Göttingen District

Göttingen District
Göttingen District
	District
	Coat of arms
	Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
Capital	Göttingen
Area
• Total	1,117 km2 (431 sq mi)

Göttingen District is a district (German: Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Northeim and Osterode, and by the states of Thuringia (district of Eichsfeld) and Hesse (districts of Werra-Meißner and Kassel).

History[]

In 1885 the Prussian government established the districts of Göttingen, Münden and Duderstadt within the Province of Hanover. These districts existed for 88 years, before they were merged in 1973 to form the present district of Göttingen. In 2016, it will be reformed by the addition of the Osterode District.

Geography[]

The western half of the district is occupied by the Weserbergland mountains. The Weser River receives it name near the town of Hannoversch Münden, where the Fulda joins the Werra. Further east the Leine river runs through the district from south to north.

Coat of arms[]

In the upper part is the heraldic lion of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Below is a combination of the arms of the former districts, which were merged in 1973 to form the present district: the shield of Münden, the anchor of Göttingen, and the wheel of Duderstadt.