Lippe

Lippe (German pronunciation: [ˈlɪpə]) is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe.

The district of Lippe is named after the Lords of Lippe and their Principality of Lippe. It was a state within the Holy Roman Empire and retained statehood until 1947, when it became a district of North Rhine-Westphalia.

History

The Lippe district nearly covers the same area as the historic county of Lippe. The first mention of this country was in 1123; it grew in power slowly in the following centuries. In 1528 it became a county, in 1789 it was elevated to a principality.

Unlike many other countries of the Holy Roman Empire in the area, Lippe kept its independence in the Napoleonic era, and thus wasn't incorporated into Prussia afterwards. It was one of the smaller member states of the German empire.

After the death of Prince Woldemar in 1895, the two lines of the House of Lippe fought over the regency for over a decade.

Lippe (river)

The Lippe (German pronunciation: [ˈlɪpə]) is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and 220.1 km (136.8 mi) in length with an elevation difference of 125 metres and a catchment area of 4.882 km². The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg Forest in Bad Lippspringe close to the city of Paderborn. It runs westward through Paderborn, Lippstadt and then along the northern edge of the Ruhr area, parallel to the river Emscher and river Ruhr. The river finally enters the Rhine at Wesel.

Description and history

The river Lippe has been used as an infrastructure in Roman times. For the Romans the river was a gateway to Germania, running from the river Rhine to the region around Paderborn. The watercourse was used for transport of supplies, so along the banks of the Lippe many former Roman camps can be found. In the last 200 years many of these camps have been identified, above all the camp in Haltern which is likely to be the former headquarter of the imperial prince Tiberius. The distance between the camps is about a one-day walk of the troops, which is almost 30 km (20 mi). Today’s identified Roman camps are: Olfen, Xanten, Haltern, Oberaden, Holsterhausen, Anreppen and Beckinghausen.

Lippe (disambiguation)

Lippe is a district in present-day Germany.

Lippe may also refer to: