Prussian districts were administrative units in the former German state of Prussia. The districts (German: Kreis, literally "circle"), also known as counties, usually took the name of the district's capital (Kreisstadt). A typical district had a rough diameter of 20 to 40 miles, though few were circular in shape. In some areas, larger districts were split into two smaller districts or were resized with neighboring ones.
Districts were divided into Stadtkreise, or urban districts (comparable to independent cities), and Landkreise, or rural districts.