Porta Westfalica

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Name = Porta Westfalica
image_photo = Porta.jpg
imagesize =
image_caption = View over Porta Westfalica to the Weser hills
Wappen = Wappen von Porta Westfalica.pnglat_deg = 52 |lat_min = 13 | lat_sec=0
lon_deg = 8 |lon_min = 56 | lon_sec=0
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Nordrhein-Westfalen
Regierungsbezirk = Detmold
Kreis = Minden-Lübbecke
Höhe = 46 - 303
Fläche = 105
Einwohner = 36000
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 32457
Vorwahl = 0571, 05706, 05722, 05731, 05751
Kfz = MI
Gemeindeschlüssel = 05 7 70 032
Gliederung = 15
Straße = Kempstraße 1
Website = [http://www.porta-westfalica.de/ www.porta-westfalica.de]
Bürgermeister = Stephan Böhme
Partei = SPD

Porta Westfalica is a town in the district of Minden-Lübbecke, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name “Porta Westfalica” is Latin and means “gate to Westphalia”. Coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of Westphalia. Despite the Latin name the term was not coined in Roman times, but by scholars of the 19th century.

History

Porta Westfalica was established in 1973 by merging fifteen villages surrounding the gorge. The centre of the modern town is the former village of Hausberge, which was first mentioned in 1096.

From March 18 1944 until April 1 1945 a concentration camp was established in the Barkhausen quarter. [The camp is listed as No. 77 Barkhausen official German list.] From February 1 1945 until April 1 1945 a camp was used in the Hausberge quarter. [The camp is listed as No. 585 Hausberge a.d.Porta in the official German list.] In the Lerbeck quarter also was a concentration camp in use from October 1 1944 until April 1 1945. [The camp is listed as No. 843 Lerbeck/Westfalen in the official German list.] In the Neesen quarter was a location for the forced labour for some of the inmates. [The location is listed as No. 1024 Neesen, Kreis Minden, in the official German list.] All this camps were subcamps to the Neuengamme concentration camp.

Geography

Porta Westfalica is situated on the right bank of the Weser (except for the Barkhausen quarter), near the Porta Westfalica gorge, where the river runs through the passage between the mountain chains of the Wiehengebirge in the west and the Weserbergland in the east.

Neighbouring places

* Bad Oeynhausen
* Minden
* Bückeburg
* Rinteln
* Vlotho

Division of the town

The town of Porta Westfalica consists of 15 districts:

Twin Towns

* )
* )
* )

Buildings and structures

* Jakobsberg Telecommunication Tower, a TV tower with an observation deck.
* Monument of "Kaiser-Wilhelm" in the village "Barkhausen"

ee also

*List of subcamps of Neuengamme

Notes

References

*Official German list of concentration camps [http://bundesrecht.juris.de/begdv_6/anlage_6.html Verzeichnis der Konzentrationslager und ihrer Außenkommandos] de icon

External links

* [http://www.porta-westfalica.de/ Official site] de icon