Main-Tauber-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northeast 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 ...

, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from northwest clockwise)

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

Main-Spessart Main-Spessart is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northwest of Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Lower Franconia and derives its name from the river Main and the wooded hills of the Spessart. Geography The district is bounded by (from the nort ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

(all in

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 ...

), and the districts of

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 ...

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It formerly ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire, which was divided between several branches. In 1806, the area of Hohenlohe was 1,760 km² and its estimated pop ...

and

Neckar-Odenwald Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from east clockwise) Main-Tauber-Kreis, Hohenlohe-Kreis, Heilbronn, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Odenwaldkreis (Hesse) and Land ...

History

Traces of human population in the area were found to go back as early as 5500 B.C. Throughout the 18th and 19th century, during the so''-''called ''Kleinstaaterei'', southern parts of today's district were part of the free imperial city of

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...

, the

Principality of Ansbach The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...

, while the city of

Weikersheim Weikersheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Town rights were granted to Weikersheim in 1313. As one of the seats of the House of Hohenlohe, until 1756 Weikersheim's town center was dominated by Wei ...

played a major role in the history of the

dynasty and temporarily was one of its seats. Later, the biggest part of the district was part of the

Bishopric of Würzburg In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

until 1803. Bad Mergentheim belonged to the

Teutonic order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

and

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim () is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due t ...

, the districts capitcal, was part of Kurmainz from 1237 to 1803.

Coat of arms and flag

Historical affiliations of the territory reflect in the coat of arms. They show the symbols of the three of the historical states to which the area of the district belonged. The

is represented by the red and white field divided by a line with three peaks, which was originally the coat of 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 ...

. The

wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...

is the symbol of the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

; the

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

is the symbol of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. The coat of arms are officially recognized by the state of

since 19 March 1974. The corresponding flag was authorized by the on 28 November 1989.

District in modern Germany

The district originated in 1973 with the merging of the districts of

Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim (; Mergentheim until 1926; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Märchedol'') is a town in the Main-Tauber-Kreis district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of around 23,000. An officially recogniz ...

and parts of the district of Buchen. At first called the district of Tauber, it took its current name, the district of Main-Tauber, in 1974. The name comes from the two primary rivers in the district, the

Main Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

and the

Tauber The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover). Course It flows through Rothenburg ob der ...

Geography

The

forms the northern border of the district, while its affluent

flows through the district from southeast to north. The north of the district covers part of the

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

mountains, while the southern area is called

Bauland The Bauland () is a Gäu landscape in the northeast of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is a natural region within the Neckar and Tauber Gäu Plateaus (major unit 12) in the South German Scarplands. Location The Bauland is a Gäu l ...

Area

The Main-Tauber Kreis has a total area of 1304.1km², that is distributed as follows: * Settlement and traffic area: 136,3 km² (10,4%) * Recreational area: 5,9 km² (0,5%) * Agricultural area: 765,4 km² (58,7%) * Forest: 386,2 km² (29,6%) * Water: 10,5 km² (0,8%)

Cities and municipalities

Demographics

As of 31 December 2022, 134,745 people live in the district, which corresponds to 1.19% of Baden-Württemberg's total population. Foreign born residents make up 12 percent of the population and people aged 65 or older make up 23 percent.

Infrastructure

Roads

The total length of the road network in the district is about 909 kilometres, of which about half (463 km) are county roads ( Kreisstraßen), just over a third (347 km) are state roads ( Landesstraßen), and about 10 per cent (99 km) are federal highways ( Bundestraßen).

Public transport

Around 110 public transport buses are operated by the VGMT (Verkehrsgesellschaft Main-Tauber) in the district. The VGMT was founded 1997 and serves around 900 to 1000 stations today.

International relations

Comparable with the concept of

twin towns A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

, the ''Kreis'' has partnerships with: *

Tolna County Tolna (, ; ) is an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus or vármegye) in present-day Hungary as it was in the former Kingdom of Hungary. It lies in central Hungary, on the west bank of the river Danube. It shares borde ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Bautzen District The district of Bautzen (, ) is a district in the state of Saxony in Germany. Its largest towns are Bautzen, Bischofswerda, Kamenz, Hoyerswerda and Radeberg. It is the biggest district in Saxony by area, and a member of the Neisse Euroregion. It ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

* Zabkowice Slaskie,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

* , formal partnership with a part of the German Army Aviation Corps.

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{Coord, 49.57, N, 9.71, E, source:dewiki_region:DE-BW_type:adm2nd, display=title Stuttgart (region) Districts of Baden-Württemberg