North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is a federal state of Germany. Located in western Germany and is bordered on the north east and east with the federal state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) in the southeast by the federal state of Hessen and in the south by Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate .) The capital of North Rhine-Westphalia is Düsseldorf and the city's largest and oldest city is Cologne. In the center of the state is the Ruhr Area, the largest German agglomeration with a population of 5 million inhabitants.

Weather / When to go?

In the "Kölner Bucht and the" Mittelrhein (Upper Middle Rhine Valley) there is a mild climate.
In the "Sauerland" cold.
In "Münster"and "Aachen" it rains more than in neighbouring regions.
It is typical in the "Münsterland" that the climate is unstable.

Language
There are several dialects and languages in North Rhine-Westphalia, depending on the area and the origin of immigrants. The official language is German.

History
In 1946 the Prussian province of Westphalia and the northern part of the Prussian province of the Rhine formed part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1949, North Rhine-Westphalia became part of the federal state of Germany.
The northern part of the agglomeration of the Rhine-Ruhr region is the Ruhr region, which enjoyed its economic boom due to coal mining and the steel industry. In the 60's the industry declined and until today we can perceive a change in structure. North Rhine-Westphalia is still characterized by industry and is one of the economic centers of Germany. The country contributes 22% to the German economy, and is the strongest economy in the country.

Religion
In North Rhine-Westphalia there are many different religions because of its history. The largest group are Christians (Catholics), who represent 40% of the total population. The second largest group are the evangelicals (30%) and Muslims (3%), 25% is non-denominational. The state constitution guarantees religious freedom.

Events

National holidays include New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter, Labor Day, the Assumption of Our Lady, German Unity Day, Christmas, Corpus Christi, All Saints Day.

Culinary Delights

We must distinguish between the cuisine and cooking in Rhine Westphalia. Westphalian cuisine is abundant and they eat lots of meat. In the south eastern area, wine is grown on the banks of Rhine. Beer is also a popular beverage in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The cuisine of the Lower Rhine and Mount County ("Bergisch Land") is also distinctive. Very popular are, for example, waffles ("Bergische waffeln") or "Halver Hahn", a bun made of rye flour and served with cheese. Another dish is "Himmel un Aad (which means" heaven and earth "in German), which is mashed potatoes and apple sauce often served with sausages "Blutwurst" (blood sausage), bacon and fried onions. The Rheinische Sauerbraten "or the Rhine mussels are other of the classic dishes. The "Sauerbraten" is meat put for several days in a marinade of vinegar, wine and vegetable stock, before being cooked on a BBQ. In addition, the people of North Rhine-Westphalia drink beer "Kölsch", "Altbier", "Pils", and wine from the Rhine or Moselle.

Worth seeing

The Oberhausen gasometer is an industrial heritage exhibition hall and symbol of the city of Oberhausen. It was built between 1927 and 1929 and was the largest gas deposit in Europe and the second largest in the world.
The "Drachenfels (Dragon Rock) is a mountain in Siebengebirge on the banks of the River Rhine
Skiing in the city of Neuss on the indoor track, which is the largest indoor track in Germany and also has the highest climbing wall in Europe.
The "Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) is the largest Gothic cathedral in Germany and in 1996 was named a World Heritage Site.