Rhön-Grabfeld is a
''Landkreis'' (district) 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 ...
,
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 southeast and clockwise) the districts of
Hassberge,
Schweinfurt and
Bad Kissingen, and the states of
Hesse (district
Fulda) and
Thuringia (districts
Schmalkalden-Meiningen and
Hildburghausen).
History
In medieval times the region was a part of the
Bishopric of Würzburg. When the clerical states of Germany were dissolved in 1803, it fell to
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 ...
. The district of Rhön-Grabfeld was established in 1972, when the former districts of Bad Neustadt, Königshofen and Mellrichstadt were merged.
Geography
The district consists of two distinct areas: The eastern parts of the
Rhön mountains and the Bavarian portion of
Grabfeld.
Grabfeld is a fertile region south of the
Rhön mountains. Literally it means "digfield". According to local legend a queen once lost her beloved ring in the Grabfeld. She ordered her servants to dig up the whole area. When the ring was found, she was relieved and ordered a royal estate to be built where it was found. Later this estate became the city of Königshofen.
The source of the
Fränkische Saale
The Franconian Saale (, ) is a 140 km long river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right-bank tributary of the Main, in Lower Franconia. It should not be confused with the larger Saxon Saale (), which is a tributary of the Elbe River.
The F ...
is located in the district. The river runs through the district from north to south.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* a crown representing the Grabfeld legend
* a wavy line representing the Saale River
* three
summit crosses representing the mountains of the Rhön
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhon-Grabfeld
Districts of Bavaria
Rhön Mountains
Lower Franconia