Saale-Orla-Kreis

Infobox German district noregbez
name=Saale-Orla
state=Thuringia
capital=Schleiz
area=1,148
population=96,607
population_as_of=2002
density=84
carsign=SOK
url=http://www.saale-orla-kreis.de

Saale-Orla is a "Kreis" (district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Saale-Holzland, Greiz, the Vogtlandkreis in Saxony, the Bavarian districts Hof and Kronach, and the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt.

History

The district was created in 1994 by merging the previous districts Lobenstein, Pößneck and Schleiz.

Geography

The main rivers in the district are the Saale and the Orla, which also contributed to the name of the district. The highest elevation with 732.9 m above sea level is the Sieglitzberg (near Lobenstein), the lowest with 180 m is near Schimmersburg Langenorla. The district is mountainous, covering the "Thüringer Schiefergebirge". The dams of the Saale create the biggest system of artificial lakes in Germany.

Coat of arms

External links

* [http://www.saale-orla-kreis.de Official website] (German)
* [http://www.thueringer-schiefergebirge-obere-saale.de Touristic website] (German, English)