Lippe (district)
Lippe | |
|---|---|
Kreishaus (District office) | |
| Coordinates: 52°00′N 8°55′E / 52.000°N 8.917°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Adm. region | Detmold |
| Capital | Detmold |
| Government | |
| • District admin. | Axel Lehmann (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,246.4 km2 (481.2 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023) | |
• Total | 347,613 |
| • Density | 280/km2 (720/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Vehicle registration | LIP |
| Website | www.lippe.de |
Lippe (German pronunciation: [ˈlɪpə]) is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
The district of Lippe is named after the Lords of Lippe, who originally lived on the river Lippe and founded Lippstadt there, and their Principality of Lippe. It was a state within the Holy Roman Empire and retained statehood until 1947, when it became a district of North Rhine-Westphalia.