Werra-Meißner is a Kreis (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Göttingen, Eichsfeld, Unstrut-Hainich, Wartburgkreis, district-free Eisenach, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Schwalm-Eder, Kassel.
History
The district was created in 1974 by merging the two district Eschwege and Witzenhausen, which both existed with only slight modifications since 1821.
Geography
The main river in the district is the Werra. The Hohe Meißner with 754 m is the highest elevation of the Meißner mountains, a big basalt massiv, the other geographic part which gave the district its name.
The Hohe Meißner was also home to USA military forces up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Soldiers of the Special Forces guarded the eavsdropping listening post situated on the hilltop.
Coat of arms
| The coat of arms show a branch of a aspen tree in the left half, as sign for the former Eschwege district as well as the Eschwege city - the German word for aspen is Esche. The castle in the right half is the castle Ludwigstein, taken from the coat of arms of the Witzenhausen district. The hills below symbolize the landscape, the Meißner, and the wavy line the Werra river.
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Towns and municipalities
| Towns
| Municipalities
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- Bad Sooden-Allendorf
- Eschwege
- Großalmerode
- Hessisch-Lichtenau
- Sontra
- Waldkappel
- Wanfried
- Witzenhausen
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- Berkatal
- Herleshausen
- Meinhard
- Meißner
- Neu Eichenberg
- Ringgau
- Wehretal
- Weißenborn
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External links
Official website (German)
