Ansbach (district)

Ansbach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is surrounding, but not including the city of Ansbach; nonetheless the administrative seat of the district is Ansbach. The district is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts Ostalbkreis, Schw�bisch Hall and Main-Tauber (all in the state of Baden-W�rttemberg), and the districts of Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim[?], F�rth[?], Roth[?], Wei�enburg-Gunzenhausen[?] and Donau-Ries.

History

Some of the towns were already existing during the lifetime of Charlemagne, who visited Feuchtwangen about 800. In the 13th century the towns of Rothenburg, Dinkelsb�hl and Feuchtwangen were elevated to Free Imperial Cities; so they were directly subordinate to the Holy Roman Emperor. The city of Ansbach became subject to the Hohenzollern family, who established the state of Ansbach (later Brandenburg-Ansbach) in the region.

The district of Ansbach was established in 1972, when the former districts of Ansbach, Dinkelsb�hl, Feuchtwangen and Rothenburg were merged. The city of Rothenburg lost its status as a district-free city and was incorporated into the district.

Geography

Ansbach is the largest district of Bavaria. Its northern half is occupied by the Frankenh�he, a gentle hilly countryside. The southern parts are covered with heaths and forests. The source of the Altm�hl River is located in the district.

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

External links

Official Website (http://www.landkreis-ansbach.de) (German)
Frankenh�he (http://www.frankenhoehe.de/) (German)