is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the west of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 ...

with a population of 95,000. Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise)

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

Roth Roth may refer to: Places Germany * Roth (district), in Bavaria, Germany ** Roth, Bavaria, capital of that district ** Roth (electoral district), a federal electoral district * Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany: ** Roth an der Our, in the district B ...

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...

and

Donau-Ries Donau-Ries (''Danube-Ries'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Ansbach, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Eichstätt, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Aichach-Friedberg, Au ...

. It is located in the south of

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however ...

, 50 kilometres south of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. Largest city and the administrative center is

Weißenburg in Bayern Weißenburg in Bayern, formerly also ''Weißenburg im Nordgau'', ''Weißenburg am Sand'', is a town in Middle Franconia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen. In 2020 its population was 18,578. Weißenburg was a fr ...

Geography

The district is located on the Hahnenkamm and on the Franconian Alb in the North of the

Altmühltal Altmühltal (lit.: "Altmühl valley") is a ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (federation of municipalities) in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in Bavaria in Germany. It consists of the following municipalities:Franconian Lake District The Franconian Lake District lies south-west of Nuremberg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It was created as a result of one of Germany's largest water-management projects and was completed by the flooding of the Großer Brombachsee (" Great Bromba ...

. The highest point of the district is the Dürrenberg. The

Altmühl The Altmühl (, la, Alchmona, Alcmana, Almonus)
s.v. is a river in

flows through the district. From here comes the Solnhofen limestone. Among its nature reserves are the Brombachmoor.

History

The district was formed in 1972 by a merger of the districts of

Gunzenhausen Gunzenhausen (; bar, Gunzenhausn, link=no) is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, northwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and southwest of Nuremberg. Gunzenhausen is a nation ...

, Weißenburg, and the previously independent

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

of Weißenburg.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the district is divided into three fields: left, right and bottom. The bottom of the coat of arms (silver

kettle hat A kettle hat, also known as a war hat, is a type of helmet made of iron or steel in the shape of a brimmed hat. There are many design variations. The only common element is a wide brim that afforded extra protection to the wearer. It gained it ...

s on blue) derives from the Counts of

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. It ...

, and was taken from the coat of arms of the former district Weißenburg. The half eagle (black on yellow) in the right stands for the city of Weißenburg, and the red-yellow horizontal bars in the left are taken from the coat of arms of the former district Gunzenhausen.

Towns and municipalities

Sights

* Gelbe Burg, a mountain and site of an old

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles ...

. *

Ellinger Tor The Ellinger Tor is the most famous city gate of Weißenburg in Bayern, Germany. It is from the 14th century and is part of the medieval city wall of Weißenburg. It was on a Postage Stamp of the Deutsche Bundespost The Deutsche Bundespost ...

, a city gate in Weißenburg in Bayern. * Wülzburg, a fortress. *

Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum The Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum is a natural history museum in Solnhofen, Germany. In 1954 the mayor Friedrich Mueller brought his private collection to the public. In 1968 the museum was officially founded and opened in 1970. The museum collect ...

in Solnhofen *

Ellingen Residence Ellingen Residence (german: Residenz Ellingen) is a ''Schloss'' in the Bavarian town of Ellingen, Germany. History A castle has existed at the site at least since 1219. From then and for more than 400 years, it belonged to the Teutonic Order. As s ...

Fossa Carolina The Fossa Carolina (or Karlsgraben in German) was a canal named after Charlemagne in what is today the German state of Bavaria, intended to connect the Swabian Rezat river to the Altmühl river (the Rhine basin to the Danube basin). It was c ...

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen