Altenkirchen () is a district in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

n districts

Rhein-Sieg The Rhein-Sieg-Kreis ( ksh, Rhein-Siech-Kreis) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, Oberbergischer Kreis, Altenkirchen, Neuwied, Ahrweiler, Euskirchen, ...

, Oberbergischer Kreis, Olpe and Siegen-Wittgenstein, and the districts of

Westerwaldkreis The Westerwaldkreis ("District of Westerwald") is a district (''Kreis'') in the north-east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Altenkirchen, Lahn-Dill, Limburg-Weilburg, Rhein-Lahn, the district-free ...

and Neuwied.

History

The history of the district is linked with the Westerwald region. The district was established in 1816 by the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n administration. It combined the county of Wildenburg and the two counties of

Sayn Sayn was a small German county of the Holy Roman Empire which, during the Middle Ages, existed within what is today Rheinland-Pfalz. There have been two Counties of Sayn. The first emerged in 1139 and became closely associated with the County o ...

. The former had been part of Berg, the latter ones had belonged to the duchy of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

. The county used to be divided into nine

mayoralties In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

, including the Bürgermeisterei Weyerbusch.

Geography

Altenkirchen is the northernmost district of

. It is occupied by the northern portions of the Westerwald mountains. The valley of the Sieg River borders the Westerwald on the north. The lands north of the Sieg are called Wildenburgisches Land, after the tiny county of Wildenburg, that once existed here.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * Top left: The golden lion of the county of

, which occupied the territory in the 12th century * Top right: The symbol of the tiny county of Wildenburg, which existed until 1806 in the very north of the district * Bottom: The black and red cross is a combination of the bishops' emblems of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

* (German) {{Authority control Districts of Rhineland-Palatinate