Göttingen () 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 ...

(german: Landkreis, links=no) in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

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 ...

. It is bounded by (from the northwest and clockwise) the districts of

Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document ...

and

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

, and by the states 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 lar ...

(district of Eichsfeld) and

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

(districts of Werra-Meißner and Kassel).

History

In 1885 the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n government established the districts of Göttingen, Münden and Duderstadt within the

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position ...

. These districts existed for 88 years, before they were merged in 1973 to form the present district of Göttingen. On 1 November 2016, it was reformed by the addition of the former district of Osterode.

Geography

The western half of the district is occupied by the

Weserbergland The Weser Uplands (German: ''Weserbergland'', ) is a hill region in Germany, between Hannoversch Münden and Porta Westfalica, along the river Weser. The area reaches into three states, Lower Saxony, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Important ...

mountains. The

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

River receives its name near the town of Hannoversch Münden, where the Fulda joins the

Werra The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...

. Further east the

Leine The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriver, ...

river runs through the district from south to north.

Sights and Museums

A popular museum in the district of Göttingen is the

Borderland Museum Eichsfeld The Borderland Museum Eichsfeld is a history museum located in Central Germany at the former inner-German border between East and West Germany. It deals with the Cold War in general and the German division in specific. The museum exhibitions ...

which attracts around 50,000 visitors from many different countries every year. It deals with the inner-German border and the history of the GDR. The museum area includes a hiking trail along the former Iron Curtain.

Coat of arms

In the upper part is the heraldic lion of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Below is a combination of the arms of the former districts, which were merged in 1973 to form the present district: the shield of Münden, the anchor of Göttingen, and the wheel of Duderstadt.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottingen Districts of Lower Saxony