Editing Osterode (district)

{{Infobox District DE
| name=Osterode
| state=Lower Saxony
| capital=[[Osterode am Harz|Osterode]]
| area=636
| Kreisschlüssel    = 03156
| population=73,793
| population_as_of=2014
| carsign=OHA 
| founded = 1885
| dissolved = 2016
| map=Lower Saxony OHA.svg
| image_coa=Wappen Landkreis Osterode am Harz.png
}}
'''Osterode''' ({{IPA|de|ˌɔstəˈʁoːdə|lang|De-Osterode.ogg}}) was a district in [[Lower Saxony]], [[Germany]]. It was bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of [[Göttingen (district)|Göttingen]], [[Northeim (district)|Northeim]] and [[Goslar (district)|Goslar]], and by the state of [[Thuringia]] (districts of [[Nordhausen (district)|Nordhausen]] and [[Eichsfeld (district)|Eichsfeld]]).

==History==

This part of the [[Harz]] mountains was ruled by the [[Welfen]] dynasty from the 12th century on. Osterode was the centre of the Principality of [[Brunswick-Grubenhagen]], one of many small states within [[Brunswick-Lüneburg]]. Later this principality became part of [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]], which in turn fell to the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in 1866. In 1885 the Prussian administration established districts, among them Osterode.

On 1 November 2016, Osterode ceased to become a separate district and was merged with an enlarged [[Göttingen (district)|Göttingen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://landkreis-osterode.de/media/costum/103_17774_1.PDF|title=Gebietsänderungsvertrag zwischen den Landkreisen Göttingen und Osterode am Harz|trans-title=Treaty between the districts of Göttingen and Osterode am Harz|date=1 February 2014|publisher=District of Osterode|language=German}}</ref>

==Geography==

More than two thirds of the district's area were occupied by the southwestern part of the [[Harz]] mountains, including the southern portion of the [[Harz National Park]].

==Coat of arms==
<!--{|
|- valign=top
||[[image:osterode_district_coa.jpg|Coat of arms]]
||-->
The coat of arms displayed two heraldic lions. The lion in the upper part was from the arms of Hanover, the lower lion represented the [[Welfen]] dynasty.
<!--|}-->

==Towns and municipalities==

'''Towns''':
#[[Bad Lauterberg]]
#[[Bad Sachsa]]
#[[Herzberg am Harz]]
#[[Osterode am Harz]]

'''Municipalities''':
# [[Bad Grund]]

'''[[Unincorporated area]]'''
* [[Harz (Landkreis Osterode am Harz)]] (267.37&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, uninhabited)

{|
! colspan=2 align=center width=67%|[[Amt (political division)|Samtgemeinden]]
|- valign=top
||
*'''1. [[Hattorf am Harz (Samtgemeinde)|Hattorf am Harz]]'''
# [[Elbingerode, Lower Saxony|Elbingerode]]
# [[Hattorf am Harz]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Hörden am Harz]]
# [[Wulften am Harz]]
||
*'''2. [[Walkenried (Samtgemeinde)|Walkenried]]'''
# [[Walkenried]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Wieda]]
# [[Zorge, Walkenried|Zorge]]
|-
|colspan=2 align=center|<sup>1</sup>seat of the Samtgemeinde
|}

==See also==
*[[Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Landkreis Osterode am Harz}}
* [http://www.archiv-vegelahn.de/ortsgeschichte_heimat-Osterode.html Local history] (German)

{{Coord|51.67|10.33|display=title|format=dms}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterode (District)}}
[[Category:Osterode (district)| ]]
[[Category:Former districts of Lower Saxony]]