Altenkirchen (district)

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Altenkirchen
Map of Rhineland-Palatinate highlighting the district of Altenkirchen
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District seat	Altenkirchen
Area	642 km²
Population	137,200 (1999)
Pop. density	214 /km²
Licence plate code	AK
Web page	kreis-altenkirchen.de

Altenkirchen is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the North Rhine-Westphalian districts Rhein-Sieg, Oberbergischer Kreis, Olpe and Siegen-Wittgenstein, and the districts of Westerwaldkreis and Neuwied.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Coat of arms
4 Towns and municipalities
5 External links

History

The history of the district is linked with the Westerwald region. The district was established in 1816 by the Prussian administration. It combined the earldom of Wildenburg and the two earldoms of Sayn. The former had been part of Berg, the latter ones had belonged to the duchy of Nassau.

Geography

Altenkirchen is the northernmost district of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is occupied by the northern portions of the Westerwald mountains. The valley of the Sieg River borders the Westerwald on the north. The lands north of the Sieg are called Wildenburgisches Land, after the tiny earldom of Wildenburg, that once existed here.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays:

Top left: The golden lion of the earldom of Sayn, which occupied the territory in the 12th century
Top right: The symbol of the tiny earldom of Wildenburg, which existed until 1806 in the very north of the district
Bottom: The black and red cross is a combination of the bishops' emblems of Cologne and Trier