Elbe-Elster is a Kreis (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Teltow-Fläming, Dahme-Spreewald, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Meißen,
Nordsachsen and Wittenberg. The district has a partnership with the Märkischer Kreis.
History
The district was established in 1993 by merging the former districts (Kreise) of Finsterwalde, Bad Liebenwerda and Herzberg.
Geography
The district is named after two rivers - the
Elbe river forms the western border with
Saxony, the
Black Elster (
Schwarze 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 common kingfishers,
European Beaver and
.
Demography
File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Landkreis Elbe-Elster.pdf|Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state)
File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Landkreis Elbe-Elster.pdf|Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted in 1995. The lion in the bottom left derives from the county of Meissen (see
Saxony), to which the southern area of the district belonged historically. The black bars derive from the Saxony-Wittenberg county as the area around
Bad Liebenwerda belonged there in the past. The red bars derive from the oldest coat of arms of
Brandenburg, and the bull is the symbol for the
Lusatia area were the district is located.
Towns and municipalities
External links
