Steinfurt Rural District

Steinfurt
District
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Adm. region	Münster
Capital	Steinfurt
Area
• Total	1,792.097 km2 (691.933 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2023)
• Total	459,195
• Density	260/km2 (660/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	ST
Website	http://www.kreis-steinfurt.de

Steinfurt is a Kreis (district) in the northern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bentheim, Emsland, district-free Osnabrück and the Osnabrück district, Warendorf, district-free Münster, Coesfeld, Borken.

Geography

The district is at the Lower Saxon border, north of Münster. The Ems river runs through the district from south to north. The highest point in Steinfurt is the Westerbecker Berg with 234m, the lowest point is the Bentlage castle at 32m.

History

In late medieval times Steinfurt became an independent earldom. At first it was a part of the earldom of Bentheim, before it became independent in 1454. 1804 Steinfurt was joined back with Bentheim, before it became a part of the Prussian province of Westphalia in 1815. The new government in 1816 made the districts Steinfurt and Tecklenburg.

In 1975 the old district Steinfurt was merged with the district Tecklenburg, and together with Greven and Saerbeck from the old district Münster the current district was made.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms

The coat of arms combines elements from the coat of arms of the former districts Steinfurt, Tecklenburg and Münster. The swan in the middle comes from the earldom Steinfurt, the center of the district. The red bar around the swan symbolizes the clerical state Münster, which lay around the dukedom Steinfurt. The red water lily leaves were symbol of the dukes of Tecklenburg.

Towns and municipalities

Towns		Municipalities
Emsdetten Greven Hörstel Horstmar Ibbenbüren Lengerich Ochtrup Rheine Steinfurt Tecklenburg	Altenberge Hopsten Ladbergen Laer Lienen Lotte Metelen	Mettingen Neuenkirchen Nordwalde Recke Saerbeck Westerkappeln Wettringen

Other websites

• Official website (in German)
• Corpus juris of the Principality of Münster / Steinfurt, Anholt, Gemen