Kitchener-Waterloo is the common name of the municipal area consisting of the City of Kitchener and the City of Waterloo, and is also known as the Twin Cities. Locally it is usually known by the abbreviated form K-W. There is a complete integration of the road and transit facilities. There is no physically distinguishable topography or separation between the two municipalities. Kitchener is the County Seat. In its early development it was know as Ebytown and also as Sandhills. It was first incorporated as the Village of Berlin, subsequently Town of Berlin and, in 1912, as the City of Berlin. An excess of patriot zeal during the First World War led, in 1916, to the City being renamed Kitchener, in honour of Lord Kitchener, a senior general of the British Army who had died when the naval vessel upon which he was being transported was torpedoed and sunk. Waterloo began as an incorporated village in 1857 at a central point in the Township of Waterloo, in the County of Waterloo. It was incorporated as a City in 1948. The City and County/Region of Waterloo honour the Battle of Waterloo where The Duke of Wellington prevailed over Napoleon Bonaparte These municipalities are located in the political area incorporated as the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, commonly called Waterloo Region. This is a municipal government whose political boundaries are contiguous with the former County of Waterloo. Although the County does not exist as a political entity there are various businesses and organizations that use the designation "Waterloo County" in their names, although in recent years the use of the designation "Waterloo Region" has become more common.
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