Sonneberg (district)

Sonneberg is a Kreis (district) in the south of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise) the districts Hildburghausen, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, and the Bavarian districts Kronach and Coburg.

History
The district was created in 1868 when districts were introduced in Saxe-Meiningen. In 1952, parts of the district were split off into a newly created district Neuhaus am Rennweg. In 1994, Neuhaus am Rennweg was dissolved and the district Sonneberg regained its original size. In 2019 the municipalities Lichte and Piesau from the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt came as villages into the town Neuhaus am Rennweg in the district Sonneberg.

Geography
The district is located on the southern slopes of the mountains of the Thuringian Forest. The land descends from the more than 800m tall hills (the highest elevation is the 869m high Großer Farmdenkopf) down to the lower plains Sonneberger Unterland and Schalkauer Platte. The Dreistromstein near Siegmundsburg near Neuhaus am Rennweg marks the intersection of three watersheds that drain into the rivers Rhine, Weser, and Elbe.

Politics
Jürgen Köpper of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has served as interim district administrator since Hans-Peter Schmitz resigned in March 2023, citing health concerns. An early election to replace him took place on 11 June 2023, with a runoff held on 25 June. In the runoff, Jürgen Köpper was defeated by Robert Sesselmann of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). This marked the first time any AfD candidate had been elected district administrator, and the first executive position to be held by the party.

! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 23,442 ! 98.9 ! 28,411 ! 98.7 ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 263 ! 1.1 ! 367 ! 1.3 ! colspan=3| Total ! 23,705 ! 100.0 ! 28,778 ! 100.0 ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 48,299 ! 49.1 ! 48,261 ! 59.6
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Robert Sesselmann
 * align=left| Alternative for Germany
 * 10,941
 * 46.7
 * 14,992
 * 52.8
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Jürgen Köpper
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union
 * 8,371
 * 35.7
 * 13,419
 * 47.2
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Anja Schönheit
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party
 * 3,107
 * 13.3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Nancy Schwalbach
 * align=left| The Left/The Greens
 * 1,023
 * 4.4
 * align=left| Nancy Schwalbach
 * align=left| The Left/The Greens
 * 1,023
 * 4.4
 * colspan=7| Source: Wahlen Thüringen
 * }
 * }

Coat of arms
Until 1952, a coat of arms introduced in the 1920s was used, which shows the coat of arms of the House of Henneberg instead of the Lords of Sonneberg in the top right field as another important part of Sonneberg's history.