Offenbach is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Main-Kinzig, Aschaffenburg, Darmstadt-Dieburg, district free Darmstadt, Groß-Gerau, district-free Frankfurt and Offenbach.

History

The district Offenbach was first formed in 1832 when the previous Landratsbezirke Langen (partially), Seligenstadt and Offenbach were merged. In 1852 the district area was enlarged in westerly direction, while some of the southern part was moved into the district Dieburg. 1938 the area of the Frankfurt airport was added to the district, and the city Offenbach left the district to become a district-free city. However the seat of administration stayed in Offenbach.

After two minor changes in 1942 and 1974, 1977 gave the district its current borders, and also the municipalities in the district were merged to 10 cities and 3 municipalities. In 2002 the capital of the district was moved from Offenbach to Dietzenbach .

Geography

The district contains the big area of the Frankfurt International Airport, south of Frankfurt. A lot of the district is covered with forests. The river Main marks some of the northern border of the district.

Coat of arms

The oak tree in the coat of arms symbolize the formerly big oak forests of Dreieich (three oaks). The escutcheon in the middle shows a combination of the coat of arms of the Counts of Isenburg in the left and the wheel of Mainz in the right, as the districts area belonged to these two counties in the past.

Towns and municipalities

External links

• Official website (German)