The Odenwaldkreis is a ''Kreis'' (
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 south of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
,
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
Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach (district), Offenbach, Aschaffenburg (district), Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg (district), Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Berg ...
,
Miltenberg
Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000.
Geography
Location
The old town lies on the Main ...
,
Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis
Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from east clockwise) Main-Tauber-Kreis, Hohenlohe-Kreis, Heilbronn, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Odenwaldkreis (Hesse) and Landkre ...
,
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The administrative headquarters are based in the city Heidelberg, which is a district-free city. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Württe ...
and
Kreis Bergstraße
Kreis is the German word for circle.
Kreis may also refer to:
Places
* , or circles, various subdivisions roughly equivalent to counties, districts or municipalities
** Districts of Germany (including and )
** Former districts of Prussia, al ...
. ''Odenwaldkreis'' belongs to the
Rhine Neckar Area.
History
In 1822 the district was created under the name ''Erbach'', subdivided into two ''
Bezirke
The German term ''Bezirk'' (plural ''Bezirke'', derived from la, circulus, "circle") translated as "district" can refer to the following types of administrative divisions:
* '' Stadtbezirk'', a subdivision of a city in the sense of a borough (e ...
'' Breuberg and Erbach. The last of several modifications of the district was in 1972, when some municipalities from the Dieburg and
Bergstraße district were added to the district. In 1972 the district also changed its name.
Dietrich Kühler, in March 2015 Frank Matiaske (
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
) was voted as the successor of Dietrich Kühler and would be the chief from August 2015.
Geography
As the name of the district already suggests it is located in the
Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
mountains.
Coat of arms
The
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
tree of the coat of arms symbolize the forests of the district, which also gave the district its name (''Wald'' = forest). The three stars were taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of
Erbach, who once ruled the area.
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control