Altenkirchen (district)

Altenkirchen
District

Coat of arms
Country  Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
Capital Altenkirchen
Area
 • Total 642 km2 (248 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2013)[1]
 • Total 128,373
 • Density 200/km2 (520/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration AK
Website kreis-altenkirchen.de

Altenkirchen is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the North Rhine-Westphalian districts Rhein-Sieg, Oberbergischer Kreis, Olpe and Siegen-Wittgenstein, and the districts of Westerwaldkreis and Neuwied.

History

The history of the district is linked with the Westerwald region.

The district was established in 1816 by the Prussian administration. It combined the county of Wildenburg and the two counties of Sayn. The former had been part of Berg, the latter ones had belonged to the duchy of Nassau.

Geography

Altenkirchen is the northernmost district of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is occupied by the northern portions of the Westerwald mountains. The valley of the Sieg River borders the Westerwald on the north. The lands north of the Sieg are called Wildenburgisches Land, after the tiny county of Wildenburg, that once existed here.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays:
  • Top left: The golden lion of the county of Sayn, which occupied the territory in the 12th century
  • Top right: The symbol of the tiny county of Wildenburg, which existed until 1806 in the very north of the district
  • Bottom: The black and red cross is a combination of the bishops' emblems of Cologne and Trier

Towns and municipalities

Verbandsgemeinden
  1. Almersbach
  2. Altenkirchen1, 2
  3. Bachenberg
  4. Berod bei Hachenburg
  5. Birnbach
  6. Busenhausen
  7. Eichelhardt
  8. Ersfeld
  9. Fiersbach
  10. Fluterschen
  11. Forstmehren
  12. Gieleroth
  13. Hasselbach
  14. Helmenzen
  15. Helmeroth
  16. Hemmelzen
  17. Heupelzen
  18. Hilgenroth
  19. Hirz-Maulsbach
  20. Idelberg
  21. Ingelbach
  22. Isert
  23. Kettenhausen
  24. Kircheib
  25. Kraam
  26. Mammelzen
  27. Mehren
  28. Michelbach
  29. Neitersen
  30. Obererbach
  31. Oberirsen
  32. Oberwambach
  33. Ölsen
  34. Racksen
  35. Rettersen
  36. Schöneberg
  37. Sörth
  38. Stürzelbach
  39. Volkerzen
  40. Werkhausen
  41. Weyerbusch
  42. Wölmersen
  1. Alsdorf
  2. Betzdorf1, 2
  3. Grünebach
  4. Scheuerfeld
  5. Wallmenroth
  1. Berzhausen
  2. Bürdenbach
  3. Burglahr
  4. Eichen
  5. Eulenberg
  6. Flammersfeld1
  7. Giershausen
  8. Güllesheim
  9. Horhausen
  10. Kescheid
  11. Krunkel
  12. Niedersteinebach
  13. Oberlahr
  14. Obernau
  15. Obersteinebach
  16. Orfgen
  17. Peterslahr
  18. Pleckhausen
  19. Reiferscheid
  20. Rott
  21. Schürdt
  22. Seelbach
  23. Seifen
  24. Walterschen
  25. Willroth
  26. Ziegenhain
  1. Dickendorf
  2. Elben
  3. Elkenroth
  4. Fensdorf
  5. Gebhardshain1
  6. Kausen
  7. Malberg
  8. Molzhain
  9. Nauroth
  10. Rosenheim
  11. Steinebach/Sieg
  12. Steineroth
  1. Birkenbeul
  2. Bitzen
  3. Breitscheidt
  4. Bruchertseifen
  5. Etzbach
  6. Forst
  7. Fürthen
  8. Hamm (Sieg)1
  9. Niederirsen
  10. Pracht
  11. Roth
  12. Seelbach bei Hamm
  1. Daaden1
  2. Derschen
  3. Emmerzhausen
  4. Friedewald
  5. Herdorf2
  6. Mauden
  7. Niederdreisbach
  8. Nisterberg
  9. Schutzbach
  10. Weitefeld
  1. Brachbach
  2. Friesenhagen
  3. Harbach
  4. Kirchen1, 2
  5. Mudersbach
  6. Niederfischbach
  1. Birken-Honigsessen
  2. Hövels
  3. Katzwinkel
  4. Mittelhof
  5. Selbach
  6. Wissen1, 2
1seat of the Verbandsgemeinde; 2town

References

  1. ↑ "Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31. Dezember 2013". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Landkreis Altenkirchen (Westerwald).

Coordinates: 50°45′N 7°45′E / 50.75°N 7.75°E / 50.75; 7.75

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, June 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.