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The Sauerland is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, heavily forested and sparsely inhabited. It has been chosen as the first place in Germany where the Wisent or European bison will be reintroduced mainly because of its large forests, and to help boost the tourism industry by attracting visitors to the region.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Towns 4 Economy 5 Geology 6 External links

The name Sauerland does not originate from the German word sauer meaning sour, but from the word sur from medieval Low German, meaning sour/difficult. This indicates that in older times this area was difficult to travel through on account of the hills and valleys. Some people say the origin is the germanic tribe sicambri, called in German Sugambrer.

One part of the Sauerland belonged to the County of the Mark based on Altena; the other part to the County of Arnsberg, which was later owned by the bishops of Cologne. The Duchy of Limburg covered a very small area in the lower Lenne river valley. After the Napoleonic Wars the whole area became part of Prussia, in the new province Westphalia, which after World War II was incorporated into the new federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Today it is split among the districts Märkischer Kreis, Olpe and Hochsauerland. The western part of the Hessian district Waldeck-Frankenberg also considers itself to be part of the Sauerland.

In the west the hills continue into the Bergische Land, to the south into the Siegerland, and in the north-east to the Teutoburg Forest. The major rivers of the Sauerland are the Ruhr and the Lenne. Several smaller rivers were converted into artificial lakes by dams to store water for the nearby Ruhr area. The biggest of these lakes are those of the Möhne and Bigge.

The highest elevation of the Sauerland is the Langenberg (843m) near Olsberg. Much better known, because of its weather observation station, is the Kahler Asten (842m) near Winterberg. Both belong to the mountain range called the Rothaargebirge.

The largest town of the Sauerland is Iserlohn followed by Lüdenscheid and Arnsberg. You can find the biggest culture cave of Europe in Balve.

The Sauerland is an old industrial region. The availability of iron ore together with abundant wood and water allowed iron production to begin there long before the Ruhr area started to grow due to its coal deposits. Today there are only a few remains of this early industry; only wire production is still important in Altena.

The Sauerland today is an area very popular for tourism. The forests and small cities make it very popular for hiking, and several of the cities have the title Bad (Spa) because of their very good air quality. The higher elevations are also a popular winter sports area, especially for Dutch people. The bob sleigh track in Winterberg is famous, as is the ski jumping in Willingen.

The Sauerland is part of the bigger hill chain called Rheinisches Schiefergebirge ('Rhine slate mountains'), which includes the Bergisches Land', Westerwald, Siegerland, and, separated by the Rhine valley, the Eifel, Hohes Venn and Hunsrück. Most of the stone was created in the Middle and Upper Devonian period when the area was a shallow sea; thus limestone and slate are the most abundant stones. Some areas are karstified. Sauerland has several caves, especially in the northern part. The biggest cave is in Balve. The hills began to be created in the late Pliocene; only the Rothaargebirge is younger. The process of uplift has long ceased.

• Tourism website (German)
• http://www.sauerland-travel.de/ - source for travel, accommodation and information about the Sauerland region (German)
• European Bison in the Sauerland (English)
• SauerCams Webcams in the Sauerland