DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Nordrhein-Westfalen	North Rhine-Westphalia
Regierungsbezirk: Arnsberg
Kreis: Siegen-Wittgenstein

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Siegen is situated at an elevation of 267 m in the branched basin where the rivers Ferndorf and Weiß flow into the river Sieg. Siegen is the administrative centre of the district Siegen-Wittgenstein in the administrative region Arnsberg of southern Northrhine-Westfalia. The municipality has a population of about 103,000 (2018).

Iron mining and iron working in the area had already been done in the Latène period (c. 500 BC–100 AD), then ceased and was only restarted in the 10th/11th century. The earliest written mention of Sigena dates from 1079. In 1175 it was mentioned for the first time as 'civitas', a town. In 1224 Siegen was mentioned as a newly built or rebuilt city or rural community in a document confirming that the archbishop of Cologne transfered the ownership of half of the town to Count Heinrich 'the Rich' of Nassau. The town was chartered in 1303 according to the Laws of Soest. The shared ownership lasted until 1381 when Siegen entirely passed into the hands of Nassau. Wilhelm 'the Rich' of Nassau-Dillenburg introduced the Protestant faith into his territories in 1533. Count Johann 'the Younger' reverted to Catholicism in 1612. Johann-Moritz of Nassau-Siegen (styled Prince in 1652), Dutch commander in Brasil, deposed him and in 1650/51 divided the Siegerland region according to denominations. The Catholic rule ended when Wilhelm-Hyacinth of Nassau-Siegen was deposed in 1707 by the citizens because of his extravagant lifestyle. As also the Protestant branch of Nassau-Siegen expired in 1734, Emperor Karl VI transferred the government to Wilhelm IV of Nassau-Diez who in 1739 also inherited Nassau-Dillenburg. Siegen thus became the capital of the Principality of Orange and Nassau. During the Napoleonic times, Siegen was incorporated in 1806 into the Département de la Sieg (with administrative seat in Dillenburg) within the Grand Duchy of Berg. After the end of the Napoleonic rule in 1813, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 awarded the territory to the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1923, the city of Siegen was separated from the district Siegen but remained its administrative seat. During World War II large parts of the historic town were destroyed by a severe bomb raid in 1944. In 1966 the city was reinegrated into the district and at the same time six neighbouring communities were incorporated into the municipality of Siegen. In 1975 the municipalities of Eiserfeld and Hüttental were merged with Siegen, and the former district of Wittgenstein was incorporated into the district Siegen (in 1984 renamed to Siegen-Wittgenstein).

The Nikolaikirche (church of St. Nicholas) [left, no. 3827] goes back to the early 13th century. The earliest document mentioning the church dates from 1311. Plans to build a church tower are first documented in 1455; the tower was then built until 1464. Since 1530 the church was Protestant. Under Johann Moritz of Nassau-Siegen the church was remodeled several times: the tower received a new, Baroque roof and the interior was remodeled by the addition of balconies. When Johann Moritz was styled Imperial Prince in 1658 he donated a large gold-plated crown to be placed on top of the church tower. The popularly called Krönchen ('coronet', 'little crown') has a diameter of 2.35 metres and today is the most popular landmark of Siegen. When its supporting mast browe during a storm in 1993, it was replaced by a replica. The restored original since then is exhibited in the entrance area of the church in the tower.

The famous Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was born in Siegen.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegen; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_(Nassau), https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haus_Nassau, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Großherzogtum_Berg, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreis_Siegen-Wittgenstein; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaikirche_(Siegen)]