Osterode (district)

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Osterode
Map of Lower Saxony highlighting the district Osterode
State	Lower Saxony
County seat	Osterode
Area	636 km²
Population	83,700 (2003)
Pop. density	132 inh./km²
Car identification	OHA
Web page	http://www.landkreis-osterode.de

Osterode is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Göttingen, Northeim and Goslar, and by the state of Thuringia (districts of Nordhausen and Eichsfeld).

1 History
2 Geography
3 Coat of arms
4 Towns and municipalities
5 External links

[edit] History

This part of the Harz mountains was ruled by the Welfen dynasty from the 12th century on. Osterode was the centre of the Principality of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, one of many small states within Brunswick-Lüneburg. Later this principality became part of Hanover, which in turn fell to Prussia in 1866. In 1885 the Prussian administration established districts, among them Osterode.

[edit] Geography

More than two thirds of the district's area are occupied by the southwestern part of the Harz mountains, including the southern portion of the Harz National Park.

[edit] Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays two heraldic lions. The lion in the upper part is from the arms of Hanover, the lower lion represents the Welfen dynasty.

[edit] Towns and municipalities

Towns	Samtgemeinden
Bad Lauterberg Bad Sachsa Herzberg am Harz Osterode	Bad Grund¹ Hattorf Walkenried ¹ including town of the same name

Towns

Samtgemeinden

¹ including town of the same name

[edit] External links

Official website (German)
Local history

	Urban and rural districts in the Federal State of Lower Saxony in Germany
Region	Hanover
Urban districts	Brunswick \| Delmenhorst \| Emden \| Oldenburg \| Osnabrück \| Salzgitter \| Wilhelmshaven \| Wolfsburg
Rural districts	Ammerland \| Aurich \| Grafschaft Bentheim \| Celle \| Cloppenburg \| Cuxhaven \| Diepholz \| Emsland \| Friesland \| Gifhorn \| Goslar \| Göttingen \| Hamelin-Pyrmont \| Harburg \| Helmstedt \| Hildesheim \| Holzminden \| Leer \| Lüchow-Dannenberg \| Lüneburg \| Nienburg \| Northeim \| Oldenburg \| Osnabrück \| Osterholz \| Osterode \| Peine \| Rotenburg \| Schaumburg \| Soltau-Fallingbostel \| Stade \| Uelzen \| Vechta \| Verden \| Wesermarsch \| Wittmund \| Wolfenbüttel