. Prussia acquired
Westphalia between 1815 and 1817, and annexed various Rhineland areas following the
Seven Weeks' War (1866), and Alsace-Lorraine after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-
1871).

After World War I (1914-1918), Allied forces occupied the Ruhr and other parts of the
Rhineland. In 1930 the last Allied troops left the Rhineland, and in 1936 German troops
reoccupied the area. During World War II (1939-1945), the Ruhr area was heavily
bombed. In 1946 the state was created out of Westphalia and the northern part of the
Rhine province; Lippe was added in 1947.