Neunkirchen is a Kreis in the middle of the Saarland

Saarland

Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...

, 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 Sankt Wendel

Sankt Wendel (district)

Sankt Wendel is a Kreis in the north of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Birkenfeld, Kusel, Neunkirchen, Saarlouis, and Merzig-Wadern.-History:...

, Kusel

Kusel (district)

Kusel is a district in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Birkenfeld, Bad Kreuznach, Donnersbergkreis, Kaiserslautern, Saarpfalz and Sankt Wendel .-History:The district of Kusel was created at the beginning of the 19th century...

, Saarpfalz, Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken (district)

The Regionalverband Saarbrücken is a Kommunalverband besonderer Art, an integration of a district and a district-free town. It is located in the south of the Saarland, Germany...

, and Saarlouis

Saarlouis (district)

Saarlouis is a Kreis in the middle of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Merzig-Wadern, Sankt Wendel, Neunkirchen, Saarbrücken, and the French département Moselle.-History:...

.

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

Congress of Vienna

The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...

. 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

Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....

. It is situated on either bank of the Blies

Blies

The Blies is a right tributary of the Saar River in south-western Germany and north-eastern France . The Blies flows from three springs in the Hunsrück mountains near Selbach, Germany. It is approximately 100 km long, ending in the French city of Sarreguemines...

, 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

Neunkirchen Neunkirchen, Saarland Neunkirchen is a town and a municipality in Saarland, Germany. It is the largest town in, and the seat of the district of Neunkirchen. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 20 km northeast of Saarbrücken. With about 50,000 inhabitants, Neunkirchen is Saarland's 2nd largest city... Ottweiler Ottweiler Ottweiler is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken.The town is notable for the Ottweiler porcelain....

Eppelborn Eppelborn Eppelborn is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km north of Saarbrücken.... Illingen Illingen, Saarland Illingen is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 10 km northwest of Neunkirchen, and 17 km northeast of Saarbrücken... Merchweiler Merchweiler Merchweiler is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 10 km west of Neunkirchen, and 15 km northeast of Saarbrücken. The municipality of Merchweiler consists of two parts: Merchweiler and Wemmetsweiler .... Schiffweiler Schiffweiler Schiffweiler is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 5 km northwest of Neunkirchen, and 20 km northeast of Saarbrücken.... Spiesen-Elversberg Spiesen-Elversberg Spiesen-Elversberg is a municipality in the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 4 km southwest of Neunkirchen, and 15 km northeast of Saarbrücken....

External links

(German)