Steinfurt District

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

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

History
In late medieval times Steinfurt became an independent earldom. Originally it was a part of the earldom of Bentheim, before it became independent in 1454. 1804 Steinfurt was reunited with Bentheim, before it became a part of the Prussian province of Westphalia in 1815. The new government in 1816 created 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 former district Münster the current district was formed.