The university city of Siegen is located in Siegerland, in the north west of the three state triangle comprising North Rhine Westphalia, Hesse and Rhineland Palatinate. As such Siegen enjoys excellent links with the transport network. The historic cityscape is characterised by two castles, the upper and lower castle, as well as numerous imposing churches.The inner city is divided into sections: The lower section lies in the Siegtal valley, where commercial buildings have been constructed many hundreds of metes above the Sieg. The upper section is situated on the Siegberg and is able to reflect back over almost one thousand years as a historic centre. It is home to the steepest pedestrian zone in Germany.Siegen is renowned as the birthplace of the baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. In commemoration of this, every five years a painter or artist is honoured with the Rubens Prize in the city, which first awarded the accolade in 1955. Siegen’s symbol is the golden coronet, which adorns the peak of the Nikolai church tower on the market square.