Ortenaukreis

Ortenaukreis
District
Country  Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Adm. region Freiburg
Capital Offenburg
Area
 • Total 1,860.74 km2 (718.44 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2012)[1]
 • Total 411,700
 • Density 220/km2 (570/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration OG, KEL, LR, WOL
Website http://www.ortenaukreis.de

Ortenaukreis (French: Ortenau) is a district (Kreis) in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (clockwise from north) Rastatt, Freudenstadt, Rottweil, Schwarzwald-Baar and Emmendingen. To the west it borders the French Bas-Rhin département.

History

The district was created in 1973 by merging the districts of Kehl, Lahr, Offenburg, Wolfach and the southern part of the district of Bühl.

Geography

The western part of the district is located in the Upper Rhine Valley, the eastern part belongs to the northern Black Forest. The highest elevation of the district, the Hornisgrinde (1164 m), is located in the north-east of the district. The lowest elevation (124.3 m) is in the Rhine valley to the north. The district is named after the historical territory of the Ortenau.

Partnerships

The district has a friendship with the Altenburger Land district in Thuringia. Offenburg district already had a city partnership with Altenburg so, after German reunification in 1990, Ortenaukreis chose to help modernize the Altenburger Land administration to the West German standard.

France and Germany have created the Strasbourg-Ortenau eurodistrict straddling the Rhine and combining Ortenaukreis and Greater Strasbourg, with an overall population of 860,000.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is identical with that of the former Offenburg, and is based on the coat of arms of the Ortenau canton of the League of Imperial Knights. It shows an imperial eagle with two heads, which also stands for the free imperial cities of Offenburg, Gengenbach and Zell. In an escutcheon on the breast of the eagle is the patron Saint George, depicted killing the dragon.

Cities and municipalities

Cities Administrative districts Municipalities
  1. Achern
  2. Ettenheim
  3. Gengenbach
  4. Haslach (Kinzigtal)
  5. Hausach
  6. Hornberg
  7. Kehl
  8. Lahr (Schwarzwald)
  9. Mahlberg
  10. Oberkirch
  11. Offenburg
  12. Oppenau
  13. Renchen
  14. Rheinau (Baden)
  15. Wolfach
  16. Zell am Harmersbach
  1. Achern
  2. Ettenheim
  3. Gengenbach
  4. Haslach
  5. Hausach
  6. Kappelrodeck
  7. Lahr
  8. Oberes Renchtal
  9. Oberkirch
  10. Offenburg
  11. Seelbach
  12. Schwanau
  13. Wolfach
  14. Zell
  1. Appenweier
  2. Bad Peterstal-Griesbach
  3. Berghaupten
  4. Biberach (Baden)
  5. Durbach
  6. Fischerbach
  7. Friesenheim
  8. Gutach (Schwarzwaldbahn)
  9. Hofstetten
  10. Hohberg
  11. Kappel-Grafenhausen
  12. Kappelrodeck
  13. Kippenheim
  14. Lauf (Baden)
  15. Lautenbach
  16. Meißenheim
  17. Mühlenbach
  18. Neuried
  1. Nordrach
  2. Oberharmersbach
  3. Oberwolfach
  4. Ohlsbach
  5. Ortenberg
  6. Ottenhöfen
  7. Ringsheim
  8. Rust (Baden)
  9. Sasbach
  10. Sasbachwalden
  11. Schuttertal
  12. Schutterwald
  13. Schwanau
  14. Seebach
  15. Seelbach
  16. Steinach
  17. Willstätt

References

  1. ↑ "Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31.12.2012 (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 12 November 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ortenaukreis.

Coordinates: 48°25′N 8°00′E / 48.417°N 8.000°E