North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia, often shortened to NRW, is a state in Western Germany. It is the most populous state in Germany, with over 18 million people living there. It is also very crowded, being the most densely populated state besides a few city-states.

The state includes many big cities, such as Cologne, the state capital Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen. These cities are part of the Rhine-Ruhr area, the largest urban area in Germany. This location makes North Rhine-Westphalia close to other important cities across Europe.

North Rhine-Westphalia was created in 1946 after World War II. It was formed from parts of old Prussian provinces and the Free State of Lippe, under the control of the British military. Later, it became part of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. The city of Bonn was even the federal capital for a time before Germany was reunited in 1990.

History

Main article: History of North Rhine-Westphalia

Creation

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia was created on 23 August 1946 by joining two areas: the province of Westphalia and the northern part of the Rhine Province. Both were parts of the old state of Prussia. Later, in 1947, the state of Lippe was also added. The state's constitution was approved by a vote of the people.

Rhineland

Main article: Rhineland

The Rhineland area has a long history. The Roman leader Julius Caesar wrote about tribes living there, like the Eburones and the Ubii. As Roman power grew weaker, these tribes became known as Ripuarian Franks. By the eighth century, Frankish leaders controlled the area. Later, the Holy Roman Empire included both sides of the Rhine River. Over time, the Rhineland became divided into many small regions, but it remained important in German culture and history.

Westphalia

Main article: Westphalia

Westphalia has ancient roots. Battles and legends from long ago, like the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, are connected to this region. Charlemagne, a famous ruler, spent time in Paderborn. Westphalia became a duchy in 1180. Many changes happened over the centuries, including wars and the rise and fall of different rulers. After big events like the Protestant Reformation, Westphalia had many different religious groups living together.

Flags and coat of arms

The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia is green, white, and red. It shows the symbols of three places: the Rhineland (a white line on green for the Rhine River), Westfalen (a white horse), and Lippe (a red rose). This flag was first used in 1948 and became official in 1953. Government buildings use a special version with the state's coat of arms on it.

The horse in the coat of arms comes from an old symbol called the Saxon Steed. It has been used since the 1400s and is linked to Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

Geography

North Rhine-Westphalia includes the flat lands of the Lower Rhine region and parts of the Central Uplands up to the Porta Westfalica gorge. It covers an area of 34,083 km² and borders Belgium to the southwest and the Netherlands to the west and northwest. It also shares borders with the German states of Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Hesse.

The state has many rivers, with the Rhine being the most important. It flows through North Rhine-Westphalia and then splits into many branches after entering the Netherlands. Much of the land is used for farming and forests.

Subdivisions

See also: List of places in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia has five government regions, divided into 31 districts and 23 urban districts. In total, there are 396 municipalities.

Borders

The state’s area stretches 291 km from north to south and 266 km from east to west. It shares borders with Belgium, the Netherlands, Lower Saxony, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatinate.

Demographics

See also: List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population

North Rhine-Westphalia is home to about 18.1 million people. It is the most populated state in Germany and is centered around the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. This area includes big cities like Dortmund, Bonn, Cologne, and Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf is the capital, but Cologne is the largest city. Many of Germany’s biggest cities are located here.

The following table shows the ten largest cities of North Rhine-Westphalia:

Historical population

The following table shows the population of the state since 1930. The values until 1960 are the average of the yearly population, from 1965 the population at year end is used.

Vital statistics

Source: Statistische Ämter des Bundes Und der Länder

Religion

As of 2023, about one-third of people in North Rhine-Westphalia followed the Roman Catholic tradition, another one-fifth followed Protestant traditions, and almost half did not follow any specific religion or followed other beliefs. This state has the most Roman Catholics and Protestants of any in Germany.

Politics

Main article: Politics of North Rhine-Westphalia

The politics of North Rhine-Westphalia works within a system where people choose their leaders through voting. The two biggest parties are the centre-right Christian Democratic Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party. From 1966 to 2005, the Social Democrats or groups led by them were in charge most of the time.

The state’s main decision-making group is called the Landtag. It can make rules about things like schools, safety, and health. North Rhine-Westphalia uses the same voting system as the whole country. Every five years, people vote to choose at least 181 members of the Landtag. Only parties that get at least 5% of the votes can have members in this group.

After the vote on 15 May 2022, the Christian Democrats and the Greens formed a team to lead the state. This brought back Hendrik Wüst as the leader of North Rhine-Westphalia.

For more details about the current leaders, see Wüst cabinet.

Culture

North Rhine-Westphalia is rich in history and culture. It has more castles and fortresses than any other German state. You can find many museums, cultural centers, concert halls, and theaters here.

The state has many important historic buildings, like medieval architecture in Aachen and beautiful old churches such as the Aachen Cathedral and Cologne Cathedral. There are also modern buildings like the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal, a special suspended monorail.

North Rhine-Westphalia is also known for its festivals. It hosts film festivals in several cities and large events like the Rhenish carnivals and the Ruhrtriennale. Every year, Cologne holds Gamescom, Europe’s biggest video game convention.

Music lovers will enjoy this state too. Famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn. The region is also home to many famous heavy metal, speed metal, and thrash metal bands, as well as electronic music pioneers.

See also: List of World Heritage Sites in Europe § Germany See also: List of German dishes

Economy

Main article: Economy of North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia has been a very important place for work and money in Germany. It has the biggest economy of all the German states. In 2024, it made more than one trillion US dollars in value.

After World War II, the Ruhr area became a key industrial place in Western Europe. It helped Germany grow quickly during a time called the Wirtschaftswunder. Over time, the economy changed from coal and steel to other types of work, like making machines and working with metal. Even with these changes, North Rhine-Westphalia stayed strong economically.

Many companies from inside and outside Germany have chosen to build in this state. By 2018, the last coal mine closed, and the economy shifted to include creative jobs. Even with these changes, some areas still struggle with jobs being harder to find than in other parts of Germany.

Transport

With its central location in the most important European economic area, North Rhine-Westphalia has one of the densest transport networks in the world. The regional rail network is organized around big cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Dortmund. Public transport companies in the Ruhr area and Düsseldorf use a uniform ticket system, and there is a special ticketing system called NRW-Tarif that works across all regions of the state. The state connects well with the national rail system, Deutsche Bahn, with many train stations in each city. Bigger stations have frequent direct trains to major German and European cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and Basel.

The Rhein-Ruhr area has some of the longest tram systems in the world, with services connecting cities like Witten to Krefeld and Cologne to Bad Honnef and Siegburg. There are also commuter rail networks, such as the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn and the S-Bahn Köln.

North Rhine-Westphalia has the densest network of Autobahns in Germany. The Autobahn network forms a grid with five east–west routes and eight north–south routes. The main airport is Düsseldorf Airport, which is a major international hub. Other important airports include Cologne Bonn Airport and Dortmund Airport.

The Rhine River flows through the state, and its banks are often busy with industry. Important inland ports like Duisburg Inner Harbour and Dortmund Port help with transportation. Many canals, such as the Rhine–Herne Canal, also play a key role in moving goods by water.

Education

Main article: Education in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia has many schools and universities. One famous university is RWTH Aachen, known for technology studies. The state has 14 universities and over 50 colleges with more than 742,000 students. The largest and oldest university is the University of Cologne, founded in 1388. Another well-known university is the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Sports

Football

North Rhine-Westphalia is home to many famous football teams. Some of the top teams in the Bundesliga include Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1. FC Köln, and VfL Bochum. Since the Bundesliga began in 1963, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach have been the most successful, each winning five titles. 1. FC Köln has won two titles, including the first one in 1963.

Basketball

The state also has several basketball teams that play in the Basketball Bundesliga or ProA. These teams include Telekom Baskets Bonn, Bayer Giants Leverkusen, Paderborn Baskets, Uni Baskets Münster, VfL SparkassenStars Bochum, Phoenix Hagen, and Alemannia Aachen.

Ice hockey

North Rhine-Westphalia is home to several ice hockey teams that play in the DEL, including Düsseldorfer EG, Kölner Haie, Krefeld Pinguine, and Iserlohn Roosters.