The district was established in 1969 by merging the former districts of Bernkastel and Wittlich.
Geography
The district is situated on both banks of the Moselle, which crosses the territory from southwest to northeast. The country rises to the Eifel in the north and the Hunsrück in the south. A great number of tributaries rise in the Eifel and flow into the Moselle. In the very south of the district is the Erbeskopf (818 m), the highest peak in the Hunsrück and Rhineland-Palatinate.