Bergstraße (district)

Bergstraße (German: Landkreis Bergstraße, Hessian: Londgrääs Bergschdrooß) is a rural district in south Hesse, Germany.

District
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Adm. region	Darmstadt
Capital	Heppenheim
Area
• Total	719.54 km2 (277.82 sq mi)
Population  (2001)
• Total	264,695
• Density	367.867/km2 (952.771/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	HP
Website	kreis-bergstrasse.de

History

The district was created in 1938. Two old districts, Bensheim and Heppenheim, joined and became Bergstraße.

Geography

The district is in the Odenwald mountains. Melibokus as the highest elevation at 517 meters. The Bergstraße is a tourist route which from Darmstadt to Wiesloch. The northern part of this route goes through the district and gave it its name.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is split into four quarters. In the top-left it shows the Starkenburg castle, which is one of the main castles in the district. The flower in the top-right stands for the flower-richness in spring. The cross in the bottom-left derives from the coat of arms of the imperial abbey of Lorsch, and the red and white striped lion in the bottom-right is the sign of Hesse.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Bensheim Bürstadt Heppenheim Hirschhorn Lampertheim Lindenfels Lorsch Neckarsteinach Viernheim Zwingenberg	Abtsteinach Biblis Birkenau Einhausen Fürth Gorxheimertal Grasellenbach Groß-Rohrheim Lautertal Mörlenbach Rimbach Wald-Michelbach

Bergstraße (district) Media

• 

  View from Schriesheim, Germany over the "Bergstrasse" north. In the foreground the village of Leutershausen. In the background the Melibokus mountain

Other websites

• Official website (German)