Neunkirchen (German district)

Neunkirchen
—  District  —
Country  Germany
State Saarland
Capital Neunkirchen
Area
 • Total 249.16 km2 (96.2 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
 • Total 137,247
 • Density 550.8/km2 (1,426.7/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration NK
Website landkreis-neunkirchen.de

Neunkirchen is a Kreis (district) in the middle of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Sankt Wendel, Kusel, Saarpfalz, Saarbrücken, and Saarlouis.

Contents

History

In 1814, the district Ottweiler was created; however, its history can be traced back to 1545 when it was created as Herrschaft Ottweiler, later Amt and Oberamt Ottweiler, and during the Napoleonic times as Kanton Ottweiler. Two years after its creation, it was reorganized in 1816 by order of the Congress of Vienna. In 1866, an attempt to move the district capital to Neunkirchen failed. In 1974, the districts were reorganized, the biggest change however was the change of the capital and thus the name to Neunkirchen. Some parts of the administration remained in Ottweiler.

Geography

The entire district is located in the industrial area, which is centered in Saarbrücken. It is situated on either bank of the Blies, a major tributary of the Saar River.

Coat of arms

The top part of the coat of arms show the lion of Nassau, as the area was ruled by a branch of the house of Nassau (Nassau-Saarbrücken, later Nassau-Ottweiler). In the bottom part it shows the main symbols of the two biggest cities in the district, the rose of Ottweiler and the wheel of Neunkirchen.

Towns and municipalities

Towns Municipalities
  1. Neunkirchen
  2. Ottweiler
  1. Eppelborn
  2. Illingen
  3. Merchweiler
  4. Schiffweiler
  5. Spiesen-Elversberg

References

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Landkreis_Neunkirchen Landkreis Neunkirchen] at Wikimedia Commons