Ortenaukreis
Encyclopedia
Ortenaukreis 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.
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
.
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.
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
(Kreis) in the west of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Neighboring districts are (clockwise from north) Rastatt
Rastatt (district)
Rastatt is a district in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Karlsruhe, Calw, Freudenstadt and the Ortenaukreis. To the west it borders the French département Bas-Rhin...
, Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt (district)
Freudenstadt is a district in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rastatt, Calw, Tübingen, Zollernalbkreis, Rottweil and the Ortenaukreis.-History:...
, Rottweil
Rottweil (district)
Rottweil is a district in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Freudenstadt, Zollernalbkreis, Tuttlingen, Schwarzwald-Baar and Ortenaukreis.- History :...
, Schwarzwald-Baar and Emmendingen
Emmendingen (district)
Emmendingen is a district in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ortenaukreis, Schwarzwald-Baar, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and the district-free city Freiburg...
. To the west it borders the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
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 RhineUpper Rhine
The Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....
Valley, the eastern part belongs to the northern Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
. The highest elevation of the district, the Hornisgrinde
Hornisgrinde
The Hornisgrinde, 1164 m , is the highest mountain in the Northern Black Forest of Germany. The Hornisgrinde lies in northern Ortenaukreis district.- Origin of the name :...
(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
Ortenau
The Ortenau is a historical territory in Baden-Württemberg, located on the right bank of the River Rhine. It covers approximately the same area as the Ortenaukreis, a present-day district....
.
Partnerships
The district has a friendship with the Altenburger LandAltenburger Land
Altenburger Land is a district in Thuringia, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Greiz, the Burgenlandkreis , and the districts Leipziger Land, Mittweida, Chemnitzer Land, Zwickauer Land in Saxony.- History :...
district in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. Offenburg district already had a city partnership with Altenburg
Altenburg
Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
so, after German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990, Ortenaukreis chose to help modernize the Altenburger Land administration to the West German standard.
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
have created the Strasbourg-Ortenau
Strasbourg-Ortenau
Strasbourg-Ortenau is a Franco-German eurodistrict, a cross-border administrative entity sharing common institutions, established on 17 October 2005 and definitely functional since 4 February 2010...
eurodistrict
Eurodistrict
A eurodistrict is a European administrative entity that contains urban agglomerations which lie across the border between two or more states. A eurodistrict offers a program for cooperation and integration of the towns or communes which it comprises: for example, improving transport links for...
straddling the Rhine and combining Ortenaukreis and Greater Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, 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 Knight Imperial Knight The Free Imperial Knights, or the Knights of the Empire was an organisation of free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor, remnants of the medieval free nobility and the ministeriales... s. It shows an imperial eagle Reichsadler The Reichsadler was the heraldic eagle, derived from the Roman eagle standard, used by the Holy Roman Emperors and in modern coats of arms of Germany, including those of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany... with two heads, which also stands for the free imperial cities Free Imperial City In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops... of Offenburg Offenburg Offenburg is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With about 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city and the capital of the Ortenaukreis.Offenburg also houses University of Applied Sciences Offenburg... , Gengenbach Gengenbach Gengenbach is a town in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and a popular tourist destination on the western edge of the Black Forest with about 11,000 inhabitants.... and Zell Zell am Harmersbach Zell am Harmersbach is a small historic city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies in the Ortenaukreis, between the Black Forest and the Rhine.-History:... . In an escutcheon on the breast of the eagle is the patron Saint George Saint George Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox... , depicted killing the dragon. |
Cities and municipalities
| Cities | Administrative districts | Municipalities | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Appenweier Appenweier is a municipality in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the district of Ortenau.- Geography :Appenweier consists of the main municipal Appenweier , Urloffen , known for horseradish-growing, and Nesselried... Bad Peterstal-Griesbach Bad Peterstal-Griesbach is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.Matthias Erzberger was murdered here on August 26, 1921, for signing the 1918 Armistice for the German Empire.... Berghaupten Berghaupten is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Biberach, Baden Biberach is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... (Lahr) Durbach Durbach is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated on the verge of the northern Black Forest Mountains six kilometers north east of the town of Offenburg.... Fischerbach Fischerbach is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-History:The town was first registered in 1139. The village was part of the Gengenbach monastery and the "Herren von Wolfach" and later became part of the Fürstenberg shire... Friesenheim Friesenheim is a municipality in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 3 km north of Lahr, and 12 km southwest of Offenburg.-External links:... Gutach (Schwarzwaldbahn) Gutach is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Hofstetten, Baden-Württemberg Hofstetten is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Hohberg Hohberg is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Kappel-Grafenhausen Kappel-Grafenhausen is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Kappelrodeck Kappelrodeck is a town in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany and belongs to the district of Ortenau.-External links:... Kippenheim Kippenheim is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.Kippenheim has restored its pre-war synagogue.-Notable residents:*Stef Wertheimer , German-born Israeli entrepreneur and industrialist and politician... Lauf (Baden) Lauf is a community in the district of Ortenau in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany.Lauf is situated on the western edge of the Black Forest , located in a valley that slopes roughly east-west. The Laufbach stream which gives Lauf its name rises on the north-west side of the Hornisgrinde, and... Lautenbach Lautenbach is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Meißenheim Meißenheim is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Mühlenbach, Baden-Württemberg Mühlenbach is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... Neuried Neuried is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.... |
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External links
- Official website (German)
- History & Pictures (German)