Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
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 surrounds – but does not include – the town of
Ansbach
Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...
; nonetheless the administrative seat of the district is located in Ansbach. It is the district with the largest area in Bavaria. At the end of December 2022, the district population was 188,623.
History
Some of the local towns already existed during the lifetime of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, who visited
Feuchtwangen
Feuchtwangen is a city in Ansbach district in the administrative region of Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany, with around 12,000 residents and an area of 137 km², making it the biggest city in the Ansbach district by population and area. In 20 ...
about 800. In the 13th century, the towns of Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl and Feuchtwangen were elevated to Free Imperial cities; so they were directly subordinate to the Holy Roman Emperor. The town of Ansbach became subject to the
Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...
family, who established the state of Ansbach (later Brandenburg-Ansbach) in the region.
The district of Ansbach was established in 1972, when the former districts of Ansbach, Dinkelsbühl, Feuchtwangen and Rothenburg were merged. The historic town of Rothenburg lost its status as an
urban district
An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter
Specific urban districts in some countries include:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Districts of Germa ...
and was incorporated into the district.
Geography
Ansbach is the largest district of Bavaria. Its northern half is occupied by the
Franconian Heights
The Franconian HeightsBavarian State Chancellery, ''Information about Bavaria'', 1981, p. 11. () are a hill ridge, up to , in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in South Germany.
Location and boundaries
The Franconian Heights lie in the west of F ...
, a gentle hilly countryside. The southern parts are covered with heaths and forests. The source of the
river is located in the district.
The district is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts
Ostalbkreis
The Ostalbkreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the border to Bavaria. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Schwäbisch Hall (district), Schwäbisch Hall, Ansbach ( ...
,
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 N ...
and
Main-Tauber
Main-Tauber-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from northwest clockwise) Miltenberg, Main-Spessart, Würzburg, Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim and Ansbach (all in Bavaria ...
(all in the state of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...
), and the districts of
Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim
Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim (German: Landkreis Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, official Landkreis Neustadt a.d.Aisch-Bad Windsheim) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the distr ...
,
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia.
It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...
Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen () is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the west of Bavaria, Germany with a population of 95,000. Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Ansbach, Roth, Eichstätt and Donau-Ries. It is located in the south of ...
and
Donau-Ries
Donau-Ries (''Danube- Ries'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Ansbach, Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Eichstätt, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Aichach-Friedber ...
.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* top left: the black and white arms of the
Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...
dynasty, who ruled the former state of Brandenburg-Ansbach
* top right: the red and white arms of
Franconia
Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
* bottom: the heraldic eagle of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, which stands for the former Free Imperial cities of Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl and Feuchtwangen