Siegen-Wittgenstein | |
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District | |
Country | Germany |
State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
Adm. region | Arnsberg |
Capital | Siegen |
Area | |
• Total | 1,131.47 km2 (436.86 sq mi) |
Population (31 December 2015) | |
• Total | 280,800 |
• Density | 250/km2 (640/sq mi) |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Vehicle registration | SI |
Website | siegen-wittgenstein.de |
County of Wittgenstein | ||||||||
Grafschaft Wittgenstein | ||||||||
State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||
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Capital | Wittgenstein Castle | |||||||
Government | Principality | |||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||
• | Established | 1174 | ||||||
• | Merged with Sayn-Sponheim |
1357 1357 |
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Coat of arms of the Counts of Wittgenstein
Siegen-Wittgenstein is a Kreis (district) in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Olpe, Hochsauerlandkreis, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Lahn-Dill, Westerwaldkreis, Altenkirchen.
In 1816–1817, the two districts of Siegen and Wittgenstein were created as parts of the Prussian province of Westphalia. In 1974, the two districts were merged, and in 1984 the name Siegen-Wittgenstein was adopted.
Geographically, it covers the hills southeast of the Sauerland hills, the Siegerland and .
The two upper sections show, to the right, the arms of the Dukes of Nassau, who founded Siegen, and to the left, those of the Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein. At the bottom a miner's lamp and a coppicing hook are depicted, in reference to the mining and charcoal-burning history of the district.
Coordinates: 50°55′N 8°10′E / 50.92°N 8.17°E