Darmstadt-Dieburg

Darmstadt-Dieburg
—  District  —
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Adm. region	Darmstadt
Capital	Darmstadt
Area
- Total	658.51 km2 (254.3 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
- Total	289,199
- Density	439.2/km2 (1,137.4/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration	DA
Website	http://www.ladadi.de

Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds.

History

The district was created in 1975 by merging the previous districts of Darmstadt and Dieburg. In 1964 the district was twinned with the district of North East Derbyshire, England, in 1990 with the district Zwickauer Land in Saxony, Germany, and in 1995 with the Mladá Boleslav region in the Czech Republic.

Geography

The district is located in the Odenwald mountains. Most famous in the district is the Messel Pit, where many fossils in the oil shale of a Tertiary lake were found. The site is listed in the UNESCO world heritage list since 1995.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms show a lion in the top part, taken from the coat of arms of the counts of Katzenelnbogen. The lion holds a wheel, the symbol of state of Mainz. Both owned big parts of the districts area in the past. The 23 stars in the bottom represent the municipalities of the county.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Babenhausen Dieburg Griesheim Groß-Bieberau Groß-Umstadt Ober-Ramstadt Pfungstadt Reinheim Weiterstadt	Alsbach-Hähnlein Bickenbach Eppertshausen Erzhausen Fischbachtal Groß-Zimmern Messel	Modautal Mühltal Münster Otzberg Roßdorf Schaafheim Seeheim-Jugenheim

References

1. ^ "Die Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden" (in German). Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 31 December 2010. http://www.statistik-hessen.de/static/publikationen/A/AI2_AII_AIII_AV_10-1hj_pdf.zip. 

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 49°53′55″N 8°40′32″E / 49.898498°N 8.675487°E / 49.898498; 8.675487