Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north 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, 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 betwee ...

. Neighboring districts are (from east clockwise)

Main-Tauber-Kreis Main-Tauber-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from northwest clockwise) Miltenberg, Main-Spessart, Würzburg, Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim and Ansbach (all in Bavaria ...

, Hohenlohe-Kreis,

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Middle Ages, it developed into an important trading centre. A ...

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-Würt ...

Odenwaldkreis The Odenwaldkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Darmstadt-Dieburg, Miltenberg, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and Kreis Bergstraße. ''Odenwaldkreis'' belongs to the Rhine Neckar Are ...

(

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 ...

) and Landkreis Miltenberg (

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 l ...

). The district is part of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.

History

The district was created in 1973 by merging the previous districts Buchen and Mosbach. At first it was named ''Odenwaldkreis'', however to avoid confusion with the neighboring district in Hesse with the same name it was renamed in 1974 to be ''Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis''.

Geography

As the name already suggests the district 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, with the highest elevation at the Katzenbuckel (626 m) near Waldbrunn in the west of the district. The main river of the district is the

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 Schwen ...

Coat of arms

The district's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

might be described thus: Per pale dexter bendy lozengy argent and azure, sinister gules a wheel spoked of six argent. The coat of arms shows the symbols of the two historical rulers of the district. On the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is the blue and white "bendy lozengy" (that is, slanted diamond shapes) of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

family as owners of the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine o ...

; on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is the

Wheel of Mainz The Wheel of Mainz or ''Mainzer Rad'', in German, was the coat of arms of the Archbishopric of Mainz and thus also of the Electorate of Mainz (Kurmainz), in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It consists of a silver wheel with six spokes on a red bac ...

, a symbol of the old

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

Municipalities

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{Coord, 49, 29, N, 9, 17, E, region:DE_type:adm2nd, display=title Karlsruhe (region) Districts of Baden-Württemberg