Halver is a town in the
Märkischer KreisThe Märkischer Kreis is a district in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Unna, Soest, Hochsauerland, Olpe, Oberbergischer Kreis, Ennepe-Ruhr, and the city of Hagen.- History :...
district,
North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the westernmost and—in terms of population and economic output—the largest Federal State of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia has over 18 million inhabitants, contributes about 22% of Germany's gross domestic product and comprises a land area of 34,083 km²...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It has a population of 18,083 (2004) and covers an area of 77.37 km², of which 51% are used for agricultural purposes and 35% are forest. It is located in the hills of the
SauerlandThe Sauerland is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited...
; at its highest elevation it is 440 m above sea level.
History
Around 950 the
Oberhof Halvara was first mentioned in the
Werdener Probsteiregister. For more than 500 years Halver was the seat of a
Fehmic courtThe Vehmic courts, Vehmgericht, holy vehme, or just the Vehm, also spelt Feme, are names given to a tribunal system of Westphalia active during the later Middle Ages, based on a fraternal organisation of lay judges called francs-juges or Freischöffen . The principal seat of the courts was in...
, the earliest definite evidence of which is in 1243; it ceased to exist in 1753. This court was most famous because of the trial of duke
Henry XVI the RichHenry XVI of Bavaria , , since 1393 Duke of Bavaria-Landshut. He was a son of duke Frederick and his wife Maddalena Visconti, a daughter of Bernabò Visconti.- Life :...
of
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
-Landshut and the knight of Toerring on May 2 1430.
With effect from October 1 1912 the municipality Halver was split,
SchalksmühleSchalksmühle is a municipality in district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany..-Geography:Schalksmühle is located in the hills of the Sauerland. Thus the altitude of the 38.2 km² area changes between 183 m and 502 m above sea level. 45% of the area is covered by forest, another...
becoming an independent municipality. Both were administered together in the
Amt Halver. As part of the communal reforms of the district of
Altena58762 Altena|Website = |Bürgermeister = Dr Andreas Hollstein|Partei = CDU}}Altena is a town in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany...
the
Amt was dissolved on January 1 1969, and Halver was granted city rights.
Coat of arms
The red and white checked base refers to the
fessIn heraldry, a fess or fesse is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the centre of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by a fess or other ordinary, ranging from one-fifth to one-third...
from the arms of the
Counts of the MarkThe County of Mark was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River along the Volme and Lenne Rivers....
. The stone judgement table under a
lindenTilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia , Europe and eastern North America; it is not native to western North America...
tree represents the
Feme court. It was designed by
Otto HuppOtto Hupp was a German graphical artist. His main working area was heraldry, yet he also worked as a typeface designer, creating commercial symbols and metal works....
, and was granted on March 29 1935.
The
Amt Halver had a separate coat of arms, which was also designed by Otto Hupp. It combined elements from the two member municipalities Halver and Schalksmühle: in the upper part is a linden branch symbolizing Halver, in the bottom the upper half of a black mill wheel as the symbol of Schalksmühle. Separating the two is the red and white checked fess, as above. The coat of arms was granted on June 8 1936, and expired with the dissolving of the Amt in 1969.
Twin towns
The
town twinningSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with the Swedish city
KatrineholmKatrineholm is a locality and the seat of Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 21,386 inhabitants in 2005.The name Katrineholm comes from a ducal residence with this name, after Catherina Gyllenhorn who lived there. The settlement started growing when it became a railway...
originated from the connection between a music group from Halver and a traditional dancing group from Katrineholm. It was officially signed on September 30 1963.
On April 25 1975 the twinning agreement with the French city
HautmontHautmont is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is southwest of the centre of Maubeuge, and has 16,000 residents.In August 2008, several people were killed and more injured by a tornado which swept through the town. Many buildings were damaged and three people died...
was signed. There has also been a city friendship with Pardess-Hanna in
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
since 1989.
External links