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TheSauerland (German:[ˈzaʊɐlant]ⓘ) is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the southeastern part of theGerman federal state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavilyforested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.
The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in North Rhine-Westphalia,[1] in particular for mountain biking and cycling, water sports and scenic recreation. The town andSkiliftkarussell ofWinterberg in theHochsauerlandkreis is a majorwinter sport resort.
The nameSauerland is first mentioned asSuderland in an official document from 1266.[2] After 1400 the letter 'd' started to disappear. Therefore, Sauerland =southern country is the most convincing meaning, opposed to the theory that Sauer is from theGerman wordsauer meaningsour (poor "sour" soil). Linguistically, "suder-“ is similar to theOld Saxonsûðar (southbound).
Before 1800 the western part of the Sauerland was part of theCounty of the Mark based inAltena; the eastern part adhered to the County ofArnsberg, later became known as theDuchy of Westphalia and was owned by theArchbishops andElectorate of Cologne. TheDuchy of Limburg covered a very small area in the lowerLenne river valley. After theNapoleonic Wars the area became part ofPrussia and was integrated into the newprovince of Westphalia. AfterWorld War II, Westphalia was merged with the new federal state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia. Today, the Sauerland consists of the districtsMärkischer Kreis,Olpe andHochsauerland. The western part of theHessian districtWaldeck-Frankenberg is also attributed to the Sauerland because of itsgeomorphological, as well as its sociocultural similarity, and the stark contrast to the rest of the adjoining Hessian landscape.
To the west the hills continue into theBergisches Land, to the south into theSiegerland, and to the north-east into theTeutoburg Forest. The major rivers of the Sauerland are theRuhr and theLenne. Several artificial lakes were created on the smaller rivers by buildingdams to store water for the nearbyRuhr area, the biggest reservoirs being theMöhne andBigge. Although the highest elevation of the Sauerland is theLangenberg (843 m) nearOlsberg, the much more renowned summit, which is well known for the nearby skiing facilities, its weather station and observation tower, is the slightly lowerKahler Asten (842 m) nearWinterberg. Both Langenberg and Kahler Asten are peaks in theRothaargebirge mountains.
The Sauerland has six reservoir lakes.
The Sauerland is part of theRhine Massif (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge) including 'Bergisches Land',Westerwald,Siegerland, and, separated by theRhine valley, theEifel,Hohes Venn andHunsrück. The Rheinisches Schiefergebirge was subjected tofolding andfaulting in theVariscan orogeny inCarboniferous times and eroded to apeneplain in thePermian. Thetectonic uplift to the present-day low mountain range began approximately 500,000 years ago and is still going on.[3]
Most of the bedrock underneath the Sauerland originates from a Middle and UpperDevonian period, when it was under a marginal and shallow sea. This has meant thatslates,sandstones andgreywackes are the most abundant rock types in the Sauerland. In some areaslimestones from an ancientreef fringe prevail and arekarstified. The Sauerland has several caves, especially in the northern part, the biggest caves being inAttendorn andBalve. In some areas of the Sauerland the occurrence oflead-zinc-silver-ores lead to the development of a considerable mining industry, the center of which was the town ofMeggen. Mining in this area lasted until the late second half of the 20th century, today there is no active mining in the Sauerland. The sandstones, greywackes andquartzites of the Sauerland as well as, to a minor extent, the limestones are still exploited in numerous quarries. Some of these caves are now becoming modest attractions to tourists.
Several areas of the Sauerland have the status of biological reserves.
The biodiversity of the Sauerland is significant. It is the main habitat of many species within Germany, for example for thewisent, theblack stork, theEurasian eagle-owl, thegreat grey shrike, thered-backed shrike and thewhinchat. There have been reports of free-roamingwolves, which had been wiped out in Germany until a few specimens returned to the country in 2000.[citation needed]
In 2007,Cyclone Kyrill caused severe damage to the coniferous forests. In addition, massive outbreaks ofbark beetles have been killing up to 60 % by area of forest in some regions of the Sauerland.[citation needed]
The largest town of the Sauerland isIserlohn; other larger towns areLüdenscheid andArnsberg.Meschede is the home of an abbey. Another abbey is placed atBestwig.
Parts of the Sauerland, especially the major valleys in the northwest, represent an old industrial region. The availability of iron ore and the abundance of wood and water allowed iron production long before theRuhr area industrialisation and the mining of itscoal took place. Today there are only a few remains of this earlyheavy industry; wire production is still important inAltena and a number of small factories still occupy the old industrial areas.Warsteiner is Germany's largest privately owned brewery.
Sauerland has become a popular tourist area, attracting many visitors from theRuhr Area and relatively close Netherlands. The forests and picturesque small towns are attractive for hikers and outdoor sports. There are more than 30,000 km (19,000 mi) of tagged hiking trails in Sauerland region maintained by Sauerland hiking association (SGV).[4] Some of the towns have the titleBad (Spa) because of their good air quality and stimulating climate. Winter sports are popular in the Sauerland. The bob sleigh track inWinterberg is widely known in Germany, as well as the ski jumping inWillingen. Sauerland also has a successful theme park calledFort Fun.
Balve Cave is one of the biggest prehistorical caves of Europe and is situated inBalve. The largest accessible limestone cave outside the Alps is theAtta Cave inAttendorn.
The Sauerland can be reached by car or train. The drive either via theBAB 4 fromCologne or via theBAB 45 andBAB 46 fromDortmund, takes about one hour; fromKassel orFrankfurt-Rhine-Main (via theSauerlandlinie) the journey takes about two hours. The closest commercial airport isDortmund Airport.
In the region, railways were once the most important means of transportation, but between 1950 and 1990 many smaller branch lines were closed and rail travel is now only present in the major valleys.
The most important lines are:
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51°15′00″N8°00′00″E / 51.2500°N 8.0000°E /51.2500; 8.0000
