Creation 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 was merged with North Rhine-Westphalia. 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. in 1799 by
John Cary 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 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 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 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 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 the republican rule of the French. In 1920, the districts of
Eupen and
Malmedy were transferred to Belgium (see
German-speaking Community of Belgium).
Westphalia 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 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
Angria,
Eastphalia, and
Nordalbingia, Westphalia (
Westfalahi) 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. of 1648 in
Münster by Gerard Terborch 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 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 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 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. ==Flags and coat of arms==