Bernkastel-Wittlich (
German: ''Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich'') is a district in
Rhineland-Palatinate,
Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of
Vulkaneifel,
Cochem-Zell,
Rhein-Hunsrück,
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants.
Geography
...
,
Trier-Saarburg and
Bitburg-Prüm.
History
The district was established in 1969 by merging the former districts of Bernkastel and Wittlich.
Geography
The district is situated on both banks of the
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
, which crosses the territory from southwest to northeast. The country rises to the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
in the north and the
Hunsrück
The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...
in the south. A great number of tributaries rise in the Eifel and flow into the Moselle. In the very south of the district is the Erbeskopf (818 m), the highest peak in the Hunsrück and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* The cross symbolising the
bishopric of Trier
* The crayfish from the arms of
Bernkastel-Kues
* The keys from the arms of
Wittlich
* The red and white pattern of the
County of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim (german: Grafschaft Sponheim, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality ...
, which ruled this part of the Moselle valley in medieval times
Towns and municipalities
Twin region
At one time, the
Borough of Milton Keynes was the twinned region of the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich.
External links
Official website(German)
References
*
^ Kreis Bernkastel-Wittlich, Jahrbuch 1982 (page 23ff.), 1982
{{Coord, 49, 59, 13, N, 6, 53, 23, E, region:DE-RP_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title
Districts of Rhineland-Palatinate