Weimarer Land is a ''Landkreis'' (
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
) in the east of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
,
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 ...
. Neighboring districts are (from the northeast clockwise) the district
Burgenlandkreis in
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
, the district
Saale-Holzland and the district-free city
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
, the district
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
Saalfeld-Rudolstadt is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Weimarer Land, Saale-Holzland, Saale-Orla, the district Kronach in Bavaria, and the districts Sonn ...
,
Ilm-Kreis, and the district-free city
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
. The district-free city
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
is completely enclosed by the district.
History
The district dates back to the ''Großkreis Weimar'', which was created in 1922 after the federal state Thuringia was established. The two cities Weimar and Apolda were not part of the district. In 1952 the district was split into two parts - Weimar and Apolda. In 1994 the two parts were merged again, however not completely covering the territory as before 1952.
Geography
The main river in the district is the
Ilm. To the south are the hills of the
Thuringian Forest, including the highest elevation is the ''Riechheimer Berg'' with 511 m above sea level. To the north of the district the landscape becomes less hilly, it belongs to the ''Thüringer Becken''. In this part is also the lowest elevation with 120 m, at the meeting of the rivers Ilm and
Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...
. Near Bad Salza starts the Saale-Unstrut
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
route, as the viticulture in the district has a tradition of more than 800 years.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows symbols of the historic states on the territory of the district. The lion to the right stands for the dukes of
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the top left displays the
Wheel of Mainz, and the three apples are the symbol of Apolda, as they were used in the coat of arms of the governors of Apolda. The coat of arms were granted on November 24, 1994.
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{Authority control