The Kyffhäuserkreis is a district in the northern part of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Neighboring districts are the districts Mansfeld-Südharz,

Saalekreis Saalekreis is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The district seat is Merseburg. Its area is . It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts Kyffhäuserkreis (Thuringia), Mansfeld-Südharz, Salzlandkreis, Anhalt-Bitterfeld, ...

and

Burgenlandkreis Burgenlandkreis () is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . History The district was established as Landkreis Burgenland by the merger of the former Burgenlandkreis and Landkreis Weißenfels as part of the reform of 2007. ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

, and the districts Sömmerda, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis and Eichsfeld.

History

In the 12th century there was a castle, the Kyffhausen Castle, on the Kyffhäuser mountains, which was built during the reign of emperor Frederick I. According to the local legend, the emperor did not die, but instead went to sleep in this castle. From 1579 on the region belonged to

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, and after 1815 it was divided between the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Province of Saxony and

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...

. In 1952 the two districts of Artern (district) and Sondershausen were established. These districts were merged in 1994, with only a few municipalities joining other districts.

Historical Population

Values as of 31 December: : Data source since 1994: Thuringian State Statistical Bureau

Partnerships

The district has a partnership with the district Ahrweiler in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, which was initially established with the district Artern in 1990.

Geography

The district is named after the ''Kyffhäuser'' mountains. The main river is the Unstrut, which flows through the east of the district.

Coat of arms

The main symbol of the coat of arms is the lion of the counts of Schwarzburg, who historically ruled most of the district. The lion holds a shield which contains the coat of arms of the Counts of Mansfeld, who owned the area around Artern in the 18th century. The three green hills in the bottom symbolize the mountainous landscape with many forests, the big wavy line stands for the river Unstrut, the small one for the Wipper river.

Towns and municipalities

:''Further information on the former Verwaltungsgemeinschaft: Kyffhäuser''

References

External links

Official website
(German)
Touristic website
(English, German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyffhauserkreis Districts of Thuringia