Herscheid is a municipality in the southern Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As of 2002 it has a population of 7,672.
Geography
Herscheid is located in the Ebbegebirge, a part of the Sauerland hills. The altitudes in the municipality stretch from 250m above sea level in the valley of the Schwarze Ahe, while the highrest elevation is the 664m high Nordhelle. The municipality covers an area of 58.924 km², of which 58% are forests and 33% are used agriculturally. Most of the area is a nature preserve, protected in the Naturpark Ebbegebirge.
History
The first written document mentioning Hertsceido dates from 1072 in a charter from bishop Anno of Cologne. However the settlements in the municipal area probably date back to the 4th century.
From the 12th century till 1753 the Kirchspiel Herscheid formed a court district. During the French occupation 1806 till 1814 the Marie Ebbe covered Herscheid and Valbert.
The coat of arms of Herscheid shows a talking symbol. The deer (German Hirsch) refers to the entymological origin of the name Herscheid as an area where deer live. The symbol however also has a second meaning, as it refers to the old hunting privileges gives to Herscheid together with neighboring Valbert from a count of the Mark as reward for help in a fight with the bishopric state of Cologne in the Ebbe. Below the deer is the red-and-white chequered bar of the Mark. The coat of arms of designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on October 17 1935.
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