Neunkirchen (German district)
Neunkirchen is a Kreis (
district) in the middle of the
Saarland,
Germany. Neighboring districts are
Sankt Wendel,
Kusel,
Saarpfalz,
Saarbrücken,
Saarlouis.
In
1814 the district Ottweiler was created, however its history can be traced back to
1545 when it was created as
Herrschaft Ottweiler, later
Amt and
Oberamt Ottweiler, and during the Napoleonic times as
Kanton Ottweiler. Two years after its creation it was reorganized in
1816 by order of the
Congress of Vienna.
1866 an attempt to move the district capital to Neunkirchen failed. In
1974 the districts were reorganized, the biggest change however was the change of the capital and thus the name to Neunkirchen. Some parts of the administration remained in Ottweiler.
The entire district is located in the industrial area, which is centered in
Saarbrücken. It is situated on either bank of the
Blies, a major tributary of the
Saar River.
Since
1985 the district has sometimes been called the
Rose district, celebrating the many
rose gardens in the district. It even crowns a
rose queen every year.
{|- valign=top|
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Coat of arms |
|The top part of the coat of arms show the lion of
Nassau, as the area was ruled by a branch of the house of Nassau (Nassau-Saarbrücken, later Nassau-Ottweiler). In the bottom part it shows the main symbols of the two biggest cities in the district, the rose of Ottweiler and the wheel of Neunkirchen.
