Sonneberg (district)

Sonneberg is a Kreis (district) in the south of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise) the districts Hildburghausen, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, and the Bavarian districts Kronach and Coburg.

This article is about the district or county in Thuringia. For its county town, see Sonneberg. For the hill of the same name, see Sonneberg (hill).
Sonneberg
District
Coat of arms
CountryGermany
StateThuringia
Founded1868
CapitalSonneberg
Government
 • District admin.Hans-Peter Schmitz (Ind.)
Area
 • Total460.83 km2 (177.93 sq mi)
Population
 (31 December 2019)[1]
 • Total57,717
 • Density130/km2 (320/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationSON, NH
Websitewww.landkreis-sonneberg.de

History

The district was created in 1868 when districts were introduced in Saxe-Meiningen. In 1952, parts of the district were split off into a newly created district Neuhaus am Rennweg. In 1994, Neuhaus am Rennweg was dissolved and the district Sonneberg regained its original size. In 2019 the municipalities Lichte and Piesau from the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt came as villages into the town Neuhaus am Rennweg in the district Sonneberg.

Geography

The district is located on the southern slopes of the mountains of the Thuringian Forest. The land descends from the more than 800m tall hills (the highest elevation is the 869m high Großer Farmdenkopf) down to the lower plains Sonneberger Unterland and Schalkauer Platte. The Dreistromstein near Siegmundsburg near Neuhaus am Rennweg marks the intersection of three watersheds that drain into the rivers Rhine, Weser, and Elbe.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows symbols of the historic states which make up the territory of the district. In the top left field is the lion as symbol of the county of Meißen. In the top right field is the symbol of the Lords of Sonneberg, which includes sheep shears. The bottom left field displays the symbol of the Counts of Schaumberg-Rauenstein, and the bottom right field shows the coat of arms of Saxony.
Until 1952, a coat of arms introduced in the 1920s was used, which shows the coat of arms of the House of Henneberg instead of the Lords of Sonneberg in the top right field as another important part of Sonneberg's history.

Towns and municipalities
Municipalities in the district of Sonneberg
Towns Municipalities
  1. Lauscha
  2. Neuhaus am Rennweg
  3. Schalkau
  4. Sonneberg
  5. Steinach
  1. Föritztal
  2. Frankenblick
  3. Goldisthal

References
  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden, erfüllenden Gemeinden und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften in Thüringen Gebietsstand: 31.12.2019". Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik (in German). August 2020.

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