The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the northwest of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. The administrative headquarters are based in the city

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, which is a

district-free city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Württemberg.

History

The

was created in 1973 by merging the previous districts of Heidelberg, Mannheim and Sinsheim.

Geography

The district is named after the two main rivers which flow through the district, the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

and

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Sc ...

. The highest elevation is 580 m near the 584 m tall peak of 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 se ...

mountain Stiefelhöhe, located near Heiligkreuzsteinach. The lowest elevation with 92 m is in

Ilvesheim Ilvesheim is a town of about 8700 residents (2012) in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is one of the first towns located along the famous Bertha Benz Memorial Route. History Ilvesheim was first mentioned i ...

, located in the Neckar valley.

Sights

Government

The district is governed by a district assembly (''Kreistag'') and a district executive (''Landrat''). The eligible voters of the district elect the Kreistag every 5 years. This body in turn elects the Landrat every 8 years. The Landrat is the legal representative of the district as well as the speaker of the Kreistag and its committees. The Landrat manages the office of the Landrat (''Landratsamt'') and is the chief official of the district. The duties of the Landrat include the preparation of the district assembly meetings and its committees. The Landrat calls the meetings, acts as speaker, and carries out the decisions made. In the Kreistag, the Landrat has no vote. The Landrat has a second, called the first district official (''Erste Landesbeamte''). Landrat of the district Heidelberg 1945–1972: *1945–1946: Hermann Specht (provisional) *1946–1947: Erich Reimann *1947–1954: Herbert Klotz *1954–1972: Georg Steinbrenner Landrat of the district Mannheim 1945–1972: *1945: Richard Freudenberg (appointed) *1945–1946: Karl Geppert (appointed) *1946: Dr. Valentin Gaa (appointed) *1946–1948: Ernst Becherer *1948–1970: Dr. Valentin Gaa *1970–1972: Albert Neckenauer Landrat of the district Sinsheim 1945–1972: *1945–1946: Roman Großmann (appointed) *1946: Gottlob Barth und Dr. Kurt von Kirchenheim (both appointed) *1946: Wolfgang Rutschke (appointed to oversee businesses) *1946–1947: Hermann Lindner (appointed) *1947–1948: Dr. Johann Gutermann *1948: Dr. Ludwig Bernheim *1948–1949: Georg Steinbrenner (appointed to oversee businesses) *1949–1950: Dr. Walther Reidel (appointed) *1950–1972: Dr. Paul Herrmann Landrat of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis since 1973: *1973 Georg Steinbrenner, Amtsverweser *1973–1986: Albert Neckenauer *1986-2010: Dr. Jürgen Schütz *2010 - to present: Stefan Dallinger

Coat of arms

The wavy line in the left of the coat of arms represent the two rivers

and

. The lion in the right side is the symbol of

Palatinate Palatinate or county palatine may refer to: *the territory or jurisdiction of a count palatine United Kingdom and Ireland *County palatine in England and Ireland * Palatinate (award), student sporting award of Durham University *Palatinate (col ...

, as the area belonged to that area historically.

Towns and municipalities

International relations

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of V ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

(since 1965)

References

External links

{{Authority control Rhein-Neckar-Kreis Karlsruhe (region) Districts of Baden-Württemberg