The Weißeritzkreis is a former district (Kreis) in the south of the Free State of Saxony, 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 were (from west clockwise) Freiberg

Freiberg (district)

Freiberg is a former district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It was bounded by the district of Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis, the city of Chemnitz, the districts of Mittweida, Meißen and Weißeritzkreis, and by the Czech Republic.- History :The district was established in 1994 by merging the...

, Meißen, the district-free city Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, Sächsische Schweiz

Sächsische Schweiz

The Sächsische Schweiz is a former district in the south of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Neighboring districts were Weißeritzkreis, the district-free city Dresden and the districts Kamenz and Bautzen. To the south it bordered the Czech Republic.- History :The district was created in 1994...

, and to the south it bordered the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

.

History

The district was created in 1994 when the two districts Dippoldiswalde and Freital were merged. In August 2008, as a part of the district reform in Saxony, the districts of Sächsische Schweiz and Weißeritzkreis were merged into the new district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge is a district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Erzgebirge.- History :...

.

Geography

The district is located in the Ore Mountains, the central part is the Tharandt Forest

Tharandt Forest

The Tharandt Forest is a landscape in the centre of the German Free State of Saxony and lies southwest of the forest town of Tharandt, south of the town of Wilsdruff, roughly between the cities of Freiberg and Dresden...

. The district got its name after the two rivers Wilde Weißeritz

Wilde Weißeritz

The Wilde Weißeritz is a river in the Czech Republic and in Saxony which drains the eastern Ore Mountains. It is the longest tributary of the Weißeritz.The valley of the Wilde Weißeritz is almost free of settlements...

 and Rote Weißeritz

Rote Weißeritz

The Red Weißeritz is a river in Saxony that drains the eastern Ore Mountains. It is a right tributary of the Weißeritz and is 36.5 km long...

, who merge near Freital into the Weißeritz

Weißeritz

The Weißeritz is a river in Saxony. The 12 km short left tributary of the Elbe runs through Freital and Dresden. Its name is derived from west Slavic bystrica . The official name of the river used in documents and hydrographic maps is Vereinigte Weißeritz...

 river, and then mouths into the Elbe

Elbe

The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...

 in Dresden. The highest elevation is the Kahleberg

Kahleberg

Kahleberg is a mountain of Saxony, southeastern Germany.-History:Kahleberg is located 2 kilometres south-west of the mining town Altenburg, which is on the border of the Czech Republic....

 at 905 metres (2,969.2 ft).

During the flooding in August 2002 the Weißeritz river had to drain many times the normal amount of water, and did destroy a lot of buildings in the river valley - houses, streets and bridges.

Partnerships

1. 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 :...
   
   
2. Berchtesgadener Land
   Berchtesgadener Land
   Berchtesgadener Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria.- History :The alpine regions of the south were Bavarian territory from the early Middle Ages. The 11th and 12th centuries saw the founding of numerous mountain villages...
   
   
3. Göttingen
   Göttingen (district)
   Göttingen is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Northeim and Osterode, and by the states of Thuringia and Hesse .-History:...
   
   
4. Zollernalbkreis
   Zollernalbkreis
   The Zollernalbkreis is a district in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The district is located in the Swabian Alb, and contains the second highest elevation of this mountains, the 1011 meter high Oberhohenberg...
   
   

Coat of arms

The blue lines symbolize the Weißeritz river, and its splitting into the Wilde Weißeritz Wilde Weißeritz The Wilde Weißeritz is a river in the Czech Republic and in Saxony which drains the eastern Ore Mountains. It is the longest tributary of the Weißeritz.The valley of the Wilde Weißeritz is almost free of settlements...  and the Rote Weißeritz Rote Weißeritz The Red Weißeritz is a river in Saxony that drains the eastern Ore Mountains. It is a right tributary of the Weißeritz and is 36.5 km long...  rivers. The mining symbol in the bottom represents the old ore and coal mining tradition in the Ore Mountains. The tree stands for the rich forests in the district, and the lion to the right is the symbol of Meißen, as the area historically belonged to the margraviate of Meißen.

Towns and municipalities

Towns

Municipalities

Altenberg Altenberg, Germany Altenberg is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, close to the border with the Czech Republic, 15 km northwest of Teplice, and 32 km south of Dresden.... Dippoldiswalde Dippoldiswalde Dippoldiswalde is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district. It is situated 23 km east of Freiberg, and 18 km south of Dresden.... Freital Freital Freital is the biggest town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the small river Weißeritz, 8 km southwest of Dresden.- Geography :... Geising Geising Geising is a municipal subdivision of Altenberg in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, close to the border with the Czech Republic, 13 km north of Teplice, and 32 km south of Dresden. Since 1 January... Glashütte Glashütte Glashütte is a town in Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Free State of Saxony, Germany, which was the birthplace of the German watchmaking industry. The city has a population of about 4,700. Historically it was first mentioned in a document around 1445... Rabenau Rabenau, Saxony Rabenau is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated north of Dippoldiswalde, and southwest of Dresden .- References :... Tharandt Tharandt Tharandt is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden, on the Dresden-Reichenbach railway.It has a Protestant Church, a hydropathic establishment, and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded by Heinrich Cotta in 1811 together with its... Wilsdruff Wilsdruff Wilsdruff is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, with 13,743 inhabitants. It is situated 14 km west of Dresden . Near Wilsdruff there is a facility for high power broadcasting, the transmitter Wilsdruff....

Bannewitz Bannewitz Bannewitz is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated south of Dresden .- References :... Dorfhain Dorfhain Dorfhain is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- References :... Hartmannsdorf-Reichenau Hartmannsdorf-Reichenau Hartmannsdorf-Reichenau is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- References :... Hermsdorf Hermsdorf, Saxony Hermsdorf is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- References :... Höckendorf Höckendorf Höckendorf is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- References :... Kreischa Kreischa Kreischa is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, Saxony, Germany. It directly borders the Saxon capital Dresden and consists of 14 districts.Kreischa was first mentioned in 1282... Pretzschendorf Pretzschendorf Pretzschendorf is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- References :... Schmiedeberg Schmiedeberg, Saxony Schmiedeberg is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. It is quite close to Dresden.- References :...

External links

• Official website (German)
• Website about the 2002 Flooding (German)