Sonneberg (district)

State:Thuringia Capital:km² Inhabitants:66,562 (2002) pop. density:154 inh./km² Car identification:SON Homepage:http://www.lkson.de Map

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.

History

The district was created in 1868 when districts were created in Saxony-Meiningen. In 1952 part of the district was incorporated into the newly created district Neuhaus am Rennweg. This district was dissolved again in 1994 and the district Sonneberg did regain its old size.

Geography

The district is located on the southern slope of the mountains of the Thuringian Forest. The land descends from the more then 800m high hills (the highest elevation is the 863m high Bleßberg) down to the lower plains Sonneberger Unterland and Schalkauer Platte. The Dreistromstein near Siegmundsburg near the city Neuhaus am Rennweg marks the meeting of the watersheds which separate the areas which fed the rivers Rhine, the Weser and the Elbe.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows symbols of the historic states which make up the territory of the district. In the topleft is the lion as symbol of the county of Meißen. In the top right is the symbol of the Lords of Sonneberg, which includes a sheep scissor. In the bottom left the symbol of the Counts of Schaumberg-Rauenstein; in the bottom right is the coat of arms of Saxony.

Towns and municipalities

Cities	Municipalities
Lauscha Neuhaus am Rennweg Schalkau Sonneberg Steinach	Bachfeld Effelder-Rauenstein Föritz Goldisthal Judenbach Mengersgereuth-Hämmern	Neuhaus-Schierschnitz Oberland am Rennsteig Scheibe-Alsbach Siegmundsburg