Neunkirchen (district): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Statistics
State:	Saarland
Capital:	Neunkirchen
Area:	249.16 km²
Inhabitants:	148,069 (2001)
pop. density:	594 inh./km²
Car identification:	NK
Homepage:	http://www.landkreis-neunkirchen.de
Map

Neunkirchen is a Kreis (district) in the middle of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Sankt Wendel, Kusel, Saarpfalz, Saarbrücken, Saarlouis.

History

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.

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.