Coesfeld () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, west of the city of

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. Neighboring districts are

Steinfurt Steinfurt (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From –1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münster, North Rhine-Westp ...

, district-free

Warendorf Warendorf (, Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Warnduorp'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of Warendorf (district), Warendorf District. The town is best known today for its well-preserved medieval town centre, for eq ...

, district-free Hamm,

Unna Unna () is a city of around 59,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna (district), Unna district. The newly refurbished Unna station has trains to all major cities in North Rhine Westphalia including Dortmund, Köln H ...

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; ) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghaus ...

, Borken.

History

In medieval times the region was subordinate to the bishopric of Münster. When the area became part of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n province

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

in 1816 the new administration created two districts, Coesfeld and Lüdinghausen. Except minor changes they stayed until the major reorganization in 1975 when both were merged to form the current district. A few municipalities from the district Münster were also added, while others formerly belonging to the district were moved to neighboring districts.

Geography

The district is located in the '' Münsterland'', a mostly rural area. The

Lippe River The Lippe () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and in length with an elevation difference of 125 metres and a catchment area of 4.890 km². The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg ...

forms part of the border of the district in the south.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms depicts a bishop, a goose and a bell. The bishop is Saint Liudger, the first bishop of Münster. The goose was according to a popular legend thrown into a dry well by Liudger, in order to find water during a drought. The bells of Lüdinghausen allegedly chimed by themselves, whenever Liudger entered the town. The left side derives from the former coat of arms of the district Lüdinghausen, while the right side comes from the old district Coesfeld. The coat of arms were granted in 1979.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

* {{coord, 51, 52, N, 7, 23, E, display=title, region:DE_scale:200000 Districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Münster (region)