North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen) is one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Düsseldorf is the state capital. Other important cities are Essen, Cologne, Dortmund, and Bonn, the former German administrative capital.

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most industrialized and most populous state in Germany. Coal mining, coke production, pig-iron production, and steelmaking, the chief industries, are centered in the Ruhr Valley, which has some of the largest reserves of bituminous coal in western Europe.

Other industries include the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, and machinery. The state also produces about one-third of the electricity of western Germany.

Extensive agricultural areas are found throughout the state. The Rhineland is known for its wine production. Cereals, potatoes, and beets are grown throughout Westphalia. Dairy farming and cattle and hog raising are also important.

Because of the well-known cathedrals and castles along the Rhine River, tourism is also a major industry.

Under the 1950 constitution, the state is governed by a cabinet, headed by a minister-president. The cabinet is responsible to the popularly elected diet.

The state is divided into five administrative districts.

The Rhine area was the homeland of numerous German tribes who successively fought the Celts and other German peoples, the Romans, and the Franks.

Merovingian and Carolingian rulers used the Rhineland as a base for penetrating Germany from the 6th to the 9th century.

After the breakup of the Carolingian empire, a number of separate bishoprics and duchies emerged. These small states fell prey to their stronger neighbors: France moved into Lorraine in the 16th century and into Alsace in the 17th century.

Also in the 17th century, Brandenburg gained a foothold in Westphalia and gained Cleves and Mark.

Although Louis XIV, king of France, was not able to extend his control, the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) helped to consolidate many of the small states.

The left bank of the Rhine was ceded to France in 1801.

Further changes came with the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806 and the kingdom of Westphalia in 1807.

Although the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) undid much of this partition, France, Prussia, and Bavaria gained new areas. Prussia acquired Westphalia between 1815 and 1817, and annexed various Rhineland areas following the Seven Weeks’ War (1866), and Alsace-Lorraine after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).

After World War I (1914-1918), Allied forces occupied the Ruhr and other parts of the Rhineland.

In 1930, the last Allied troops left the Rhineland, and in 1936, German troops reoccupied the area.

During World War II (1939-1945), the Ruhr area was heavily bombed.

In 1946, the state was created out of Westphalia and the northern part of the Rhine province. Lippe was added in 1947.