North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the west of the Federal Republic of Germany and borders clockwise on Lower Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Belgium and the Netherlands. The extent of the state from southwest to northeast is about 260 kilometers. The north of the state lies in the North German Plain and is roughly divided into the Westphalian Bay, through which the rivers Lippe, Ems and Ruhr flow, and the Lower Rhine Lowlands on both sides of the Rhine, which is the largest river in the state (and also in Germany). The lowest point is 9.2 m above sea level in the northwest of the state. The remaining areas of the country have part of the German low mountain range regions. The Weserbergland on the upper Weser River characterizes the east of the state. The mountains of the Rhenish Slate Mountains occupy the south. The Rhenish Slate Mountains are roughly divided into the Eifel on the left bank of the Rhine in the southwest and Bergisches Land and Sauerland east of the Rhine. The Langenberg in the Rothaargebirge, which belongs to the Sauerland, is with 843.2 m above sea level the highest mountain of the country. The geographical center of the country is in Dortmund in the Aplerbecker Mark; near Selfkant is the westernmost point of North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany.

The climate of North Rhine-Westphalia has relatively balancedtemperature and precipitation cycles. The average annual temperatures are between 5 °C and 10 °C, depending on the altitude. Annual precipitation ranges from 600 millimetres in the lowlands to 1400 millimetres in the low mountain ranges.

By virtue of occupation law, the occupying power Great Britain founded the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on 23 August 1946 from the northern part of the Prussian Rhine Province (Province of North Rhine) and the likewise Prussian Province of Westphalia. The political preparation for this ran under the code word Operation Marriage. After the incorporation of Lippe, which had been independent for centuries, in 1947, the current territorial structure was achieved.

On its national territory, North Rhine-Westphalia is the legal successor to the Free State of Prussia and the Land of Lippe. Unlike some other German states, North Rhine-Westphalia as a whole did not have a predecessor state with a strong identity. When the state of North Rhine-Westphalia was founded, it was also not the idea of merging homogeneous areas that was at the forefront, but rather the British government's desire to embed the Ruhr region and its significant industrial resources into one state as a whole.

In 1949, North Rhine-Westphalia joined other states in founding the Federal Republic of Germany. The greatest challenges in the post-war period were the reconstruction of the war-ravaged state and the establishment of a democratic state. Particularly as a result of the decline of the coal and steel industry due to coal and steel crises and the trend towards tertiarisation, the organisation of the necessary structural change developed into a central topic of state policy.

From 1966 to 1976 there was a municipal territorial reform, which reduced the number of independent cities, district municipalities and districts. The number of administrative districts was reduced from 6 to 5 districts. The former administrative district of Aachen was merged with the administrative district of Cologne to form the new administrative district of Cologne.

Bonn was the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1990 and its sole seat of government until 1999. Since then, the function of government has been divided between Berlin and Bonn, making Bonn the second seat of government and today the seat of numerous federal authorities.