Forchheim is a
''Landkreis'' (district) in
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 ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
,
Bayreuth,
Nürnberger Land and
Erlangen-Höchstadt.
History
Until 1803 the region was divided between the clerical state of
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
and the margravate of
Brandenburg-Kulmbach centred in
Bayreuth. Then it fell to Bavaria. The district in its present borders was established in 1972 by merging the former district of Forchheim with parts of the dissolved districts of Ebermannstadt and Pegnitz. The city of Forchheim lost its status as a district-free city and became the capital.
Geography
The main river is the
Regnitz, which runs from south to north through the western parts of the district. East of the river the land rises to the hills of the
Frankish Alb.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* the lion of the clerical state of
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
* the key is from the arms of the county of Schlüsselberg; these counts possessed many castles in the region, but their property was acquired by the bishops of Bamberg in the 14th century
* the trout symbolises the city of Forchheim (the word "Forchheim" literally could mean "home of the trouts" (=Forelle or old German Forche); however, most of the historians consider the name Forchheim coming more probably from "home of the pine trees" (= Föhre, which is the most frequent tree in this region).
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forchheim (District)
Districts of Bavaria