The Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm () is a district in
Rhineland-Palatinate,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise)
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and the districts of
Euskirchen,
Vulkaneifel
Vulkaneifel () is a district (''Kreis'') in the northwest of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the least densely populated district in the state and the fourth most sparsely populated district in Germany. The administrative centre of ...
,
Bernkastel-Wittlich and
Trier-Saarburg.
History
There are three different historical regions: the abbey and the city of Prüm have been directly subordinate to the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
in medieval times; later the free city became the principality of Prüm, occupying large portions in the north.
The southwest including the town of Bitburg was a part of the
Duchy of Luxemburg from the 10th to the 15th century. Later it was a part of the
Seventeen Provinces and hence under
Spanish and then
Austrian rule. After the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
the region was handed over to
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
.
The eastern parts of the district, including the town of Kyllburg, were part of the
Prince-bishopric of Trier.
When Prussia gained all these regions about 1815, it established the three districts of Bitburg, Prüm and Trier. In 1970 the districts of Bitburg and Prüm were merged with parts of the former district of Trier in order to form the present district.
On 1 January 2007 the full name of the district was changed to be ' instead of '.
Geography
The district covers the sparsely populated southwestern part of the
Eifel Mountains. The portions along the western borders are occupied by a common German-Belgian nature park and a German-Luxembourgish nature park. A great number of rivers rise from the
Schneifel in the northwest and from the Kyllwald in the east, and runs southward to the river
Sauer (French: ''Sûre''), which is an affluent of the
Moselle.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* The red cross symbolising the close city of
Trier
* The golden tower from the arms of Bitburg
* The silver lamb from the arms of Prüm
* The blue and white pattern from the arms of Luxembourg
Towns and municipalities
It consists of 234 municipalities, making it is the district in Germany with the most municipalities.
References
External links
* (German)
German-Belgian Nature Park Hohes Venn / Eifel(German, French)
German-Luxembourgish Nature Park Southern Eifel(German, English, French, Dutch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitburg-Prum
Districts of Rhineland-Palatinate