Count of Nassau
Which country did Siegen belong to from 1328 to 1606?
Siegen Siegen ( ) is a city in Germany , in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia . It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region . The university town ( nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semester ) is the district seat , and is ranked as a higher centre in the South Westphalian urban agglomeration . In 1975 , municipal reforms and amalgamations lifted Siegens population above the 100,000 mark . Geography . Location . The city of Siegen lies in the basin of the upper reaches of the river Sieg . From there , lateral valleys branch off in many directions . The heights of the surrounding mountains , wherever they are not actually settled , are covered in coppice . To the north lies the Sauerland , to the northwest the Rothaargebirge and to the southwest the Westerwald . The nearest cities to Siegen , taking into account average travelling distances , are Hagen to the north , Frankfurt am Main to the southeast , Koblenz to the southwest and Cologne to the west . As the crow flies the distances to these places are , however , ( Hagen ) , ( Frankfurt ) , ( Koblenz ) and ( Cologne ) . The city lies on the German-Dutch holiday road called the Orange Route , joining towns , cities and regions associated with the House of Orange . City area . The citys total land area is roughly . Its greatest east-west span is about , and its greatest north-south span is about . City limits are long . Siegen lies at a median elevation of above sea level . The citys greatest elevation is the peak of the Pfannenberg at above sea level at southern city limits . Siegens lowest point is above sea level at Niederschelden at southwestern city limits , which there also forms the state boundary with Rhineland-Palatinate . Roughly 60% of the citys land is wooded , making Siegen one of Germanys greenest cities . The city area is divided into six zones , called Bezirke in German and comparable to boroughs in some cities , which themselves are further divided into various communities ( Ortsteile and Stadtteile ) . Each borough has a borough board consisting of 15 voting and 15 non-voting members who are appointed by city council with regard to each partys share of the vote in the municipal elections in the borough in question . The borough boards decide on matters particular to their respective boroughs . These matters are laid down in Siegens city charter . Administrative division . Siegens six boroughs and communities belonging to each boroughs are : - District I ( Geisweid ) : Birlenbach , Meiswinkel , Langenholdinghausen , Geisweid , Dillnhütten , Sohlbach , Buchen , Niedersetzen , Obersetzen - District II ( Weidenau ) : - District III ( Ost ) : Kaan-Marienborn , parts of Alt-Siegen ( Giersberg ) , Bürbach , Volnsberg , Breitenbach , Feuersbach - District IV ( Mitte ) : Alt-Siegen ( parts not belonging to borough III or V ) - District V ( West ) : Seelbach , Trupbach and parts of Alt-Siegen ( Wellersberg , Fischbacherberg , Achenbach , Rothenberg ) - District VI ( Süd ) : Oberschelden , Gosenbach , Niederschelden , Eiserfeld , Eisern Along with the boroughs and communities into which the city is divided , as mandated by law , there are also further subdivisions within the communities , each with its own name , but none with distinctly clear borders . They are called Quartiere , which can be rendered as quarters or neighbourhoods . Examples of these include the Unterstadt , the Oberstadt , Hammerhütte , Lindenberg , Charlottental , Haardter Berg ( with the university ) and the Alte Dreisbach . Some neighbourhoods even straddle community boundaries , like Sieghütte , parts of which can be found in both Siegen-Mitte and Weidenau . Moreover , some neighbourhoods even overlap each other . Unlike the boroughs ( Bezirke ) or communities ( Ortsteile and Stadtteile ) , the Quartiere have no statistical or administrative importance . They do , however , serve some function as to their inhabitants identity , but more practically than that , they are also useful for finding ones way with a city map and using in bus route names and on public notices and traffic signs . Many of the Hüttentalstraße city Autobahns exits are also named after the Quartiere that they serve . The communities of Weidenau , Geisweid , Birlenbach , Langenholdinghausen , Buchen , Sohlbach , Dillnhütten , Niedersetzen , Obersetzen and Meiswinkel formed from 1 July 1966 to 31 December 1974 the town of Hüttental . The communities of Eiserfeld , Eisern , Gosenbach , Niederschelden and Oberschelden formed the town of Eiserfeld between those same two dates . Neighbouring communities . The city of Siegen borders in the north on the town of Kreuztal and the community of Wenden , in the east on the town of Netphen , in the southeast on the community of Wilnsdorf , in the south on the community of Neunkirchen , in the west on the community of Mudersbach ( Altenkirchen in Rhineland-Palatinate ) and in the northwest on the town of Freudenberg . History . <section /> The name Siegen comes from the possibly Celtic river name Sieg . It is , however , unclear whether there is any relation between this name and the Celtic-Germanic Sicambri ( Ger . Sugambrer ) people , who in pre-Christian times lived in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia . The first documentary mention of the place called Sigena dates from 1079 . The citys history is markedly shaped by mining , which locally began as far back as La Tène times . Bearing witness to this longtime industry are the many mines that can be found within city limits . In 1224 , Siegen is mentioned as a newly built town whose ownership was shared by the Count of Nassau , Heinrich the Rich , and Engelbert II of Berg , Archbishop of Cologne after the latter transferred one half of the ownership to the former . Moreover , there is proof that the Oberes Schloss ( upper stately home ) was already standing at this time . On 19 October 1303 , the town was granted Soester Stadtrecht , or Soest town rights . The town remained under the two overlords joint ownership until 1 February 1381 , only then passing fully into Nassau hands . In the 16th century , the town of Siegen bore a formidable defensive look . It was surrounded by mighty walls with 16 towers and three town gates , and was home to a great castle . The town was stricken several times by townwide fires . Documents record such fires in 1592 , and from 10 to 20 April 1695 . In 1536 , Heinrich the Rich built a paedagogium in the buildings that had once housed a Franciscan Monastery . It later grew into todays Gymnasium at Siegens Löhrtor ( gate ) . Johann VII of Nassau-Siegen ( Johann the Intermediary ) built the Unteres Schloss ( lower stately home ) on the site of an old Franciscan Monastery . In 1616 , Johann VII founded a knightly war school in the still standing old armoury on Burgstraße , expressly to produce an officer corps for Calvinism . His son Johann VIII ( The Younger ) returned in 1612 to the Roman Catholic Church , and wanted to use force to make the townsfolk also convert back to Roman Catholicism . In 1632 , Nassau-Siegen was conquered by the Swedes , after which his half-brother John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen , the Dutch commander in Brazil , re-introduced Protestantism . John VIII died in 1638 and was succeeded by his only son Johan Frans Desideratus , who had to cede part of Nassau-Siegen ( north of the Sieg river ) to the Protestant branch of the family . John Maurices leadership served in 1650–1651 to bring about a split in the Siegerland along denominational lines . Under Wilhelm Hyacinth of Nassau-Siegen , violence broke out between the two denominational groups . When on 29 March 1707 townsman Friedrich Flender was killed , Wilhelm Hyacinth was himself unseated and furthermore driven out of the town . Wilhelm Hyacinth was the last in the line of Nassau-Siegens Catholic rulers , dying in 1743 . Already in 1734 , though , the Reformed line had died out , too , with Friedrich Wilhelms death , leading Charles VI , Holy Roman Emperor to transfer power in the territory to the Prince of Orange and the Prince of Nassau-Diez . Under their leadership , mining , the main source of wealth , blossomed , along with agriculture and silviculture . When Prince William of Orange refused to join the Confederation of the Rhine , founded by Napoleon , he found himself unseated by the French leader and the Siegerland passed to the Grand Duchy of Berg . After Napoleons downfall in 1813 , however , William I regained his former German inheritances , but in 1815 he ceded them to the Kingdom of Prussia for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . Siegen was assigned to the Siegen district , first in the Koblenz region , and as of 1817 in the Arnsberg region within the Prussian Province of Westphalia . Under Prussian rule , Siegen developed into the South Westphalian centre that it is today . On 1 March 1923 , Siegen was set apart from the district bearing its name , and became a district-free town , while still keeping its function as seat of the district of which it was no longer part , and which was itself merged with Wittgenstein district under district reform in 1975 . Siegen also lost its district-free status at this time , becoming part of the new Siegen-Wittgenstein district , the name that the district has borne since 1984 . During World War II , Siegen was repeatedly bombed by the Allies owing to a crucial railroad that crossed through the town . On 1 April 1945 , the US 8th Infantry Division began the Allied ground assault against Siegen and the dominating military-significant high ground north of the river . The battle against determined German forces at Siegen continued through 2 April 1945 , until organized resistance was finally overwhelmed by the division on 3 April 1945.<section /> Religion . The town of Siegen belonged in the beginning to the Archbishopric of Mainz , or more precisely to its deaconry of Arfeld . There was a White Nun convent in town that folded in the 15th century . Furthermore , there was a Franciscan Monastery that was dissolved in 1533 after the Nassau overlords had introduced the Reformation in 1530 . After that , the town was first Lutheran , but in 1550 , the Principality of Nassau converted to the Reformed Church . Subsequently , Siegen was a predominantly Protestant town , but not so strongly that the Counterreformation could not gain ground in 1623 , with one fifth of the townsfolk and those living in the surrounding area becoming Catholic once again . As of 1626 , there was once more a monastery in town , this time a Jesuit one . After passing to Prussia in 1815 , the union between Lutheran and Reformed churches was introduced in Siegen , as it was throughout Prussia , but the towns parishes kept their Reformed emphasis . As part of the Westphalian Provincial Church ( now the Church of Westphalia ) , Siegen became the seat of a Superintendency . A similar entity still exists in Siegen , known as the Kirchenkreis , or church district , to which all the citys parishes nowadays belong , unless they are Free Church parishes . This church district encompasses the whole of South Westphalia all the way to Olpe . The towns Catholics , even after the Reformation , still belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz . With the restructuring of the Catholic Church early in the 19th century , Siegen was assigned to the Archbishopric of Paderborn and became the seat of a district synod , today a deaconry , to which all the districts Catholic parishes belong . Paderborn was raised to Archbishopric in 1929 . Besides the Roman Catholic Church , Siegen also has a Greek Orthodox parish and a Romanian Orthodox parish . Moreover , there are various free churches established in Siegen , among them several Evangelical Free Church parishes ( Baptists ) , an Evangelical-Methodist Church , an Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church ( SELK ) , a Seventh-day Adventist parish , several Free Evangelical parishes ( FeG ) , the Achenbach Christian Community , the Christian Assembly , Calvary Chapel and the Siegen-Meiswinkel Mission Community . Further religious communities in Siegen are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the New Apostolic Church , the Jehovahs Witnesses , an Original Christianity community and Baháʼí . Moreover , owing to a great number of Turkish and Arab migrants in Siegen , the Muslim community is also very much in evidence there and there are several mosques in Siegen run by Turkish , Arab and Albanian communities . There are said to be more than 15,000 Muslims out of Siegens total population . Municipal reform . The following communities and rural areas have been amalgamated with Siegen : - 1902 and 1912 : parts of Buschgotthardtshütten - 1934 : parts of Achenbach - 1937 : parts of Achenbach and Buschgotthardtshütten - 1966 : Trupbach , Seelbach , Breitenbach , Bürbach , Kaan-Marienborn and Volnsberg - 1969 : Feuersbach - 1974 : towns of Hüttental and Eiserfeld Population development . In 1897 , Siegen had 20,000 inhabitants . By 1939 , this figure had doubled to 40,000 . In the World War II , the town lost roughly 30% of its inhabitants ( 12,000 ) . The population had fallen to 28,000 by 1945 and only in 1952 did it once again reach prewar levels . On 1 January 1975 , Siegens population surpassed 100,000 through the amalgamation of Hüttental ( 38,867 inhabitants in 1974 ) and Eiserfeld ( 22,354 inhabitants in 1974 ) , making it a city . With 117,224 inhabitants it also at the same time reached its all-time highest population . At the end of June 2005 , according to the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office for Data Processing and Statistics ( Landesamt für Datenverarbeitung und Statistik Nordrhein-Westfalen ) , 105,328 people made Siegen their main abode . Since 1975 , the population has fallen by roughly 10% ( 12,000 ) . The following chart shows population figures for Siegens municipal area , however big it was at each given time . Up to 1833 , most figures are estimates , and thereafter census figures ( ¹ ) or official estimates by the statistical office of the time or the town/city administration itself . The given figures indicate from 1843 the population present in the town ( Ortsanwesende Bevölkerung ) , from 1925 the dwelling population ( Wohnbevölkerung ) , and since 1987 the Population in the place of main residence ( Bevölkerung am Ort der Hauptwohnung ) . Before 1843 , population figures come from irregular surveying procedures . ¹ Census figure Politics . City council . The city councils 62 seats are apportioned thus , in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 September 2004 : None of the parties represented on city council holds a majority , and no coalition has been struck . However , the CDU and the FDP have a fixed , contractual coöperation agreement and at least have at their disposal a joint majority voice on some committees . In the council chamber , on the other hand , their 30 seats are not an absolute majority and they do not always prevail . Mayors . At the citys helm since the 13th century , there have been several mayors of whom evidence survives . In 1304 and 1305 , a council ( consules ) was mentioned for the first time . As early as 1224 , however , documents mention Burgmänner ( Castle Men ) as well as three Bürgermeister ( Mayors ) who were changed yearly . As of 1500 , only two mayors were chosen every year . In the 18th century , the guilds were achieving ever greater influence in the town . Thereafter the ruling or office-holding old shoemaking master represented the common townsfolk on the council . The mediaeval town charter was kept right up until 1809 , and parts of it even held until 1815 , but that year there was a self-endorsing council with 12 members , over which presided the mayor . As of 1824 , the suburbs got their own chief administrator who was subordinate to the mayor of Siegen . In 1836 , the Prussian municipal system was introduced . After the town was separated from Siegen district in 1923 , the mayor was given the title Oberbürgermeister ( roughly equivalent to Lord Mayor ) . The mayor who came to office in 1919 kept his position right through the time of the Third Reich , whereas some mayors in other German and Austrian towns , whose political views were at odds with the Nazis , were removed forcibly . After the Second World War , the military government of the British Zone of Occupation installed a new mayor , and in 1946 it introduced a new town charter based on a British model , leading to a Council of the town elected by the people , whose members were called Stadtverordnete ( town councillors ) . In the beginning , the council chose one from its midst as the mayor as the towns head and representative , which was an honorary function . Furthermore , as of 1946 , the council also began choosing a full-time Oberstadtdirektor , or Higher Town Director , to lead the towns administration . After Siegen was reunited with the district of the same name in 1975 , these two officials bore the titles Bürgermeister and Stadtdirektor respectively . In 1999 , this two-headed arrangement was forsaken in favour of a single city leader , with the title Bürgermeister , who serves as chairman or chairwoman of city council , leader of city administration and city representative . He or she is directly elected nowadays . Mayors ( Bürgermeister and Oberbürgermeister ) since 1919 - 1919–1945 : Alfred Fißmer , Oberbürgermeister - 1945 : Fritz Fries , Oberbürgermeister - 1945–1946 : Otto Schwarz , Oberbürgermeister - 1946–1948 : Ernst Weißelberg , Oberbürgermeister - 1948–1956 : Ernst Bach , Oberbürgermeister - 1956–1961 : Erich Pachnicke , Oberbürgermeister - 1961–1966 : Karl Eckmann , Oberbürgermeister - 1966–1975 : Karl Althaus , Oberbürgermeister - 1975–1979 : Friedemann Keßler , Bürgermeister - 1979–1990 : Hans Reinhardt , Bürgermeister - 1990–1994 : Hilde Fiedler , Bürgermeisterin - 1994–1999 : Karl Wilhelm Kirchhöfer , Bürgermeister - 1999–2007 : Ulf Stötzel ( CDU ) , Bürgermeister - 2007–today : Steffen Mues ( CDU ) , Bürgermeister Stadtdirektoren and Oberstadtdirektoren 1946–1999 - 1946–1954 : Max Baumann , Oberstadtdirektor - 1954–1975 : Kurt Seibt , Oberstadtdirektor - 1975–1985 : Hans Mohn , Stadtdirektor - 1985–1989 : Volker Oerter , Stadtdirektor - 1989–1995 : Otto-Werner Rappold , Stadtdirektor ( left office early with effect on 2 December 1995 by his own wish ) - 1995–1999 : Ulrich Mock , Stadtdirektor ( at first as Dr . Rappolds General Agent until 31 January 1997 , then appointed fulltime Stadtdirektor ) Coat of arms . Siegens civic coat of arms might be described thus : Argent a town wall embattled gules with an open gateway argent , therein in an inescutcheon azure a lion rampant Or armed and langued gules , issuant from the wall a bishop in robe and mitre azure ( trimmed in argent ) holding in his hand dexter a crozier argent with crook Or sinister , in his hand sinister , upraised , an open book argent with pages edged gules . The bishop in the citys arms is the Bishop of Cologne . The wall symbolizes the city itself , and the inescutcheon in the gateway shows the Lion of Nassau in blue and gold ( or yellow ) , which are Nassaus colours . The arms are based on the oldest known town seal , from 1248 . The inescutcheon once also had gold billets ( upright rectangles ) around the lion , but these do not appear in what became the towns ( and later citys ) coat of arms in 1875 . Sights . Although the town was about 80% destroyed in the World War II , Siegen has kept a number of buildings worth seeing , such as the two stately homes , the Oberes Schloss and the Unteres Schloss . Oberes Schloss . The castle on the Siegberg was first mentioned in a document in 1259 and was the family seat of the House of Nassau . Since 1905 , the Siegerland Museum has been here . Alongside regional exhibits – among them an artificial demonstration mine – are many paintings . The centrepiece of this collection is made up of works by the man who is arguably the best known native , Peter Paul Rubens . There is also quite a comprehensive collection of portraits of members of the Houses of Nassau and Orange . The top floor is devoted to 19th-century home décor . A kitchen from the Siegerland , a bedroom and many pieces of furniture from the Biedermeier era give one an impression of life in the region in bygone days . Unteres Schloss . Late in the 17th century , the Lower Stately Home came into being in its current form , somewhat like an open rectangle . The Evangelical line of the House of Nassau-Siegen resided here . Also belonging to the Schloss is the Dicker Turm , or Fat Tower with a carillon . In 1959 , the then town of Siegen built a memorial for victims of war and tyranny . Inside the Schloss is also found the crypt of the Evangelical branch of the Nassau princely house . Today , the Schloss serves as a state authority building in which the North Rhine-Westphalia Building and Property Establishment , the State Environment Office , the Office for Occupational Health and Safety and the Attendorn Correctional Facility ( Siegen Branch Facility ) are all housed . By the citys plans , a university is supposed to move into the Unteres Schloss within the next few years , but at this time , the plan is failing to find any financial backing . Churches . Two churches in downtown Siegen are to be brought to the visitors attention : The Martinikirche dating from the 11th century and the Nikolaikirche at the marketplace with its unusual eight-sided shape and its golden Krönchen ( coronet ) – the citys landmark – on the church tower , which is a prominent feature of Siegens skyline ( Siegen is sometimes called Krönchenstadt for this unusual feature ) . Another church is the Marienkirche , built by the Jesuits between 1702 and 1729 . Also worth seeing are Siegens Old Town and several museums in the city core . Gasometer . In the southwest of the city core , at the foot of the Ziegenberg , is a spherical gas holder , or gasometer , which is protected by law as a monument . It is one of the oldest spherical gas holders still preserved . Another peculiarity is its riveted casing . Only three other such gas holders are known to exist worldwide ( all in Germany , in Schwerte , Offenburg and Bielefeld ) . The holder had to be moved a few metres owing to construction on the municipal Autobahn , the Hüttentalstraße , and in the residential area of Ziegenberg , and it now forms the symbolic sun as part of a scale model of the planets above the gas holder . Cemeteries . Within Siegens city limits are 36 municipally run cemeteries . Ten of them are already closed and are available for burials only because of existing laws . The cemeteries have a total area of 730 000 m² with roughly 65,000 graves . Characteristic of regional cemeteries are hillside graves and a green , parklike layout that even affords wildlife a chance at reoccupying the land . Cemeteries within city limits are : - Lindenbergfriedhof - Hermelsbacher Friedhof - Stockfriedhof - Geisweider Friedhof - Haardter Friedhof - Gilbergfriedhof - Friedhof Kaan-Marienborn - Neuer Friedhof Niederschelden Culture . Theatre . In the Apollo-Theater ( a downtown former 1930s cinema that underwent remodelling and opened in mid-2007 ) , Siegen has one of the current decades most important newly built theatres . A controlling interest in this venture is held by TheaterSiegen intendant Magnus Reitschuster . Since 1992 , the media and cultural house Lÿz has been a venue for cabaret , music and theatre in Siegen . On the two stages , roughly 150 events appear every season . Bigger events take place at the Bühne der Stadt ( Citys Stage , with about 820 seats ) , the Siegerlandhalle ( 1 800 m² , 2,300 seats ) or the Bismarckhalle . As well , there are regular open-air concerts and productions in the inner yard at Unteres Schloss . Orchestras and choirs . - Philharmonie Südwestfalen - Evangelische Kantorei Siegen - Bach-Chor Siegen - Sängerkreis Siegerland Museums . The main centre of art in Siegen are the Museum for Contemporary Art and the Haus Seel – city gallery . The Siegerland Museum is dedicated to regional history . The Oranienstraße House , built at 1900 in the Italian country house style , is attached to the Siegerland Museum since 1993 as an exhibit forum . There is a varied program of temporary exhibitions of all kinds , from archaeological excavations to contemporary avant-garde art . Poet and author readings are also part of the program , such as classic concerts . In Geisweid is found the Beatles Home Museum , run by Harold Krämer . According to the 2000 Guinness Book of Records , the 27 m² museum is the smallest public museum in the world devoted to the four Liverpudlian musicians . The collection holds more than 17,000 recordings , souvenirs , film posters , and autographs and other memorabilia . Regular events . - Early in the year : SILA ( Siegerlandausstellung – Siegerland Exhibition ) , even-numbered years only - March to November , first Saturday in each month : Flea market in Siegen-Geisweid ( since 1970 ) , no new goods - June to August : Mittwochs in different bands every Wednesday in Siegen-Weidenau - June : Johannimarkt , a fair held for some 400 years - June/July : Siegener Sommerfestival , plays , cabaret , theatre , music and cinema since about 1990 . ( In 2006 , instead of the traditional summer festival , a World Cup festival was held ) - July : Stadtfest ( City Festival ) , even-numbered years only - July : Rubensfest , odd-numbered years only - August : Siegen Open-Air Cinema - August : Christopher Street Day ( CSD ) , since 2000 - August : Siegtal-Pur All streets only opened for bikes ( the HTS ( local Motorway ) too ) - Summer : Street Festival at the Corn Market - October : 2nd Sunday : Bürgerfest Geisweid - November : Geisweider Adventsmarkt , since about 1985 - December : Christmas market , since about 1980 Dialect . The city and its surrounding region speak in addition to standard German also have a characteristic local dialect : Siegerländisch . Tales and legends . The Dilldappe is an old mythical creature from the Siegerland . It lives mainly in the Siegerland Hauberg ( coöperatively managed woodlots ) . Early in the 1980s , the writer and cartoonist Matthias Kringe first published a calendar about the creature , written in the local dialect of German . The Rubens Prize of the City of Siegen . The Rubens Prize of the City of Siegen , founded in 1955 , is awarded every five years to a painter or graphic artist whose lifes work has been groundbreaking on the European stage . The title recalls the painter-diplomat Peter Paul Rubens , who expressed in his lifes work the thought of European unity , long before it could become a political reality . Peter Paul Rubens – who was born in Siegen , grew up in Cologne and Antwerp , trained in art in Italy , was esteemed in France and acted as a diplomat in Spain and England – as the main master of European Baroque painting set those artistic and European standards to which the awarding of the prize has been bound since 1957–1958 . Past prizewinners : - Hans Hartung ( 1957/1958 ) - Giorgio Morandi ( 1962 ) - Francis Bacon ( 1967 ) - Antoni Tàpies ( 1972 ) - Fritz Winter ( 1977 ) - Emil Schumacher ( 1982 ) - Cy Twombly ( 1987 ) - Rupprecht Geiger ( 1992 ) - Lucian Freud ( 1997 ) - Maria Lassnig ( 2002 ) - Sigmar Polke ( 2007 ) - Bridget Riley ( 2012 ) - Niele Toroni ( 2017 ) Sport . The city sport league includes 160 sport clubs in which roughly 37,000 members are active . National importance was achieved in 2005 by the Sportfreunde Siegen mens football team at Leimbachstadion when they rose from the Regionalliga Süd up to the 2nd Bundesliga , although the next year they dropped back down again . As six-time German Champions , the TSV Siegen womens football team was very successful in the 1990s . Transport . Air transport . In the south of the district in the community of Burbach lies the Siegerland Airport through which Siegen is connected to many other airports in Germany . Bicycle transport . The city of Siegen lies on European long-distance path E1 running from the middle of Sweden to Umbria in Italy . There is , however , no organized cycling trail network in Siegen . Riding in bus lanes is sporadically allowed . Bicycle transport is generally poorly developed in Siegen . Owing to dual carriageways within the city and nearby , as well as transport planning that rather favours cars , bicycle transport has been somewhat thwarted . Together with the partly hilly topography , there is therefore little in the way of bicycle transport in Siegen . Rail transport . Siegen station lies at the junction of the following railway lines : - The two-track electrified Ruhr–Sieg line ( Ruhr-Sieg-Strecke ) is used for regional services , usually hourly , of the Ruhr-Sieg-Express ( RE 16 ) and the Ruhr-Sieg-Bahn ( RB 91 ) . - The Rothaar Railway ( Rothaarbahn ) is served , usually hourly by Rothaar-Bahn ( RB 93 ) services , connecting in Erndtebrück to Obere Lahntal-Bahn ( RB 94/RMV Line 43 ) services , usually two-hourly , on the Upper Lahn Valley Railway ( Obere Lahntal-Bahn ) . - The two-track electrified Dill Railway ( Dill-Strecke ) is served , usually two-hourly , by the Rhein-Sieg-Express ( RE 9 ) and the Main-Sieg-Express ( RE 99 ) and hourly by the Sieg-Dill-Bahn ( RB 95 ) ( only to and from Dillenburg ) . - The mostly two-track electrified Sieg line ( Siegstrecke ) is served , usually hourly , by the Rhein-Sieg-Express ( RE 9 ) and Sieg-Dill-Bahn ( RB 95 ) services ( only to and from Au ) . Bus transport . On 18 March 1895 , the Netphener Omnibusgesellschaft opened the worlds first busline using a petrol-powered omnibus , running a service from its base in Netphen to Siegen and Deuz . Today , local road transport offers many regional , express and local buses , along with a night bus service connecting Siegen with its outlying communities and neighbouring towns . They are run by the South Westphalia Transport Services ( Verkehrsbetriebe Westfalen-Süd ; VWS ) whose headquarters are in Siegen . For the whole of local public transport , the tariff of the South Westphalia Transport Community ( Verkehrsgemeinschaft Westfalen-Süd ; VGWS ) applies , regardless of the North Rhine-Westphalia tariff . Roads . With regard to long-distance roads , the city of Siegen is connected to Autobahnen A 45 ( Dortmund – Aschaffenburg ) and A 4 ( Cologne – Olpe ) , and to Federal Highways ( Bundesstraßen ) 54 , 54n , 62 and 62n . Siegen is home to the tallest bridge of the A 45 and one of the highest in Germany , the Siegtalbrücke . Built from 1964 to 1969 , it is approximately 96 m high and 1 050 m long . The shape that the city takes has much to do with the Hüttentalstraße ( HTS ) ( Federal Highways 54n and 62n ) which serves as a municipal Autobahn – much of it elevated – that runs through the city area . The A 4 between Wenden and Kreuztal has been newly built . In the heights over Kreuztals outlying community of Krombach , it now joins with the HTS . On this 12-kilometre stretch of highway are eight valley bridges as well as ten under- and overpasses . This new part was opened on 1 December 2007 . Economy . Siegen is South Westphalias service and administrative centre . Much of its industry is based on metalworking . Pedestrian precincts in Bahnhofsstraße ( Railway Station Street ) and Kölner Tor ( Cologne Gate ) , both downtown , have made shopping in Siegen very convenient , as have the shopping centres City-Galerie ( opened in 1998 ) and Sieg Carré ( opened in 2006 , both downtown ) and Siegerlandzentrum ( Siegen-Weidenau ) , and the Marburger Straße shopping street ( downtown ) . In 2005 , an IKEA store and a Peek & Cloppenburg location opened . Public institutions . Siegen is home to the Siegen-Wittgenstein district administration and location of a Chamber of Industry and Trade ( Industrie- und Handelskammer , or IHK , one of 81 such regional institutions in Germany ) for the districts of Siegen-Wittgenstein and Olpe . Home to the Siegen State Court , a local court and a labour court , the city is also an important court centre . Media . In Siegen , the Westdeutscher Rundfunk ( WDR ) maintains a studio where regional radio and television news for South Westphalia is produced . The daily broadcast goes out in the South Westphalia regional window following the programme Aktuelle Stunde ( a newsmagazine show ) on WDRs third channel . Moreover , WDR also runs a transmission facility for VHF radio and television ( once also medium wave ) at the Giersberg . Daily newspapers in Siegen include not only the Siegener Zeitung but also local editions of the Westfälische Rundschau and the Westfalenpost . All three appear in the morning , although the first was until 2000 an afternoon paper . Furthermore , at the Obergraben is found the regional , Radio-NRW-connected Radio Siegens studio building . Education . In the early decades of the 17th century , the Herborn Academy temporarily relocated to Siegen , in the buildings of the Unteres Schloss , which came to an end when the Plague broke out . Siegens oldest school is the Gymnasium am Löhrtor , a grammar school . Other Schools : Grammar schools . - Gymnasium am Löhrtor ( GAL ) - Fürst-Johann-Moritz-Gymnasium ( FJM ) - Peter-Paul-Rubens-Gymnasium , formerly known as Ganztagsgymnasium am Rosterberg - Evangelisches Gymnasium ( EV ) - Gymnasium auf der Morgenröthe ( GAM ) Primary schools . - Albert Schweitzer Schule - Birlenbacher Schule - Burgschule - Diesterwegschule - Dreisbachschule - Eiserner Schule - Fischbacherbergschule - Friedrich Flender Schule - Geisweider Schule - Giersbergschule - Glückaufschule - Gosenbacher Schule - Grundschule Eiserfeld - Grundschule Kaan-Marienborn - Hammerhütter Schule - Hüttentalschule - Jung Stilling Schule - Lindenbergschule - Nordschule - Obenstruthschule - Sonnenhangschule - Spandauer Schule Higher education . Siegen is headquarters of the University of Siegen , founded on 1 August 1972 as the Gesamthochschule Siegen . As well , the Fachhochschule für Oekonomie & Management has a study centre , which is shared with the Academy of Administration and Economics . Siegen also has various general-education and professional schools , and the Siegerlandkolleg . Twin towns – sister cities . Siegen is twinned with : - Spandau ( Berlin ) , Germany ( 1952 ) - Katwijk , Netherlands ( 1963 , formerly Rijnsburg ) - Leeds , England , United Kingdom ( 1966 , formerly Morley ) - Ypres , Belgium ( 1967 ) - Zakopane , Poland ( 1989 ) - Plauen , Germany ( 1990 ) Notable people . - Henry III of Nassau-Breda ( 1483–1538 ) , Count of Nassau and Lord of Breda - Tilemann Stella ( 1525–1589 ) , Renaissance scholar and librarian , mathematician , geometerer , cartographer and astronomer - Peter Paul Rubens ( 1577–1640 ) , Baroque painter - Johann Heinrich Bisterfeld ( 1605–1655 ) , philosopher , polyhistor - Georg Wilhelm de Gennin ( 1676–1750 ) , Russian military officer and engineer ; baptized here - Franz Hunolt ( 1691–1746 ) , Jesuit , theologian - Adolph Diesterweg ( 1790–1866 ) , pedagogue and mastermind of reform education - Heinrich Kreutz ( 1854–1907 ) , astronomer and publisher - Charles H . Daub ( 1855–1917 ) , member of the Wisconsin State Assembly - Fritz Busch ( 1890–1951 ) , conductor - Adolf Busch ( 1891–1952 ) , German-Swiss violinist and conductor - Walter Kraemer ( 1892–1941 ) , politician ( KPD ) and resistance fighter against Nazism - Paul Giesler ( 1895–1945 ) , Nazi functionary , Premier of Bavaria - Heinrich Gontermann ( 1896–1917 ) , fighter ace - Friedrich Middelhauve ( 1896–1966 ) , publisher and politician ( FDP ) - Hermann Giesler ( 1898–1987 ) , architect - Ernst Achenbach ( 1909–1991 ) , politician ( FDP ) - Herbert Schäfer ( 1927–1991 ) , football player and coach - Walter Schneider ( 1927–2010 ) , motorcycle racing driver - Bernd Becher ( 1931–2007 ) , conceptual artist and photographer - Heinfried Birlenbach ( 1940–2020 ) , shot putter - Joachim Frank ( born 1940 ) , German-American biophysicist and a Nobel laureate - Rolf Stommelen ( 1943–1983 ) , Formula One racer - Josef Clemens ( born 1947 ) , bishop - Klaus Scheer ( born 1950 ) , football player and coach - Christoph Bode ( born 1952 ) , literary scholar - Reinhard Goebel ( born 1952 ) , conductor and violinist - Annegret Kober ( born 1957 ) , swimmer - Bernward Koch ( born 1957 ) , musician - Burkhard Jung ( born 1958 ) , Lord Mayor of Leipzig - Dieter Falk ( born 1959 ) , music producer , keyboardist and composer - Peter Autschbach ( born 1961 ) , guitarist - Frank Heinrich ( born 1964 ) , theologian and politician ( MdB ) - Navid Kermani ( born 1967 ) , orientalist and Islamic studies scholar - Petra Lobinger ( born 1967 ) , athlete - Peter Stein ( born 1968 ) , politician ( CDU ) - Monika Meyer ( born 1972 ) , footballer - Sabrina Mockenhaupt ( born 1980 ) , long distance runner - August Wittgenstein ( born 1981 ) , prince and actor - Florian Kringe ( born 1982 ) , footballer - Moritz Volz ( born 1983 ) , footballer - Christian Nüchtern ( born 1992 ) , ice dancer Honorary citizens . Siegen has conferred honorary citizenship upon the following persons : - 1887 : Heinrich von Achenbach , High President of the Province of Brandenburg - 1891 : Otto von Bismarck , Reich chancellor - 1933 : Adolf Hitler , Reich chancellor* - 1933 : Paul von Hindenburg , General Field Marshal and Reich President For all those listed up to here , honorary citizenship , according to Enactment no . 21 to the amended German Municipal System of 1 April 1946 , has been forfeited . *According to the city council of Siegen Adolf Hitlers honorary citizenship was lapsed by British military law . Caused by political discussion the city council denied Hitlers honorary citizenship posthumously on 29 August 2007 . - 1953 : Alfred Fißmer , retired Oberbürgermeister Honorary citizens of the former town of Hüttental : - Josef Höfer , Prelate - Karl Barich , chairman of the board of Stahlwerke Südwestfalen ( South Westphalia Steelworks ) Further reading . - Heinrich Silbergleit : Preußens Städte : Denkschrift zum 100jährigen Jubiläum der Städteordnung vom 19 . November 1808 . Heymann , Berlin 1908 - Heinrich von Achenbach : Die Haubergs-Genossenschaften des Siegerlandes . After the Bonn printing in 1863 newly published by the ( then ) Town of Siegen , Forschungsstelle Siegerland , Siegen 1963 - Heinrich von Achenbach : Geschichte der Stadt Siegen . Erg . Nachdr . der Ausg . Vorländer , Siegen 1894 . Verlag Die Wielandschmiede , Kreuztal 1983 - Heinrich von Achenbach : Aus des Siegerlandes Vergangenheit . 2 . erg . Nachdr . der Ausg . Siegen 1898 . Verlag Die Wielandschmiede , Kreuztal 1982 - Erich Keyser ( publisher ) : Westfälisches Städtebuch . In : Deutsches Städtebuch . Band III 2 . Teilband . Kohlhammer Verlag , Stuttgart 1954 - Walther Hubatsch ( publisher ) : Westfalen . In : Grundriss zur deutschen Verwaltungsgeschichte 1815–1945 . Band 8 Reihe A : Preußen . Marburg an der Lahn 1980 , External links . - Official website - Historical and contemporary information about Siegen and Siegerland