Odenwaldkreis

Odenwaldkreis
Odenwaldkreis
District
	Flag Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Adm. region	Darmstadt
Capital	Erbach
Government
• District admin.	Frank Matiaske (SPD)
Area
• Total	623.96 km2 (240.91 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2022)
• Total	97,577
• Density	160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	ERB
Website	www.odenwaldkreis.de

The Odenwaldkreis is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Darmstadt-Dieburg, Miltenberg, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and Kreis Bergstraße. Odenwaldkreis belongs to the Rhine Neckar Area.

History

In 1822 the district was created under the name Erbach, subdivided into two Bezirke Breuberg and Erbach. The last of several modifications of the district was in 1972, when some municipalities from the Dieburg and Bergstraße district were added to the district. In 1972 the district also changed its name.

Dietrich Kühler, in March 2015 Frank Matiaske (SPD) was voted as the successor of Dietrich Kühler and would be the chief from August 2015.

Geography

As the name of the district already suggests it is located in the Odenwald mountains.

Coat of arms

The oak tree of the coat of arms symbolize the forests of the district, which also gave the district its name (Wald = forest). The three stars were taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Erbach, who once ruled the area.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Bad König Breuberg Erbach Michelstadt Oberzent	Brensbach Brombachtal Fränkisch-Crumbach Höchst im Odenwald Lützelbach Mossautal Reichelsheim