Rotenburg is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

(''Landkreis'') in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

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 landlocked by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Stade,

Harburg Harburg may refer to: Places in Germany * Harburg (district), Lower Saxony * Harburg, Bavaria * Harburg, Hamburg, a borough of Hamburg ** Harburg (quarter), the former Hanoveran city of Harburg upon Elbe, now a quarter of Hamburg * Harburg-Wilhe ...

, Heidekreis,

Verden Verden can refer to: * Verden an der Aller, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany * Verden, Oklahoma, a small town in the USA * Verden (district), a district in Lower Saxony, Germany * Diocese of Verden (768–1648), a former diocese of the Catholic Chur ...

Osterholz Osterholz is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Wesermarsch, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg and Verden, and by the city of Bremen. History Originally the prince-archbishops ...

and Cuxhaven.

History

In medieval times the region was part of the bishoprics of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

and

. After the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the bishoprics became secular principalities, colloquially called Bremen-Verden, and finally parts of the Kingdom of Hanover. The present district was established in 1977 by merging the former districts of Rotenburg and Bremervörde.

Geography

The Wümme River runs through the district from east to west. The marshy area to both sides of the river is called the ''Wümmeniederung'' (

Wümme Depression The Wümme Depression (german: Wümmeniederung) is a bog, geest and forest landscape within the Elbe–Weser triangle in the German state of Lower Saxony. It belongs mainly to the district of Rotenburg and is part of the Stade Geest. To the sou ...

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * a lion carrying a cross; the lion was the heraldic animal of Hanover, the cross is symbolising the Prince-Bishopric of Verden * two criss-crossed keys from the arms of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotenburg (District) Districts of Lower Saxony