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92-747: The Leuscheid is a mainly wooded hill ridge on the border between the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the extreme north of the Westerwald range. From a natural region perspective, however, it is not seen as part of the Westerwald natural region but belongs to the Mittelsieg Upland (major unit 330) and thus to the Süderbergland (major unit group 33). North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia , commonly shortened to NRW ,

184-586: A Celtic language and culture. A further complication is that the population of the Eburones may have been made up of different components. As mentioned above, archaeological evidence implies continuity going back to Urnfield times, but with signs that militarized elites had moved in more than once, bringing forms of the Celtic-associated cultures known as Hallstatt and later La Tène . No clear archaeological evidence has been found to confirm Caesar's account that

276-472: A Roman army by the leader of the Eburones, Ambiorix." Heinrichs argues that the genocide of the Eburones in 53 BC could not realistically have happened as it is claimed by Caesar . If the systematic destruction of infrastructures by the Roman forces was intended to prevent the local people from regaining power, physical extermination likely proved to be impractical. The available areas of refuge hardly accessible to

368-535: A Roman military base ca. 10 BC. In the words of Wightman, "changes which took place after Caesar, involving new folk from across the Rhine and reorganization of existing peoples, make localization difficult." Atuatuca played an important role in the revolt of Ambiorix against Rome in the winter of 54–53 BC, and in Caesar's subsequent attempts to annihilate the tribe in 53 and 51 BC. Willy Vanvinckenroye (2001) has suggested that

460-534: A border with North Rhine-Westphalia: North Rhine-Westphalia has a population of approximately 18.1 million inhabitants (more than the entire former East Germany , and slightly more than the Netherlands ) and is centred around the polycentric Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region , which includes the industrial Ruhr region with the largest city of Dortmund and the Rhenish cities of Bonn , Cologne and Düsseldorf . 30 of

552-527: A concoction from a yew tree . The country of the Eburones was difficult for the Romans, being woody and swampy in parts. Caesar invited the neighboring people to come and plunder the Eburones, "in order that the life of the Gauls might be hazarded in the woods rather than the legionary soldiers; at the same time, in order that a large force being drawn around them, the race and name of that state may be annihilated for such

644-408: A crime". The Sicambri , from east of the Rhine, were one of the main raiders. While Caesar was ravaging the country of the Eburones, he left Quintus Tullius Cicero with a legion to protect the baggage and stores, at a place called Aduatuca , which he tells us, though he had not mentioned the name of the place before, was the place where Sabinus and Cotta had been killed. The plan to take advantage of

736-758: A deep of 293 m below sea level. At the same time, this is the deepest human-made dip in Germany. The most important rivers flowing at least partially through North Rhine-Westphalia include: the Rhine , the Ruhr , the Ems , the Lippe , and the Weser . The Rhine is by far the most important river in North Rhine-Westphalia: it enters the state as Middle Rhine near Bad Honnef, where still being part of

828-549: A framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. The two main parties are, as on the federal level, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party . From 1966 to 2005, North Rhine-Westphalia was continuously governed by the Social Democrats or SPD-led governments. The state's legislative body is the Landtag ("state parliament house"). It may pass laws within

920-531: A general election to elect at least 181 members of the Landtag. Only parties who win at least 5% of the votes cast may be represented in parliament. The Landtag, the parliamentary parties and groups consisting of at least 7 members of parliament have the right to table legal proposals to the Landtag for deliberation. The law that is passed by the Landtag is delivered to the Minister-President, who, together with

1012-485: A legion and five cohorts (one and a half legions) under the command of Caesar's legates, Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta arrived in their winter quarters in the country of the Eburones. The Eburones, encouraged by messages from the Treveran king Indutiomarus , and headed by their two kings, Ambiorix and Cativolcus , attacked the Roman camp; and after inducing the Romans to leave their stronghold on

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1104-575: A location in the northern Eifel region , but this is difficult to reconcile with the fact that the Condrusi , who gave their name to the Condroz region, are described by Caesar as dwelling between the Treveri and Eburones. Wightman further notes that "no cultural groupings can be isolated to suit the Eburones in the north Eifel". Caesar describes Atuatuca as a castellum ('fort, stronghold, shelter') located in

1196-611: A relatively small part of Westphalia, consisting instead mostly of Hessian and Eastphalian regions. After the Congress of Vienna , the Kingdom of Prussia received a large amount of territory in the Westphalian region and created the province of Westphalia in 1815. The northernmost portions of the former kingdom, including the town of Osnabrück , had become part of the states of Hanover and Oldenburg . The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia

1288-578: A ritualistic suicide. An alternative Germanic etymology from * eburaz ('boar'; cf. ON jofurr , Ger. Eber ) has also been proposed. Xavier Delamarre points out that coins of the Aulerci Eburovices , in Normandy , show the head of a wild boar, and argues that there might have been, further northeast, a "semantic contamination, in the mixed Germano-Celtic Rhenish areas, of the Gaulish eburos by

1380-553: Is a state ( Land ) in Western Germany . With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states ( Berlin , Hamburg and Bremen ), it is also the most densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of 34,084 km (13,160 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest German state by size. North Rhine-Westphalia features 30 of the 81 German municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants, including Cologne (over 1 million),

1472-621: Is below the national average in GRDP per capita . The state of North Rhine-Westphalia was established by the British military administration 's "Operation Marriage" on 23 August 1946 by merging the province of Westphalia and the northern parts of the Rhine Province , both being political divisions of the former state of Prussia within the German Reich . On 21 January 1947, the former state of Lippe

1564-448: Is clear that the Belgic tribes of Gaul were culturally influenced by both Gaulish and Germanic neighbours, but the details, for example which languages they spoke, remain uncertain. It is also probable that the Eburones contained both Gallic and Germanic elements. Although the term Germanic has a linguistic definition today, Roman authors such as Caesar and Tacitus did not clearly divide

1656-553: Is divided almost equally between Catholicism and Protestantism. After the defeat of the Prussian Army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt , the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 made the Westphalian territories part of the Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813. It was founded by Napoleon and was a French vassal state . This state only shared the name with the historical region; it contained only

1748-505: Is green-white-red with the combined coats of arms of the Rhineland (white line before green background, symbolizing the river Rhine), Westfalen (the white horse) and Lippe (the red rose). After the establishment of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946, the tricolor was first introduced in 1948, but was not formally adopted until 1953. The plain variant of the tricolor is considered the civil flag and state ensign, while government authorities use

1840-580: Is hosted in Cologne . It is the largest video game convention in Europe. North Rhine-Westphalia has always been Germany's powerhouse with the largest economy among the German states by GDP figures . In the 1950s and 1960s, Westphalia was known as Land von Kohle und Stahl ( Land of Coal and Steel ). In the post-World War II recovery, the Ruhr was one of the most important industrial regions in Europe, and contributed to

1932-421: Is now Rhineland-Westphalia and neighbouring Belgium and the Netherlands . In spite of its dismembered condition and the sufferings it underwent at the hands of its French neighbours in various periods of warfare, the Rhenish territory prospered greatly and stood in the foremost rank of German culture and progress. Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of

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2024-506: Is the NRW-Nordpunkt near Rahden in the northeast of the state. The Nordpunkt has located the only 100 km to the south of the North Sea coast. The deepest natural dip is arranged in the district Zyfflich in the city of Kranenburg with 9.2 m above sea level in the northwest of the state. Though, the deepest point overground results from mining. The open-pit Hambach reaches at Niederzier

2116-490: The 80 largest cities in Germany are located within North Rhine-Westphalia. The state's capital is Düsseldorf; the state's largest city is Cologne. In 2022, there were 164,496 births and 234,176 deaths. The following table shows the ten largest cities of North Rhine-Westphalia: The following table shows the population of the state since 1930. The values until 1960 are the average of the yearly population, from 1965

2208-770: The Batavians , who likely assimilated the local Eburones in this scenario. Another part of the Eburones also fled to a remote area of the Ardennes , where Ambiorix himself is said to have gone with some cavalry. Caesar also portrays the Scheldt river ( Scaldis ) as flowing into the Meuse, apparently confusing this river with the Sambre . This has led scholars to argue that Caesar or later copyists sometimes confused river names or used them differently than later writers did. Some scholars have argued for

2300-632: The Condroz region and the Rhine–Meuse delta , has suggested to many scholars that a significant part of their territory stretched west of the Meuse rather than between the Meuse and the Rhine. For instance, Johannes Heinrichs (2008) contends that a territory stretching from the Rhine to the North Sea would be "unrealistically large", especially since they were portrayed as clients of the neighbouring Atuatuci until 57 BC. Since archaeological findings suggest that

2392-401: The Condrusi , Eburones, Caeraesi , Paemani , and Segni were called by the collective name of Germani and had settled there some time ago, having come from the opposite bank of the Rhine. The Eburones are therefore amongst the so-called Germani cisrhenani 'Germans on this side of the Rhine', i.e. Germanic peoples who lived south and west of the Rhine and may have been distinct from

2484-553: The Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior . Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the right bank, where the Sugambri neighboured several other tribes including the Tencteri and Usipetes . North of

2576-619: The Mittelrhein wine region . It changes into the Lower Rhine near Bad Godesberg and leaves North Rhine-Westphalia near Emmerich at a width of 730 metres. Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The Pader , which flows entirely within the city of Paderborn , is considered Germany's shortest river. For many, North Rhine-Westphalia is synonymous with industrial areas and urban agglomerations. However,

2668-887: The North German Plain . A few isolated hill ranges are located within these lowlands, among them the Hohe Mark, the Beckum Hills , the Baumberge and the Stemmer Berge . The terrain rises towards the south and in the east of the state into parts of Germany's Central Uplands . These hill ranges are the Weser Uplands – including the Egge Hills , the Wiehen Hills , the Wesergebirge and

2760-846: The Randstad , the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Region . North Rhine-Westphalia was established in 1946 after World War II from the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and the northern part of Rhine Province ( North Rhine ), and the Free State of Lippe by the British military administration in Allied-occupied Germany and became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. The city of Bonn served as

2852-556: The Remi , a tribe allied with Rome, reported that the Germani (the Condrusi, Eburones, Caeraesi, and Paemani) had collectively promised to send around 40,000 men. These were to join 60,000 Bellovaci , 50,000 Suessiones , 50,000 Nervii , 15,000 Atrebates , 10,000 Ambiani , 25,000 Morini , 9,000 Menapii , 10,000 Caleti , 10,000 Velocasses , 10,000 Viromandui , and 19,000 Aduatuci. The whole force

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2944-657: The Roman era . Maurits Gysseling has suggested that place names such as Averbode and Avernas ( Hannut ) might be derived from the Eburones. The Eburones lived in an area broadly situated between the Ardennes and Eifel region in the south, and the Rhine-Meuse delta in the north. Their territory lay east of the Atuatuci (themselves east of the Nervii ), south of the Menapii , and north of

3036-659: The Segni and Condrusi (themselves north of the Treveri ). To the east, the Sugambri and Ubii were their neighbours on the opposite bank of the Rhine. When the Germanic Tencteri and Usipetes crossed the Rhine from Germania in 55 BC, they first fell on the Menapii and advanced into the territories of the Eburones and Condrusi, who were both "under the protection of" the Treveri to

3128-502: The Sugambri , included several kings ruling on different territories. The distribution of Eburonean triskeles staters also points to a polycentric political structures with several cores of influence. According to Roymans, "the fact that the Eburones and, somewhat later, the Sugambri were in a position to triumph over Roman armies attests to the ability of groups and individuals in these societies to summon considerable strength, at least in periods of crisis." The formation of comitati

3220-793: The Teutoburg Forest in the east, the Sauerland , the Bergisches Land , the Siegerland and the Siebengebirge in the south, as well as the left-Rhenish Eifel in the southwest of the state. The Rothaargebirge in the border region with Hesse rises to height of about 800 m above sea level. The highest of these mountains are the Langenberg , at 843.2 m above sea level, the Kahler Asten (840.7 m) and

3312-450: The Thirty Years' War . The concept of nation-state sovereignty resulting from the treaty became known as " Westphalian sovereignty ". As a result of the Protestant Reformation , there is no dominant religion in Westphalia. Catholicism and Lutheranism are on relatively equal footing. Lutheranism is strong in the eastern and northern parts with numerous free churches. Münster and especially Paderborn are thought of as Catholic. Osnabrück

3404-427: The Welsh cadwalch ('hero, champion, warrior'). It has been noted that the use of the Proto-Indo-European stem *katu- ('fight') as a compound in personal names is common to both Gallic and Germanic traditions (e.g., Catu-rīx and Haðu-rīh , which are cognates ). The name 'Ambiorix' is generally analyzed as the Gaulish prefix ambio- attached to rix ('king'); it could be interpreted as meaning 'king of

3496-438: The ethnonym Eburones from the Gaulish word for ' yew-tree ', eburos , itself stemming from Proto-Celtic *eburos ('yew'; cf. OIr. ibar 'yew', MBret. euor ' alder buck-thorn ', MW. efwr European 'cow parsnip', also known as 'hog-weed', Heracleum sphondylium ). This interpretation is supported by the story, as told by Julius Caesar , of how the Eburonean king Catuvolcus killed himself with poisonous yew in

3588-411: The propinquity of Eburones and Menapii mentioned by Caesar; the distribution of war-time staters attributed to the Eburones (a mixture of transrhenine and Treveran elements) also corresponds with this group." Based on the concentrations of coins, Nico Roymans (2004) has proposed to also regard the eastern half of the Rhine–Meuse delta as part of the Eburonean polity. The area was later inhabited by

3680-493: The state flag ( Landesdienstflagge ) which is defaced with the state's coat of arms . The state ensign can easily be mistaken for a distressed flag of Hungary , as well as the former national flag of Iran (1964–1980). The same flag was used by the Rhenish Republic (1923–1924) as a symbol of independence and freedom. The horse on the coat of arms is a reference to the Saxon Steed , a heraldic motif associated with both Westphalia and Lower Saxony . The horse first featured in

3772-469: The 15th century coat of arms of the Duchy of Westphalia, before being inherited by the Prussian province of Westphalia and finally the modern state of North Rhine-Westphalia. North Rhine-Westphalia encompasses the plains of the Lower Rhine region and parts of the Central Uplands ( die Mittelgebirge ) up to the gorge of Porta Westfalica . The state covers an area of 34,083 km (13,160 sq mi) and shares borders with Belgium ( Wallonia ) in

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3864-399: The Atuatuci, who were holding Eburonean hostages in chains and slavery, including the son and nephew of the Eburone king Ambiorix . It was with these two tribes that the Eburones quickly formed a military alliance against Caesar's forces. Caesar also reports that, during the conflict, the Eburones had some sort of alliance, organized via their allies the Treveri, with the Germanic tribes over

3956-424: The Belgae. Tacitus later wrote that it was in this very region that the term Germani started to be used, even though he mentions a tribe Caesar did not mention, the Tungri . The name Germany, on the other hand, they say, is modern and newly introduced, from the fact that the tribes which first crossed the Rhine and drove out the Gauls, and are now called Tungrians, were then called Germans [ Germani ]. Thus what

4048-411: The Caesarian campaigns. According to Roymans, "several interrelated explanations can be given for the high degree of Roman violence in this region: the absence of urbanised settlements or heavily defended oppida that could be used by Caesar as military targets; the employment by Germanic groups of a strategy of decentralised, guerrilla-type warfare; and, of course, Caesar’s intent to revenge the ambush of

4140-429: The Celts from what they called the Germans based on languages. On the contrary, both authors tended to emphasize, partly for political reasons, the differences in terms of the levels of civilization which had been attained, with Germanic peoples being considered wilder and less civilized peoples, requiring military and political considerations. Despite being regarded as Belgae , a type of Gaul , Julius Caesar says that

4232-402: The Clemensberg (839.2 m). The planimetrically determined centre of North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the south of Dortmund- Aplerbeck in the Aplerbecker Mark (51° 28' N, 7° 33' Ö). Its westernmost point is situated near Selfkant close to the Dutch border, the easternmost near Höxter on the Weser . The southernmost point lies near Hellenthal in the Eifel region. The northernmost point

4324-405: The Eburonean territory did not extend substantially east of the Meuse in the direction of the Rhine, Heinrichs argues that their territory was rather principally centred in an area located west of the Meuse. They have been identified by Belgian archaeologists with a material culture in northern Limburg and the Campine region. According to Edith Wightman (1985), "this would certainly account for

4416-423: The Eburones came specifically from over the Rhine. However, these Celtic cultures were also present there, and in the period when Caesar supposes that they arrived, the peoples immediately over the Rhine were most likely not speakers of a Germanic language. The Eburones were probably a loose federation of several small clans, which may explain the dual kingship institution. Their political system, similar to that of

4508-483: The Eburones did not have their own strongholds and used instead the fortress of the neighbouring Atuatuci to house troops, since they were tributary to them. This would provide any origin for the place name. Both are linguistically related to each other, although the settlement cannot be historically linked to the tribe with certainty. During the Battle of the Sabis , Caesar's forces clashed with an alliance of Belgic tribes in 57 BC. Before that event, information from

4600-421: The Eburones rebellion spread. Eventually, he killed the king of the Treveri, Indutiomarus. "This affair having been known, all the forces of the Eburones and the Nervii which had assembled, depart; and for a short time after this action, Caesar was less harassed in the government of Gaul." In the following year Caesar entered the country of the Eburones, and Ambiorix fled before him. Cativolcus poisoned himself with

4692-483: The Eburones. Based on a comment by Tacitus , who identifies the Tungri as descendants of the first group of Germani which crossed the Rhine and drove away the Gauls, some scholars have proposed that remnants of the former Eburonean confederation may have contributed to the ethnic composition of the Tungri . The Batavi , who settled in the Rhine–Meuse delta in the late 1st century BC, may also have merged with remnants of indigenous Eburonean groups that had survived in

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4784-425: The German Wirtschaftswunder . As of the late 1960s, repeated crises led to contractions of these industrial branches. On the other hand, producing sectors, particularly in mechanical engineering and metal and iron working industry, experienced substantial growth. Despite this structural change and an economic growth which was under national average, the 2018 GDP of 705 billion euro (1/4 of the total German GDP) made NRW

4876-510: The Germanic quasi-homonym *eburaz ." Joseph Vendryes saw a Celtic 'boar-god' *epro behind the name of the yew, and it has been noted that the boar and the yew are both associated with concepts of lordship and longevity in the Germanic and—to a lesser extent—Celtic traditions, which may provided a reason for such a "contamination". The second part of the ethnonym, -ones , is commonly found in both Celtic ( Lingones , Senones , etc.) and Germanic ( Ingvaeones , Semnones , etc.) tribal names in

4968-590: The Rhine amongst the Belgae. Caesar claimed that the name of the Eburones was wiped out after their failed revolt against his forces during the Gallic Wars, and that the tribe was largely annihilated. Whether any significant part of the population lived on in the area as Tungri , the tribal name found here later, is uncertain but considered likely. They are mentioned as Eburones by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC) and Orosius (early 5th c. AD); as Eboúrōnes (Ἐβούρωνες) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD); as Ebourōnoí (Ἐβουρωνοί) by Cassius Dio (3rd c. AD). Most scholars derive

5060-425: The Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the left bank of the Rhine was resigned to France, and in 1806, the Rhenish princes all joined the Confederation of the Rhine . After the Congress of Vienna, Prussia

5152-422: The Roman legions were numerous: the low mountain range of the Ardennes , the swamps and wastelands towards the Menapii , the coastal islands, etc. Moreover, Caesar's second attempt to annihilate the tribe two years later demonstrates that the community survived in some way, and even probably regenerated in such a way that further violent actions were apparently needed. According to Roymans, their disappearance from

5244-469: The Sicambri backfired when the Eburones explained to the Sicambri that the Roman supplies and booty, not the refugees, were the most attractive target for plundering. Caesar reports that he burnt every village and building that he could find in the territory of the Eburones, drove off all the cattle, and his men and beasts consumed all the grain that the weather of the autumnal season did not destroy. He left those who had hid themselves, if there were any, with

5336-449: The Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri . As the power of the Roman empire declined, many of these tribes came to be seen collectively as Ripuarian Franks and they pushed forward along both banks of the Rhine, and by the end of the fifth century had conquered all the lands that had formerly been under Roman influence. By the eighth century, the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germany and northern Gaul, but at

5428-468: The area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts. His Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold , Bielefeld , Lemgo , Osnabrück, and other places in Westphalia. Widukind was buried in Enger , which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern , Westphalia ( Westfalahi )

5520-437: The area. Under the Romans, one of the tribes associated with the Tungri, and apparently living in the north of their area (in modern Campine ), were the Texuandri . Like the Tungri, they had not been mentioned by Caesar. Similarly to the Condrusi (whom Caesar had mentioned, and who continued to exist under Roman rule), the Texuandri were recognized as a distinct grouping for the administrative purpose of mustering troops. It

5612-434: The competency of the state, e.g. cultural matters, the education system, matters of internal security, i.e. the police, building supervision, health supervision and the media; as opposed to matters that are reserved to Federal law. North Rhine-Westphalia uses the same electoral system as the Federal level in Germany: " Personalized proportional representation ". Every five years the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia vote in

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5704-451: The description of the battle itself, but after the defeat the Eburones became important as one of the tribes continuing to resist Roman overlordship. In 54 BC, Caesar's forces were still in Belgic territory, having just returned from their second expedition to Britain , and needed to be wintered. Crops had not been good, due to a drought, and this imposition upon the communities led to new conflict. This insurrection started only 15 days after

5796-422: The districts and municipalities, while the Landschaftsverband has a directly elected assembly. The five government regions of North Rhine-Westphalia each belong to one of the two Landschaftsverbände : The state's area covers a maximum distance of 291 km from north to south, and 266 km from east to west. The total length of the state's borders is 1,645 km. The following countries and states have

5888-404: The economically strongest state of Germany by GRP figures , as well as one of the most important economical areas in the world. Of Germany's top 100 corporations, 37 are based in North Rhine-Westphalia. On a per capita base, however, North Rhine-Westphalia remains one of the weaker among the Western German states. North Rhine-Westphalia attracts companies from both Germany and abroad. In 2009,

5980-470: The elite, might never have been the language of the area where the Eburones lived. It is generally accepted that the personal names of Catuvolcus and Ambiorix , the Eburonean kings who opposed Caesar during the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), are of Celtic origin. The former is most likely the Gaulish compound catu-uolcus ('war-falcon'), formed with the stem catu- ('combat') attached to uolcos ('falcon, hawk'). The Eburonean name has an exact parallel in

6072-400: The federal capital until the reunification of Germany in 1990 and as the seat of government until 1999. Culturally, North Rhine-Westphalia is not a uniform area; there are significant differences, especially in traditional customs, between the Rhineland region on the one hand and the regions of Westphalia and Lippe on the other. Its economy is the largest among German states by GRDP but

6164-472: The hope that they would all die of hunger in the winter. Caesar writes that he wanted to annihilate the Eburones and their name, and indeed the tribe vanished from history after the Gallic wars. Daniel Chirot and Jennifer Edwards describe the conquest as a genocide, but provide no analysis of the particulars. Studies of settlement evidence suggest a significant demographic decrease in the Eburonean territory after that period, which can be plausibly linked with

6256-501: The interior ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia reported that the number of mosques with a Salafist influence had risen from 3 to 9, which indicated both an actual increase and improved reporting. According to German authorities, Salafism is incompatible with the principles codified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany , in particular: democracy , the rule of law , and political order based on human rights . The politics of North Rhine-Westphalia takes place within

6348-541: The kingdom of Lotharingia . By the time of Otto I (d. 973), both banks of the Rhine had become part of the Holy Roman Empire , and the Rhenish territory was divided between the duchies of Upper Lorraine on the Moselle and Lower Lorraine on the Meuse. The Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into numerous small, independent, separate vicissitudes and special chronicles. The old Lotharingian divisions became obsolete, although

6440-432: The largest part of the state is used for agriculture (almost 52%) and forests (25%). The state consists of five government regions ( Regierungsbezirke ), divided into 31 districts ( Kreise ) and 23 urban districts ( kreisfreie Städte ). In total, North Rhine-Westphalia has 396 municipalities (1997), including the urban districts, which are municipalities by themselves. The government regions have an assembly elected by

6532-478: The local peoples in former Eburonic territories spoke or adopted Gaulish , or some form of it. One of the basic influences on the pronunciation of Dutch is a Gallo-Romance accent. This means that in the Gallo-Roman period , when the Eburones had officially ceased to exist, the Latin which was then spoken was strongly influenced by a Gaulish substrate. On the other hand, studies of place names such as those of Maurits Gysseling , have been argued to show evidence of

6624-503: The middle of the Eburonean territory, which has sometimes been taken to imply that it was between the Meuse and the Rhine rivers where, in another passage, Caesar locates the greatest part of the Eburonean population. The exact location of their stronghold remains uncertain; it is almost certainly not the same as the later Atuatuca Tungrorum , which appears to have been erected ex-nihilo as

6716-1080: The ministers involved, is required to sign it and announce it in the Law and Ordinance Gazette. These are the minister-presidents of North Rhine-Westphalia : For the current state government, see Wüst cabinet . The state has Aachen Cathedral , the Cologne Cathedral , the Zeche Zollverein in Essen , the Augustusburg Palace in Brühl and the Imperial Abbey of Corvey in Höxter which are all World Heritage Sites . North Rhine-Westphalia hosts film festivals in Cologne , Bonn, Dortmund , Duisburg , Münster , Oberhausen and Lünen . Other large festivals include Rhenish carnivals , Ruhrtriennale . Every year Gamescom

6808-777: The name survives for example in Lorraine in France, and throughout the Middle Ages and even into modern times, the nobility of these areas often sought to preserve the idea of a preeminent duke within Lotharingia, something claimed by the Dukes of Limburg , and the Dukes of Brabant . Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military and political links between what

6900-587: The political map could have resulted from "a policy of damnatio memoriae on the part of the Roman authorities, in combination with the confiscation of Eburonean territory". A great part of their gold fell into Roman hands during repeated Roman raids on the Eburones in 53–51 BC, and was then melted down and carried off. After the Gallic Wars , the new tribal entities that settled in the Lower Rhine region with Roman support lived on territories previously occupied by

6992-563: The population at year end is used. Source: Statistische Ämter des Bundes Und der Länder As of 2020 , 50% of the population of the state adhered to the Roman Catholic Church , 25% to the Protestant Church in Germany , and 28% of the population is irreligious or adheres to other denominations or religions. North Rhine-Westphalia ranks first in population among German states for both Roman Catholics and Protestants. In 2016,

7084-661: The promise of a safe passage, massacred nearly all of them (approximately 6000 men). Encouraged by this victory, Ambiorix rode personally first to the Aduatuci and then to the Nervi, arguing for a new attack on the Romans wintering in Nervian territory under the command by Quintus Tullius Cicero , brother of the famous orator . The Nervii agreed and summoned forces quickly from several tribes under their government, Centrones , Grudii , Levaci , Pleumoxii , and Geiduni . Caesar reported that this

7176-519: The republican rule of the French. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium (see German-speaking Community of Belgium ). Around AD 1, numerous incursions occurred through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this battle came from

7268-515: The same time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, and then the Saxons. On the division of the Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun , the part of the province to the east of the river fell to East Francia , while that to the west remained with

7360-437: The south. According to a description given by Caesar (mid-1st century BC), the greatest part of the Eburones lived between the Meuse and Rhine rivers. However, Caesar also notes that their land bordered on that of the coastal Menapii in the north, and that those among the Eburones "who were nearest the ocean" managed to hide in islands after their defeat against the Romans. This apparent geographical situation, near both

7452-473: The southwest and the Netherlands ( Limburg , Gelderland and Overijssel ) in the west and northwest. It has borders with the German states of Lower Saxony to the north and northeast, Rhineland-Palatinate to the south and Hesse to the southeast. Approximately half of the state is located in the relative low-lying terrain of the Westphalian Lowland and the Rhineland , both extending broadly into

7544-638: The state capital Düsseldorf (630,000), Dortmund and Essen (about 590,000 inhabitants each) and other cities predominantly located in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area , the largest urban area in Germany and the fourth-largest on the European continent . The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at the heart of the European Blue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas like

7636-553: The state had the most foreign direct investments ( FDI ) anywhere in Germany. Around 13,100 foreign companies from the most important investment countries control their German or European operations from bases in North Rhine-Westphalia. Eburones The Eburones played a major role in Julius Caesar 's account of his "Gallic Wars" , as the most important tribe within the Germani cisrhenani group of tribes — Germani living west of

7728-460: The surroundings' or 'king protector'. The material culture of the region has been found by archaeologists to be highly Celtised, clearly in contact with the Celts of central Gaul, though far less rich in terms of Mediterranean luxury goods. They were not so strongly linked to the east of the Rhine. This would at the very least seem to suggest that at least the upper echelons were Celtic or had adopted

7820-474: The very early presence of Germanic languages throughout the area north of the Ardennes. The sound changes described by " Grimm's Law " appear to have affected names with older forms, seemingly already in the 2nd century BC. It has been argued by some scholars that the older language of the area, though apparently Indo-European , was not Celtic (see Nordwestblock ) and therefore that Celtic, though influential amongst

7912-482: Was awarded the entire Rhineland , which included the Grand Duchy of Berg , the ecclesiastic electorates of Trier and Cologne , the free cities of Aachen and Cologne, and nearly a hundred small lordships and abbeys. The Prussian Rhine province was formed in 1822 and Prussia had the tact to leave the lower Rhenish districts in undisturbed possession of the liberal institutions to which they had become accustomed under

8004-662: Was led by Galba , king of the Suessiones. However, the alliance did not work. The Suessiones and Bellovaci surrendered after the Romans defended the Remi and then moved towards their lands. And after this the Ambiani offered no further resistance and the Nervii, along with the Atrebates and Viromandui, formed the most important force on the day of the battle. The Eburones are not mentioned specifically in

8096-518: Was merged with North Rhine-Westphalia. The constitution of North Rhine-Westphalia was then ratified through a referendum . The first written account of the area was by its conqueror, Julius Caesar , the territories west of the Rhine were occupied by the Eburones and east of the Rhine he reported the Ubii (across from Cologne) and the Sugambri to their north. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as

8188-611: Was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony . In 1180, Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa . The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only a small area south of the Lippe River . Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, but most of it remained divided duchies and other feudal areas of power. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended

8280-499: Was probably common during the Late Iron Age, as evidenced by the retinue of equites that escorted Ambiorix as he fled the Roman troops, and by similar practices attested in neighbouring tribes. At the time of the Roman conquest, the Eburones were clients of the Treveri , and Caesar mentions that the Eburonean king Ambiorix began his revolt against the Romans at the insistence of the Treveri. They were also paying tribute to

8372-602: Was the name of a tribe, and not of a race, gradually prevailed, until all called themselves by this self-invented name of Germans, which the conquerors had first employed to inspire terror. This is often interpreted as implying that the Tungri, a name later used to refer to all the tribes of this area, were descendants of several tribes including the ones Caesar said were called Germani collectively. The name may even be an artificial name meaning "the sworn ones" or confederates. There are clues which are sometimes taken to indicate that

8464-400: Was thwarted by his timely intervention, and the Belgic allies dispersed, Caesar "fearing to pursue them very far, because woods and morasses intervened, and also [because] he saw that they suffered no small loss in abandoning their position". In the meantime Labienus , one of Caesar's most trusted generals, was wintering in the territory of the Treveri, and also came under threat when news of

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