'Aurich' is a
district (''Landkreis'') in
Lower Saxony,
Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the
North Sea, the districts of
Wittmund and
Leer, and the city of
Emden.
History
The history of the district is linked with the history of the region of
East Frisia.
The district was established in
1977 by merging the former districts of Aurich and Norden.
Geography
The district is located in the westernmost part of
East Frisia (''Ostfriesland''). In the west there is the mouth of the river
Ems and the
Krummhörn peninsula protruding into the estuary.
The district includes the three populated islands of
Juist,
Norderney and
Baltrum, which belong to the
East Frisian Islands. The small island of
Memmert south of Juist is a nature reserve housing rare birds. Part of the district belongs to the
Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.
Islands: Norderney 26 km², pop. 6100; Juist 16 km², pop. 1800; Baltrum 6.5 km², pop. 500; Memmert 5.2 km², pop. 0.
Coats-of-arms
The current coat of arms
The coat-of-arms, granted in
1978, displays the so called
virgin eagle (or
harpy), which was the
heraldic animal of the
Cirksena family, a local
clan providing East Frisian chieftains during the
Middle Ages. The
acorns in the arms are symbols of the city of Aurich and the six-pointed
spurs are symbols of
Norden. The
blazon is: "party per pale Azure and Gules, a harpy gardant Argent, above shoulders two six-pointed mullets Argent, below wings two acorns inverted Argent".
The former coat-of-arms, granted in
1950, shows a
golden
oak tree, representing the
Upstalsboom, a tree outside the city of Aurich under which free Frisians gathered for their yearly council meetings. Its blazon is: "Gules, an oak tree Or, on a hill Or at base".
Cities and municipalities
External links
★
Official website
★
Island of Norderney
★
Island of Juist
★
Island of Baltrum
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