Bernkastel-Wittlich ( German: ''Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich'') is a district in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of

Vulkaneifel Vulkaneifel () is a district (''Kreis'') in the northwest of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the least densely populated district in the state and the fourth most sparsely populated district in Germany. The administrative centre of ...

, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück,

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the Birkenfeld (Verbandsgemeinde), like-named ''Verbandsge ...

Trier-Saarburg Trier-Saarburg (; ) is a district in the west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north and clockwise) Bitburg-Prüm, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Birkenfeld, Sankt Wendel (Saarland), and Merzig-Wadern (Saarland). To ...

and

Bitburg-Prüm The Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm () is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) Luxembourg, Belgium and the districts of Euskirchen, Vulkaneifel, Bernkastel-Wittlich and Trier-Saarburg. History ...

History

The district was established in 1969 by merging the former districts of Bernkastel and Wittlich.

Geography

The district is situated on both banks of the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

, which crosses the territory from southwest to northeast. The country rises to the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

in the north and the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

in the south. A great number of tributaries rise in the Eifel and flow into the Moselle. In the very south of the district is the Erbeskopf (818 m), the highest peak in the Hunsrück and Rhineland-Palatinate.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * The cross symbolising the bishopric of Trier * The crayfish from the arms of

Bernkastel-Kues Bernkastel-Kues () is a town on the Middle Mosel in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is well-known for its winegrowing. The town is a state-recognized health resort (''Erholungsort''), ...

* The keys from the arms of

Wittlich Wittlich (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Wittlech'') is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany, the seat of the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district. Its historic town centre and the beauty of the sur ...

* The red and white pattern of the

County of Sponheim The County of Sponheim (, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality of Sponheim, where the cou ...

, which ruled this part of the Moselle valley in medieval times

Towns and municipalities

Twin region

At one time, the Borough of Milton Keynes was the twinned region of the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich.

External links

Official website
(German)

References

* ^ Kreis Bernkastel-Wittlich, Jahrbuch 1982 (page 23ff.), 1982 {{Coord, 49, 59, 13, N, 6, 53, 23, E, region:DE-RP_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title Districts of Rhineland-Palatinate