Kyffhäuserkreis

The Kyffhäuserkreis is a district in the northern part of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are the districts Mansfeld-Südharz, Saalekreis and Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, and the districts Sömmerda, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis and Eichsfeld.

Kyffhäuserkreis
District
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
Capital	Sondershausen
Government
• District admin.	Antje Hochwind (SPD)
Area
• Total	1,037.91 km2 (400.74 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2022)
• Total	73,690
• Density	71/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	KYF, ART, SDH
Website	www.kyffhaeuser.de

History

In the 12th century there was a castle, the Kyffhausen Castle, on the Kyffhäuser mountains, which was built during the reign of emperor Frederick I. According to the local legend, the emperor did not die, but instead went to sleep in this castle.

From 1579 on the region belonged to Saxony, and after 1815 it was divided between the Prussian Province of Saxony and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

In 1952 the two districts of Artern (district) and Sondershausen were established. These districts were merged in 1994, with only a few municipalities joining other districts.

Historical Population

Values as of 31 December:

1994: 98,785 1995: 98,144 1996: 97,499 1997: 96,749 1998: 96,135 1999: 95,290

2000: 94,343 2001: 92,983 2002: 91,940 2003: 90,758 2004: 89,517 2005: 88,307

2006: 87,058 2007: 85,362 2008: 83,835 2009: 82,650 2010: 81,449 2011: 80,471

2012: 78,618 2013: 77,656 2014: 77,148 2015: 77,110 2016: 76,685 2017: 75,009

Data source since 1994: Thuringian State Statistical Bureau

Partnerships

The district has a partnership with the district Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate, which was initially established with the district Artern in 1990.

Geography

The district is named after the Kyffhäuser mountains. The main river is the Unstrut, which flows through the east of the district.

Coat of arms

The main symbol of the coat of arms is the lion of the counts of Schwarzburg, who historically ruled most of the district. The lion holds a shield which contains the coat of arms of the Counts of Mansfeld, who owned the area around Artern in the 18th century. The three green hills in the bottom symbolize the mountainous landscape with many forests, the big wavy line stands for the river Unstrut, the small one for the Wipper river.

Towns and municipalities

Clickable map of towns and municipalities in the district

Verwaltungsgemeinschaft-free towns	and municipalities
An der Schmücke Artern Bad Frankenhausen Ebeleben Greußen Roßleben-Wiehe Sondershausen	Abtsbessingen Bellstedt Borxleben Etzleben Freienbessingen Gehofen Helbedündorf	Holzsußra Kalbsrieth Kyffhäuserland Mönchpfiffel-Nikolausrieth Oberheldrungen Reinsdorf Rockstedt

Verwaltungsgemeinschaft
1. Greußen [seat: Greußen] Clingen2 Niederbösa Oberbösa Topfstedt Trebra Wasserthaleben Westgreußen
1seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft;2town

Further information on the former Verwaltungsgemeinschaft: Kyffhäuser

External links

• Official website (German)
• Touristic website (English, German)