Wartburgkreis is a ''Kreis'' (
district) in the west of
Thuringia,
Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts
Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis,
Gotha,
Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
,
Hersfeld-Rotenburg and
Werra-Meißner-Kreis
Werra-Meißner is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Göttingen, Eichsfeld, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Wartburgkreis, district-free Eisenach, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Kassel.
History
The di ...
in
Hesse.
History
The district was created in 1994 by merging the previous districts Eisenach and Bad Salzungen, and a few municipalities from the district
Bad Langensalza. The city
Eisenach left the district in 1998 and became a district-free city and was incorporated into the district again on 1 July 2021. The municipality
Kaltennordheim
Kaltennordheim () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 22 km southwest of Bad Salzungen, and 35 km east of Fulda. The former municipalities Aschenhausen, Kalten ...
passed from the Wartburgkreis to
Schmalkalden-Meiningen on 1 January 2019.
The district is named after the
Wartburg, a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
near Eisenach most famous as the place of residence of Ludwig, Landgrave of Thuringia and his wife, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary; and, as
Martin Luther's refuge in 1521.
Geography
The district is located in the
Thuringian Forest, including the
Hainich national park. The main river in the district is the
Werra.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms combines the symbols of the historic states which existed on the territory. In the top left and the bottom right is the lion of the dukes of Thuringia, the fowl in the top right refers to the county
Henneberg, and the black cross in the bottom left is the symbol of the imperial abbey and state of
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
.
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{Authority control
Districts of Thuringia