Birkenfeld (district)

Birkenfeld
District

Coat of arms
Country  Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
Capital Birkenfeld
Area
  Total 777 km2 (300 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2013)[1]
  Total 80,673
  Density 100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration BIR
Website landkreis-birkenfeld.de

Birkenfeld (English: Birchfield) is a district (Landkreis) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is the town of Birkenfeld. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Sankt Wendel (Saarland), Trier-Saarburg, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bad Kreuznach and Kusel.

History

In the early nineteenth century, the Nahe River was the boundary between two tiny principalities: Birkenfeld, west of the Nahe; and Lichtenberg, east of it. The principality of Birkenfeld was annexed by Oldenburg in 1817; Lichtenberg became an exclave of the Duchy Saxe-Coburg (Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld until 1826, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha thereafter). Prussia bought Lichtenberg in 1834 and made it the District of Sankt Wendel.

After World War I, the southern half of Sankt Wendel had to be ceded to the newly created Saar Territory, and the small part remaining in Prussia was then officially called the Restkreis Sankt Wendel ("remaining district of Sankt Wendel"). In 1937 the Oldenburgian District of Birkenfeld was merged with the remaining Sankt Wendel District to form the new Prussian District of Birkenfeld.

Following World War II, on 18 July 1946 by the French Ordinance No. 8, twenty-four more villages were ceded to the new Délégation Supérieure de la Sarre, which became the new Saar Protectorate in 1947. Not until 1970 were the present borders of the district set.

Geography

The Nahe River runs through the district from south to north. The portions west of the river are located on the eastern slopes of the Hunsrück.

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Geschachtet von Rot und Silber; belegt mit einem rot gezungten, golden gekrönten und golden bewehrten blauen Löwen.

The arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Chequy of twenty gules and argent a lion rampant azure armed and crowned Or and langued of the first.

The chequered red and silver pattern was the arms of the Counts of Sponheim, a medieval county of the region. The lion is the symbol of the Counts of Veldenz.

Towns and municipalities

Verband-free town: Idar-Oberstein

Verbandsgemeinden
  1. Baumholder1, 2
  2. Berglangenbach
  3. Berschweiler bei Baumholder
  4. Eckersweiler
  5. Fohren-Linden
  6. Frauenberg
  7. Hahnweiler
  8. Heimbach
  9. Leitzweiler
  10. Mettweiler
  11. Reichenbach
  12. Rohrbach
  13. Rückweiler
  14. Ruschberg
  1. Abentheuer
  2. Achtelsbach
  3. Birkenfeld1, 2
  4. Börfink
  5. Brücken
  6. Buhlenberg
  7. Dambach
  8. Dienstweiler
  9. Elchweiler
  10. Ellenberg
  11. Ellweiler
  12. Gimbweiler
  13. Gollenberg
  14. Hattgenstein
  15. Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
  16. Kronweiler
  17. Leisel
  18. Meckenbach
  19. Niederbrombach
  20. Niederhambach
  21. Nohen
  22. Oberbrombach
  23. Oberhambach
  24. Rimsberg
  25. Rinzenberg
  26. Rötsweiler-Nockenthal
  27. Schmißberg
  28. Schwollen
  29. Siesbach
  30. Sonnenberg-Winnenberg
  31. Wilzenberg-Hußweiler
  1. Allenbach
  2. Bergen
  3. Berschweiler bei Kirn
  4. Breitenthal
  5. Bruchweiler
  6. Dickesbach
  7. Fischbach
  8. Gerach
  9. Griebelschied
  10. Herborn
  11. Herrstein1
  12. Hettenrodt
  13. Hintertiefenbach
  14. Kempfeld
  15. Kirschweiler
  16. Langweiler
  17. Mackenrodt
  18. Mittelreidenbach
  19. Mörschied
  20. Niederhosenbach
  21. Niederwörresbach
  22. Oberhosenbach
  23. Oberreidenbach
  24. Oberwörresbach
  25. Schmidthachenbach
  26. Sensweiler
  27. Sien
  28. Sienhachenbach
  29. Sonnschied
  30. Veitsrodt
  31. Vollmersbach
  32. Weiden
  33. Wickenrodt
  34. Wirschweiler
  1. Asbach
  2. Bollenbach
  3. Bundenbach
  4. Gösenroth
  5. Hausen
  6. Hellertshausen
  7. Horbruch
  8. Hottenbach
  9. Krummenau
  10. Oberkirn
  11. Rhaunen1
  12. Schauren
  13. Schwerbach
  14. Stipshausen
  15. Sulzbach
  16. Weitersbach
1seat of the Verbandsgemeinde; 2town

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Landkreis Birkenfeld.

Coordinates: 49°40′N 7°20′E / 49.67°N 7.33°E / 49.67; 7.33

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, August 15, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.