List of administrative districts and cities in Hessen

Counties and independent cities in Hesse

The state of Hesse is subdivided into a total of 21 districts and five independent cities . This list of administrative districts and independent cities in Hesse gives a general overview of these including their most important data. The current administrative structure of the country came about through the district reform from 1972 to 1979 , in which the previous 39 districts and nine independent cities were restructured. The town of Lahn, formed in 1977, had no existence, consisting of the towns of Gießen and Wetzlar 15 km away and 21 other districts, some of which were very village-like. After fierce resistance, the city of Lahn was dissolved after only 31 months.

With an area of 21,114.9 square kilometers, the state of Hesse is the seventh largest state in the Federal Republic of Germany . In terms of population, it ranks fifth with 6,288,080 people. The average population density is 298 inhabitants per square kilometer, although this can vary greatly within the individual districts. The population density in the independent city of Frankfurt am Main is 3074 inhabitants per square kilometer, in the Main-Taunus district 1073 inhabitants per square kilometer and in the Vogelsberg district only 72 inhabitants per square kilometer. The most populous district is the Main-Kinzig district with 420,552 inhabitants, the poorest in the Odenwald district with 96,703 inhabitants. The largest independent city is Frankfurt am Main with 763,380 inhabitants. The largest district in terms of area is the Waldeck-Frankenberg district , which, with 1,848.44 square kilometers, ranks 38th in terms of the size of the districts in Germany. The smallest district is the Main-Taunus-Kreis with 222.39 square kilometers.

The urban and rural districts have been assigned to three, previously two administrative districts since 1981 :

Administrative district	Administrative headquarters	Counties	independent cities
Darmstadt administrative district	Darmstadt	10	4th
Giessen administrative district	to water	5	0
Kassel administrative district	kassel	6th	1
State of Hesse	Wiesbaden	21st	5

construction

The following list is structured as follows:

District, independent city: Name of the district or the independent city
District town: Name of the district town: The cell is empty for urban districts.
Coat of arms: the official coat of arms of the district or the independent city
Reg.-Bez., Location: administrative district and location map of the districts or cities within the state of Hesse
Motor vehicle: vehicle registration number of the respective regional authority
Ew: Population of the respective regional authority as of December 31, 2019
Area: Area of the respective regional authority in square kilometers (km²)
Ew / km²: population density in inhabitants per square kilometer
Comments: further information on the geographical features of the respective cities and districts, including mountains, rivers and larger lakes
Image: a typical image from the region with which the respective regional authority is identified

Overview

District, independent city	County seat	Reg.-Bez. location	Vehicle	Ew	Area (in km²)	Ew./km²	Remarks
Mountain road	Heppenheim (Bergstrasse)	Darmstadt	HP	270,340	719.52	376	borders on Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg , the Rhine is the western border, the southernmost communities are on the Neckar ; Parts of the Odenwald and the Hessian Ried in the district area; consists of two spatially separated parts; was created in 1938 from the Bensheim and Heppenheim districts
Darmstadt-Dieburg	Darmstadt	Darmstadt	DA, TU	297,844	658.65	452	borders on Bavaria ; Parts of the Odenwald in the district area; was created in 1977 from the districts of Darmstadt and Dieburg
Darmstadt (independent city)		Darmstadt	THERE	159,878	122.09	1310	is nicknamed Science City; Hessian state capital until 1945 ; since 1938 independent city
Frankfurt am Main (independent city)		Darmstadt	F.	763.380	248.31	3074	most populous administrative unit in Hesse; Rivers: Main and Nidda ; Seat of the European Central Bank
Fulda	Fulda	kassel	FD	223.145	1,380.4	162	Hesse's highest mountain, the Wasserkuppe in the Rhön , river: Fulda ; borders on Bavaria and Thuringia ; Established in 1972 from the districts of Fulda and Hünfeld , enlarged in 1974 to include the city of Fulda
to water	to water	to water	GI	270,688	854.67	317	River: Lahn ; Landscapes: Wetterau and Vogelsberg ; founded in 1821; 1977–1979 was part of what was then the Lahn-Dill district , the city of Gießen was independent from 1939–1979
Gross-Gerau	Gross-Gerau	Darmstadt	GG	275,726	453.04	609	Mouth of the Main into the Rhine ; Part of the Hessian Ried in the district area; borders on Rhineland-Palatinate ; founded in 1821
Hersfeld-Rotenburg	Bad Hersfeld	kassel	HEF, ROF	120,719	1,097.12	110	also known as Waldhessen; Rivers: Fulda and Werra ; Knüllgebirge ; borders on Thuringia ; was created in 1972 from the districts of Hersfeld and Rotenburg (Fulda)
Hochtaunuskreis	Bad Homburg vor der Höhe	Darmstadt	HG, USI	236.914	482.02	492	lies almost entirely in the Taunus ; the highest point is the Great Feldberg ; was created in 1972 from the Obertaunus district and the district of Usingen
kassel	kassel	kassel	KS, HOG, WOH	236.764	1,292.92	183	borders on Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia ; Rivers: Fulda , Werra and Weser ; originated in 1972 from the districts of Hofgeismar , Kassel and Wolfhagen
Kassel (independent city)		kassel	KS	202.137	106.78	1893	is nicknamed the documenta city; River: Fulda
Lahn-Dill district	Wetzlar	to water	LDK, DIL, (WZ)	253,319	1,066.52	238	borders on Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia ; Rivers: Lahn and Dill ; was created in 1977 from the district of Gießen to the district of Wetzlar and the Dill district , the capital was the independent city of Lahn , in 1979 Gießen was separated again.
Limburg-Weilburg	Limburg on the Lahn	to water	LM, WEL	171,912	738.48	233	borders on Rhineland-Palatinate ; River: Lahn ; was created in 1974 from the district of Limburg and the Oberlahnkreis
Main-Kinzig district	Gelnhausen	Darmstadt	MKK, HU , GN, SLÜ	420,552	1,397.55	301	most populous area; Hanau was the district town until 2005 ; Main and Kinzig rivers , borders Bavaria ; was created in 1974 from the districts of Gelnhausen , Hanau , Schlüchtern and the city of Hanau; for the city of Hanau only license plate HU
Main-Taunus-Kreis	Hofheim am Taunus	Darmstadt	MTK	238,558	222.39	1073	smallest area in Germany; District with the greatest population density in Hesse; River: Main ; Mountains: Taunus ; was created in 1928 from parts of the Höchst , Königstein and Wiesbaden districts . The district seat until 1987 was Frankfurt-Höchst .
Marburg-Biedenkopf	Marburg	to water	MR, BID	247.084	1,262.55	196	borders on North Rhine-Westphalia ; River: Lahn ; was created in 1974 from the districts of Biedenkopf and Marburg and the independent city of Marburg an der Lahn
Odenwaldkreis	Erbach	Darmstadt	ERB	96,703	623.98	155	most populous district of Hesse; lies in the middle part of the Odenwald ; borders on Bavaria ; originated in 1872 from the districts of Erbach and Neustadt , name until 1972: district of Erbach
Offenbach	Dietzenbach	Darmstadt	OF	355.813	356.3	999	borders on Bavaria ; River: Main , founded in 1832, Dietzenbach has been a district town since 2002, previously Offenbach
Offenbach am Main (independent city)		Darmstadt	OF	130.280	44.89	2902	smallest independent city in Hesse; River: Main ; independent since 1938
Rheingau-Taunus district	Bad Schwalbach	Darmstadt	RÜD, SWA	187.160	811.48	231	borders on Rhineland-Palatinate , river: Rhine ; Mountains: Taunus ; was created in 1977 from the Rheingau district and the Untertaunus district
Schwalm-Eder district	Homberg (Efze)	kassel	HR, FZ, MEG, ZIG	179,673	1,538.51	117	Borkener lignite area from which the Borkener Seenland arises; Rivers: Eder and Schwalm ; was created in 1974 from the districts of Fritzlar-Homberg , Melsungen and Ziegenhain
Vogelsbergkreis	Lauterbach (Hesse)	to water	VB	105,643	1,458.99	72	the most sparsely populated district of Hesse; named after an extinct volcano Vogelsberg ; was created in 1972 from the districts of Alsfeld and Lauterbach
Waldeck-Frankenberg	Korbach	kassel	KB, FKB, WA	156.406	1,848.44	85	Largest district in Hesse in terms of area; borders on North Rhine-Westphalia ; Kellerwald-Edersee National Park with Edersee (second largest reservoir in Germany); River: Eder ; was created in 1974 from the districts of Frankenberg and Waldeck
Werra-Meißner district	Eschwege	kassel	ESW, WIZ	100,629	1,024.7	98	borders on Thuringia and Lower Saxony ; River Werra ; Berg: Hoher Meißner ; was created in 1974 from the districts of Eschwege and Witzenhausen
Wetteraukreis	Friedberg (Hesse)	Darmstadt	FB, BÜD	308,339	1,100.69	280	Wetterau with river Nidda ; was created in 1972 from the districts of Büdingen and Friedberg in Hesse
Wiesbaden (state capital)		Darmstadt	WI	278.474	203.93	1366	State capital; Rivers: Rhine and Main , the second largest city in Hesse; On the opposite bank of the Rhine lies the Rhineland-Palatinate capital Mainz ; Thermal and spa town
State of Hesse				6,288,080	21,114.9	298