The Odenwaldkreis is a ''Kreis'' (

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

) in the south of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...

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 ...

. Neighboring districts are

Darmstadt-Dieburg Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds. Histor ...

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old town lies on the Mai ...

, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis,

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The administrative headquarters are based in the city Heidelberg, which is a district-free city. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Würt ...

and

Kreis Bergstraße Kreis is the German word for circle. Kreis may also refer to: Places * , or circles, various subdivisions roughly equivalent to counties, districts or municipalities ** Districts of Germany (including and ) ** Former districts of Prussia, als ...

. ''Odenwaldkreis'' belongs to the

Rhine Neckar Area The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, ), often referred to as Rhein-Neckar-Triangle, is a polycentric metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the Nor ...

History

In 1822 the district was created under the name ''Erbach'', subdivided into two '' Bezirke'' Breuberg and Erbach. The last of several modifications of the district was in 1972, when some municipalities from the Dieburg and Bergstraße district were added to the district. In 1972 the district also changed its name. Dietrich Kühler, in March 2015 Frank Matiaske ( SPD) was voted as the successor of Dietrich Kühler and would be the chief from August 2015.

Geography

As the name of the district already suggests it is located in the

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...

mountains.

Coat of arms

The oak tree of the coat of arms symbolize the forests of the district, which also gave the district its name (''Wald'' = forest). The three stars were taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of

Erbach Erbach may refer to: Places *Erbach im Odenwald, a town in Hesse, Germany *Erbach an der Donau, a town on the Danube River in Baden-Württemberg, Germany * Erbach, Rheingau, a district of Eltville, Hesse, Germany * Erbach, Rhineland-Palatinate, a m ...

History

Geography

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

References

External links