Osnabrück (district)

Osnabrück
Statistics
State:	Lower Saxony
Capital:	Osnabrück
Adm. Region:	Weser-Ems
Area:	2122 km²
Inhabitants:	357,300 (2003)
pop. density:	168 inh./km²
Car identification:	OS
Homepage:	http://www.lkos.de
Map

Osnabrück is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Emsland, Cloppenburg, Vechta and Diepholz, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts Minden-Lübbecke, Herford, Gütersloh, Warendorf and Steinfurt) and the city of Osnabrück.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Coat of arms
4 Towns and municipalities
5 External links

History

The district is almost identical to the bishopric principality of Osnabrück which existed until 1803. When the clerical states of Germany were dissolved, Osnabrück became subordinate to Hanover, which in turn fell to Prussia in 1866. The district was established in 1972 by merging four former districts (Osnabrück, Melle, Bersenbrück, Wittlage).

Geography

The landscape is characterised by two mountain chains: the Wiehengebirge in the north and the northern foothills of the Teutoburg Forest in the south. These chains enclose the city of Osnabrück.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays the Bennoturm ("Benno's Tower") of Bad Iburg, which served as the fortress of the bishops until 1673. There is also a wheel displayed in the coat of arms, which is the heraldic symbol of the city of Osnabrück.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Samtgemeinden	Free municipalities
Bad Iburg Bersenbrück Bramsche Dissen Fürstenau Georgsmarienhütte Melle Quakenbrück	Artland Bersenbrück Fürstenau Neuenkirchen	Bad Essen Bad Laer Bad Rothenfelde Belm Bissendorf Bohmte Glandorf Hagen Hasbergen Hilter Ostercappeln Wallenhorst

External links

Official website (German, English, Dutch, Polish, Russian)

Rural and urban districts of Lower Saxony

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Categories: Districts of Lower Saxony