Saale-Orla is a ''Kreis'' (

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, municip ...

) in the east of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

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 ...

. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts

Saale-Holzland Saale-Holzland (official German language, German name: Saale-Holzland-Kreis) is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the district Burgenlandkreis in Sa ...

Greiz Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river. Greiz has a large park ...

, the

Vogtlandkreis The Vogtlandkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (List of German rural districts, rural district) in the southwest of Saxony, Germany, at the borders of Thuringia, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic. Neighbouring districts are (from south clockwise) Hof (dist ...

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 ...

, the

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 ...

n districts Hof and

Kronach Kronach (; ) is a Town#Germany, town in Upper Franconia, Germany, located in the Franconian Forest area. It is the capital of the Kronach (district), district Kronach. The town is equipped with a nearly complete city wall and Germany's biggest an ...

, and the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt.

History

The district was created in 1994 by merging the previous districts Lobenstein, Pößneck and Schleiz.

Geography

The main rivers in the district are the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

and the Orla, which also contributed to the name of the district. The highest elevation with 732.9 m above sea level is the Sieglitzberg (near Lobenstein), the lowest with 180 m is near Schimmersburg Langenorla. The district is mountainous, covering the ''Thüringer Schiefergebirge''. The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s of the Saale create the biggest system of artificial lakes in Germany.

Coat of arms

The two lions in the top of the coat of arms represent the historic states which covered the area in the past. In the left is the lion with crown of the Reuß family, while the lion to the right is the symbol of the margravate of Meißen. The two wavy lines at the bottom symbolize the two rivers of the district, Saale and Orla.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Official website
(German)
Touristic website
(German, English) {{Authority control Districts of Thuringia