The Ostalbkreis is a
''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, on the border to
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise)
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
,
Ansbach,
Donau-Ries,
Heidenheim,
Göppingen and
Rems-Murr.
History
The district was created in 1973, when the District of Aalen merged with most of the former District of Schwäbisch Gmünd.
Geography
The district is located in the eastern part of the
Swabian Alb
The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...
(''Schwäbische Alb''), hence its name which translates to ''Eastern Alb District''. Main rivers in the district are the
Rems, the
Jagst and the
Kocher, all affluents of the
Neckar.
Politics
Federally, the district is part of two electoral ridings: 270 (Backnang – Schwäbisch Gmünd) and 271 (Aalen – Heidenheim). For the 2009 Election, the numeral designation was changed to 269 and 270 respectively. Both ridings are held by the CDU: Norbert Barthle (Backnang – Schwäbisch Gmünd) and Roderich Kiesewetter (Aalen - Heidenheim).
At the State level, the district also is part of two electoral ridings: 25 (Schwäbisch Gmünd) and 26 (Aalen). The last election was held on March 26, 2006 and both ridings were won by the CDU: Dr. Stefan Scheffold (Schwäbisch Gmünd) and Winfried Mack (Aalen).
The District election was held on June 7, 2009
Election results
Partnerships
Since 1992 the district has an official partnership with the Italian
Province of Ravenna. Also since the 1990s it has a friendship with the Finnish
Province of Oulu.
Coat of arms
The
imperial eagle to the right represents the
free imperial cities in the district, especially the city of
Aalen
Aalen () is a former Free Imperial City located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is also the large ...
. The
lion on the left is the symbol of the
Staufen Staufen refers to:
* Hohenstaufen, a dynasty of German emperors
*Staufen im Breisgau, a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
*Staufen, Aargau, in Switzerland
*Staufen (protein)
Staufen is a protein product of a maternally expressed gene first iden ...
family, who founded the city of
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district and ...
. These two symbols were taken from the coats of arms of the two precursor districts. The
crosier in the middle represents
Ellwangen Abbey
Ellwangen Abbey (german: Kloster Ellwangen) was the earliest Benedictine monastery established in the Duchy of Swabia, at the present-day town of Ellwangen an der Jagst, Baden-Württemberg, about 100 km (60 mi) north-east of Stuttgart. ...
, which possessed many smaller areas scattered in the district.
Towns and communities
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{Coord, 48, 52, N, 10, 06, E, region:DE_type:adm2nd, display=title
Stuttgart (region)
Districts of Baden-Württemberg
Württemberg