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Porta Westfalica (town)

Porta Westfalica
View over Porta Westfalica to the Weser hills
View over Porta Westfalica to the Weser hills
Coat of arms of Porta Westfalica
Coat of arms
Porta Westfalica  is located in Germany
Porta Westfalica
Porta Westfalica
Location of Porta Westfalica within Minden-Lübbecke district
Minden Hüllhorst Espelkamp Bad Oeynhausen Lübbecke Rahden Petershagen Preußisch Oldendorf Porta Westfalica Hille Stemwede North Rhine-Westphalia Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Herford (district) Lippe (district) Lower Saxony Lower SaxonyPorta Westfalica in MI.svg
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Coordinates: 52°13′0″N 8°56′0″E / 52.21667°N 8.93333°E / 52.21667; 8.93333Coordinates: 52°13′0″N 8°56′0″E / 52.21667°N 8.93333°E / 52.21667; 8.93333
Country Germany
State North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region Detmold
District Minden-Lübbecke
Government
 • Mayor Stephan Böhme (SPD)
Area
 • Total 105 km2 (41 sq mi)
Elevation 46 - 303 m (−948 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
 • Total 35,430
 • Density 340/km2 (870/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 32457
Dialling codes 0571, 05706, 05722, 05731, 05751
Vehicle registration MI
Website www.porta-westfalica.de

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. The name was coined by scholars of the 19th century.

The town 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.

The Emperor William Monument was erected near the town by the then Prussian Province of Westphalia between 1892 and 1896 The monument, which is around 88 metres high, is classified as one of Germany’s national monuments.

From March 18, 1944 until April 1, 1945 a concentration camp was established in the Barkhausen quarter. From February 1, 1945 until April 1, 1945 a camp was used in the Hausberge quarter. In the Lerbeck quarter also was a concentration camp in use from October 1, 1944 until April 1, 1945. In the Neesen quarter was a location for the forced labour for some of the inmates. All of these camps were subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp.

On 10 January 2015, Belgian footballer Junior Malanda died in a car accident near the town, aged 20.

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 Wiehen Hills in the west and the Weser Uplands in the east. The gorge appears like a gate to the region Westphalia, which lies to the south of it. It is overlooked by the Jakobsberg and Wittekindsberg hills.


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