Siegen facts for kids

Siegen
Quick facts for kids Siegen
	Upper town
	Coat of arms
	Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Siegen-Wittgenstein
Elevation	290 m (950 ft)
Population (2019-12-31)
• Total	102,770
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	57072–57080
Dialling codes	0271
Vehicle registration	SI
Website	www.siegen.de

Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.

It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semester) is the district seat, and is ranked as a "higher centre" in the South Westphalian urban agglomeration.

In 1975, municipal reforms and amalgamations lifted Siegen's population above the 100,000 mark.

Geography

Location

The city of Siegen lies in the basin of the upper reaches of the river Sieg. From there, lateral valleys branch off in many directions. The heights of the surrounding mountains, wherever they are not actually settled, are covered in coppice. To the north lies the Sauerland, to the northwest the Rothaargebirge and to the southwest the Westerwald.

The nearest cities to Siegen, taking into account average travelling distances, are Hagen to the north 83 km (52 mi), Frankfurt am Main to the southeast 125 km (78 mi), Koblenz to the southwest 105 km (65 mi) and Cologne to the west 93 km (58 mi).

As the crow flies the distances to these places are, however, 65 km (40 mi) (Hagen), 95 km (59 mi) (Frankfurt), 65 km (40 mi) (Koblenz) and 75 km (47 mi) (Cologne).

The city lies on the German-Dutch holiday road called the Orange Route, joining towns, cities and regions associated with the House of Orange.

City area

Divisions within the city.

The city's total land area is roughly 115 km² (44 sq mi). Its greatest east-west span is about 12 km (7 mi), and its greatest north-south span is about 12 km (7 mi). City limits are 48 km (30 mi) long. Siegen lies at a median elevation of 290 m (951 ft) above sea level. The city's greatest elevation is the peak of the Pfannenberg at 499 m (1,637 ft) above sea level at southern city limits. Siegen's lowest point is 215 m (705 ft) above sea level at Niederschelden at southwestern city limits, which there also forms the state boundary with Rhineland-Palatinate. Roughly 60% of the city's land is wooded, making Siegen one of Germany's greenest cities.

The city area is divided into six zones, called Bezirke in German and comparable to boroughs in some cities, which themselves are further divided into various communities (Ortsteile and Stadtteile). Each "borough" has a borough board consisting of 15 voting and 15 non-voting members who are appointed by city council with regard to each party's share of the vote in the municipal elections in the borough in question. The borough boards decide on matters particular to their respective boroughs. These matters are laid down in Siegen's city charter.

A view over Siegen with the university in the background.

Siegen's six boroughs and communities belonging to each

District I (Geisweid): Birlenbach, Meiswinkel, Langenholdinghausen, Geisweid, Dillnhütten, Sohlbach, Buchen, Niedersetzen, Obersetzen
District II (Weidenau):
District III (Ost): Kaan-Marienborn, parts of Alt-Siegen (Giersberg), Bürbach, Volnsberg, Breitenbach, Feuersbach
District IV (Mitte): Alt-Siegen (parts not belonging to borough III or V)
District V (West): Seelbach, Trupbach and parts of Alt-Siegen (Wellersberg, Fischbacherberg, Achenbach, Rothenberg)
District VI (Süd): Oberschelden, Gosenbach, Niederschelden, Eiserfeld, Eisern

Along with the boroughs and communities into which the city is divided, as mandated by law, there are also further subdivisions within the communities, each with its own name, but none with distinctly clear borders. They are called Quartiere, which can be rendered as "quarters" or "neighbourhoods". Examples of these include the Unterstadt, the Oberstadt, Hammerhütte, Lindenberg, Charlottental, Haardter Berg (with the university) and the Alte Dreisbach. Some neighbourhoods even straddle community boundaries, like Sieghütte, parts of which can be found in both Siegen-Mitte and Weidenau. Moreover, some neighbourhoods even overlap each other. Unlike the boroughs (Bezirke) or communities (Ortsteile and Stadtteile), the Quartiere have no statistical or administrative importance. They do, however, serve some function as to their inhabitants' identity, but more practically than that, they are also useful for finding one's way with a city map and using in bus route names and on public notices and traffic signs. Many of the Hüttentalstraße city Autobahn's exits are also named after the Quartiere that they serve.

The communities of Weidenau, Geisweid, Birlenbach, Langenholdinghausen, Buchen, Sohlbach, Dillnhütten, Niedersetzen, Obersetzen and Meiswinkel formed from 1 July 1966 to 31 December 1974 the town of Hüttental. The communities of Eiserfeld, Eisern, Gosenbach, Niederschelden and Oberschelden formed the town of Eiserfeld between those same two dates.

Twin Towns

It has been twinned with the borough of Spandau in Berlin since 1952. Other twin cities are:

Netherlands, Rijnsburg, since 1963, continuation of partnership with amalgamated town of Katwijk as of 2006
United Kingdom, Leeds, since 1966
Belgium, Ypres, since 1967
Poland, Zakopane, since 1989
Germany, Saxony, Plauen, since 1990