Sankt Wendel (district) - Definition

Sankt Wendel

Statistics
State:	Saarland
Capital:	Sankt Wendel
Area:	476.09 km²
Inhabitants:	95,119 (2002)
pop. density:	200 inh./km²
Car identification:	WND
Homepage:	landkreis-st-wendel.de (http://www.landkreis-st-wendel.de)
Map

Sankt Wendel is a Kreis (district) in the north of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Birkenfeld, Kusel, Neunkirchen, Saarlouis, Merzig-Wadern.

History

The district was created in 1834 when Prussia bought the Lichtenfeld area from Saxony-Coburg. After the World War I the Saar area came under special rulership of the League of Nations, and thus the Sankt Wendel district was split into two parts. The northern part, the Restkreis Sankt Wendel, was merged into the district Birkenfeld, the southern part stayed in the Saarland in its reduced size.

Geography

The district is located in the Saar-Hunsrück natural area, an hilly area with elevations between 200 and 600 meters. The main river in the district is the Nahe. The Bostalsee is the biggest tourist lake in the south-west of Germany, covering an area of about 1.2 km².

Coat of arms

The blue lion represents the counts of Veldenz, a branch of the Wittelsbach family. The silver lion is taken from Nassau-Saarbrücken. The two counties had the most important possessions in the districts. The shield in the middle show a fleur-de-lis taken from the city Sankt Wendel, in the colours taken from the Lorraine.

Towns and municipalities

External links

• Official website (http://www.landkreis-st-wendel.de) (German)
• Touristic website (http://www.bostalsee.de/)

Rural and urban districts in the Saarland

Merzig-Wadern | Neunkirchen | Saarbrücken | Saarlouis | Saarpfalz | Sankt Wendel edit  (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Template:Germany_districts_saarland)