Rotenburg 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
(''Landkreis'') 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 landlocked by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of
Stade
Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...
,
Harburg,
Heidekreis
Heidekreis ("Heath district") is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Celle, Hanover, Nienburg, Verden and Rotenburg.
History
Hist ...
,
Verden,
Osterholz
Osterholz is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Wesermarsch, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg and Verden, and by the city of Bremen.
History
Originally the prince-archbishops ...
and
Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
.
History
In medieval times the region was part of the bishoprics of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
and
Verden. After the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
the bishoprics became secular principalities, colloquially called
Bremen-Verden
), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...
, and finally parts of the
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...
.
The present district was established in 1977 by merging the former districts of Rotenburg and Bremervörde.
Geography
The
Wümme River
Wümme () is a river in northern Germany, in the states Lower Saxony and Bremen, marking the border between the two states for part of its course. It is the main headstream of the Lesum.
The Wümme's length is . Including the Lesum, that runs ...
runs through the district from east to west. The marshy area to both sides of the river is called the ''Wümmeniederung'' (
Wümme Depression).
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* a lion carrying a cross; the lion was the heraldic animal of Hanover, the cross is symbolising the Prince-Bishopric of Verden
* two criss-crossed keys from the arms of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotenburg (District)
Districts of Lower Saxony