Werra-Meißner-Kreis

Werra-Meißner
District
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Capital	Eschwege
Area
• Total	1,024.55 km2 (395.58 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2022)
• Total	100,208
• Density	98/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	ESW
Website	http://www.werra-meissner.de

Werra-Meißner is a Kreis (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany.

History

The district was created in 1974 by merging the two district Eschwege and Witzenhausen, which both existed with only slight modifications since 1821.

Geography

The main river in the district is the Werra. The Hohe Meißner with 754 m (2,474 ft) is the highest of the Meißner mountains. The river and the mountain gave the district its name.

The Hohe Meißner was also home to USA military forces up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Soldiers of the Special Forces guarded the eavesdropping listening post situated on the hilltop.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms show a branch of an aspen tree in the left half, as sign for the former Eschwege district as well as the Eschwege city - the German word for aspen is Esche. The castle in the right half is the castle Ludwigstein, taken from the coat of arms of the Witzenhausen district. The hills below symbolize the landscape, the Meißner, and the wavy line the Werra river.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Bad Sooden-Allendorf Eschwege Großalmerode Hessisch Lichtenau Sontra Waldkappel Wanfried Witzenhausen	Berkatal Herleshausen Meinhard Meißner Neu-Eichenberg Ringgau Wehretal Weißenborn

Other websites

• Official website (in German)