Elbe-Elster

Elbe-Elster
Elbe-Elster
	District
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
Capital	Herzberg
Area
• Total	1,889.4 km2 (729.5 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	131,161
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	EE
Website	landkreis-elbe-elster.de

Elbe-Elster is a Kreis (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany.

HistoryEdit

The district was established in 1993 by merging the former districts (Kreise) of Finsterwalde, Bad Liebenwerda and Herzberg.

GeographyEdit

The district is named after two rivers: The Elbe river forms the western border with Saxony. The Schwarze Elster ("Black Elster") is a tributary of the Elbe and runs through the district. The district is part of the Lusatia region. The fens along the Black Elster are a habitat of several rare animals, like kingfishers, beavers and otters.

Coat of armsEdit

The coat of arms was granted in 1995. The lion in the bottom left is from the county of Meißen which used to control the southern part of the district. The black bars are for Saxony-Wittenberg county as the area around Bad Liebenwerda belonged there in the past. The red bars are from the oldest coat of arms of Brandenburg, and the bull is the symbol for the Lower Lusatia area were the district is located.