Editing Märkischer Kreis (section)

==Coat of arms==
The lion and [[fess]] chequy are taken from the old coat of arms of the district of [[Altena]], which derived from the arms of the [[Mark (county)|Counts of the Mark]]. In the first half of the 13th century a seal with both the fess and the lion was in use, as first used by [[Adolf I, Count of the Mark|Adolf I of Altena]] (1199–1241). Engelbert I of the Mark (1249–1277) removed the lion in his seal. The original [[Tincture (heraldry)|colour]] of the lion was unknown, so a black lion with red tongue and claws was chosen, as in the arms of the Dukes of [[Jülich]]. The black cross comes from the arms of [[Cologne]], as the eastern part of the area historically belonged to the [[Electorate of Cologne]].

The coat of arms was designed by the herald Waldemar Mallek, and was granted on 6 May 1976.