Country Germany Time zone CET (UTC+1) Website wartburgkreis.de | State Thuringia Vehicle registration WAK, SLZ Capital Eisenach | |
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Points of interest Hainich, Altenstein Palace, Observation Post Alpha, Wildkatzendorf Hütscheroda, Altensteiner Park Destinations Hainich National Park, Bad Salzungen, Bad Liebenstein, Creuzburg, Ruhla | ||
Wartburgkreis is a Kreis (district) in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Unstrut-Hainich, Gotha, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg and Werra-Meißner in Hesse. The district-free city Eisenach is nearly completely surrounded by the district.
Contents
Map of Wartburgkreis, Germany
History
The district was created in 1994 by merging the previous districts Eisenach and Bad Salzungen, and a few municipalities from the district Bad Langensalza. The city Eisenach left the district in 1998 and became a district-free city.
The district is named after the Wartburg, a castle near Eisenach most famous as the place of residence of Ludwig, Landgrave of Thuringia and his wife, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary; and, as Martin Luther's refuge in 1521.
Geography
The district is located in the Thuringian Forest, including the Hainich national park. The main river in the district is the Werra.