Bestwig is a municipality in the Hochsauerland

Hochsauerland

Hochsauerlandkreis is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest, Paderborn, Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, Märkischer Kreis.- History :...

 district, in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Geography

Bestwig is situated on the river Ruhr, approx. 10 km east of Meschede

Meschede

Meschede is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis.-Geography:Meschede is situated in the Ruhr valley, near to the Hennesee, south of the nature-park Arnsberger Wald...

.

Neighbouring municipalities

• Olsberg
  Olsberg, Germany
  Olsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the river Ruhr, approx. 15 km east of Meschede. It is bordered by Arnsberg Forest Nature Park, on the northern fringe of the Rothaargebirge...
  
  
• Schmallenberg
  Schmallenberg
  Schmallenberg is a town in the district of Hochsauerland. Relating to its area of 188 square miles it is the largest town belonging to an administrative Kreis in the federal state of North Rhine/Westphalia, Germany....
  
  
• Meschede
  Meschede
  Meschede is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis.-Geography:Meschede is situated in the Ruhr valley, near to the Hennesee, south of the nature-park Arnsberger Wald...
  
  
• Rüthen
  Rüthen
  Rüthen is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river Möhne, approx. 20 km south of Lippstadt and south-west of Paderborn...
  
  
• Warstein
  Warstein
  Warstein is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of the Sauerland.- Geography :...
  
  

Subdivisions

• Bestwig (1,334 inhabitants)
• Velmede (3,461 inhabitants)
• Ramsbeck (2,047 inhabitants)
• Ostwig (1,655 inhabitants)
• Nuttlar (1,671 inhabitants)
• Heringhausen (903 inhabitants)
• Berlar
• Andreasberg
• Wasserfall

Twin towns

Bestwig has no official partnership with another town, but has close to ties to Niederorschel

Niederorschel

Niederorschel is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany. It includes the localities of Niederorschel, Oberorschel, and Rüdigershagen....

 (Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) and Niederwiesa

Niederwiesa

Niederwiesa is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany....

 (Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

).

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows a silver Saint Andrew's Cross

Saltire

A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....

 on blue ground.
The Saint Andrew's Cross is a reference to the patron of the parish church in Velmede, Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...

. The colors silver and blue show the allegiance to the former county of Arnsberg.

External links

• Official site