Kierspe
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Kierspe is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the west of the Sauerland at Volme River. Population 18,702 (2002). Area 71.62 km². Kierspe belongs to the district Märkischer Kreis.
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History
In 1003 the small castle 'Haus Rhade', today belonging to Kierspe, is mentioned in a manuscript. Therefore Kierspe celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 2003. About 1490 Kierspe was seat of the 'Heilige Feme', an independent jury with the right to give death penalty. Such 'Feme' juries were common in Westphalia at this time.
In 1968 as part of the reorganization of the former district Altena the city of Kierspe was formed by merging the municipality Kierspe and the municipality Rönsahl, which previously formed the Amt Kierspe. On January 1, 1969 Kierspe got city rights.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of the city was adopted from the former coat of arms of the Amt. It combines symbols for both of the member municipalities - Kierspe and Rönsahl - as well as the red-white checkered bar of the counts of the Mark in the middle. In the bottom of the coat of arms is a red lion with blue claws and tongue, the symbol of the counts of Berg and taken from the coat of arms of Rönsahl. In the top is a Rauk, a raven. It refers to the nickname given to young recruits, who imitated the sound of the raven when first wearing the blue uniform during mustering. The coat of arms was granted to the Amt on August 20 1936, and to the city on July 29 1969. It was designed by Otto Hupp.
The coat of arms of the municipality Kierspe was similar to the one of the Amt, except the bottom was a blank yellow field. It was granted on October 17 1935. The coat of arms of the municipality Rönsahl had St. Servatius in the top, the patron saint of the church in Rönsahl.
Twin towns
Kierspe is twinned with the French commune Montigny-le-Bretonneux since 1988. The partnership developed from a long lasting student exchange of the Gesamtschule Kierspe with a college in Montigny-le-Bretonneux.
External link
- http://www.kierspe.de - Official websitede:Kierspe