The city of Altenburg and the surrounding land were the tiny duchy of Saxe-Altenburg from 1826 to 1918; afterwards it was a state within the Weimar Republic for a short time, before it was dissolved in 1922 in order to join the state of Thuringia.
The district in its present borders was started in 1922 as "Altenburg". In 1952 districts was split in two, called Altenburg and Schmölln. They were joined up again in 1994, but called "Altenburger Land".
Altenburger Land is the easternmost district of Thuringia. It is a mainly agricultural region.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
The red rose from the arms of the city of Altenburg
The lion, which was the symbol of the reeves of Plauen; they had great power in the region during the 14th and 15th centuries
The black and gold stripes with the green ring was the coat of arms of the Saxon Wettin kings
The red acorn symbolises the skat game, which was invented in Altenburg
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