Vogtlandkreis

Vogtlandkreis
District
250x250px
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
Capital	Plauen
Area
• Total	1,412 km2 (545 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2014)
• Total	232,390
• Density	160/km2 (430/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration	V, AE, OVL, PL, RC
Website	http://www.vogtlandkreis.de

The Vogtlandkreis (German pronunciation: [ˈfoːktlantˌkʁaɪ̯s]) is a Landkreis (rural district) in the southwest of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, at the borders to Thuringia, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic. Neighboring districts are (from south clockwise) Hof, Saale-Orla, Greiz, Zwickau and Erzgebirgskreis. Plauen is the administrative center of the district.

History

The Vogtland became part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century by king Conrad III. In 1209 the minister dynasty administrating the area was split into three areas, Weida, Greiz and Gera-Plauen. When the central power over the area decreased, county leaders, called in Latin advocatus or in German Vögte were appointed from local administrators. 1354-1357 the Vogtland war ended these leadership and the area changed ownership to Bohemia.

In 1546 Henry IV, Burgrave of Plauen got the area from the Bohemian king and later emperor Ferdinand I. His children did not only inherit the land, but also very high debt, so to pay these 1563 the area was bought by Saxony from Henry VI, and when in 1569 Henry VI finally ceased to claim ownership the new leadership created the first Vogtland district (Voigtländischen Creiß).

1657-1718 Saxony was split into parts, the Vogtland belonged to Saxe-Zeitz. In 1835 the new constitutional monarchy changed the administration and abolished the old district, and instead the Amtshauptmannschaft Plauen was created, and in 1867 those of Auerbach and Oelsnitz. 1907 the city of Plauen left the district and became district-free city.

1952 the East German government with the big administrative reform renamed them to Kreise (districts), and created the new districts Klingenthal and Reichenbach by decreasing the size of the previous ones. After the German Reunification the changes of the 1952 reform were mostly undone, and in 1996 the 5 districts were merged to form the Vogtlandkreis.

In the district reform of August 1, 2008 the town of Plauen was included into the district.

Geography

The Vogtlandkreis is named after the geographic area it covers, the Vogtland, which was so called because it was governed by Vogts. Located in the Erzgebirge it contains a lot of forests. The main river is the Weiße Elster.

People

The first German cosmonaut, Sigmund Jähn was born in the Vogtland. His hometown, the small town of Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz, in the municipality Muldenhammer, houses a small Space Exploration exhibition.

Coat of arms

The lion on the left side of the coat of arms is traditional symbol of the Vögte of Weida, Gera and Plauen, which was confirmed in 1294. The eagle on the right side stands for the Holy Roman Empire, as the Vogtland belonged to the Empire directly.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Adorf Auerbach Bad Elster Elsterberg Falkenstein Klingenthal Lengenfeld Markneukirchen Mylau Netzschkau Oelsnitz Pausa-Mühltroff Plauen Reichenbach im Vogtland Rodewisch Schöneck Treuen	Bad Brambach Bergen Bösenbrunn Eichigt Ellefeld Grünbach Heinsdorfergrund Limbach Mühlental Muldenhammer Neuensalz	Neumark Neustadt Pöhl Reuth Rosenbach Steinberg Theuma Tirpersdorf Triebel Weischlitz Werda

External links

• Official website (German) (Czech)