Bautzen District

Bautzen District ('Landkreis Bautzen', 'Wokrjes Budyšin') is a district in the state of Saxony in Germany. Its largest towns are Bautzen, Bischofswerda, Kamenz, Hoyerswerda and Radeberg. It is the biggest district in Saxony in area, and is a member of the Neisse Euroregion.

It is bordered to the south by the Czech Republic. Clockwise, it also borders the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, the district-free city of Dresden, the district of Meißen, the state of Brandenburg, and Görlitz district

History
Historically most of the Upper Lusatia belonged to Bohemia. After the end of the Thirty Years' War it became a part of Saxony. Only the small town of Schirgiswalde remained Bohemian until 1809.

The district was established in 1994 by merging the former districts of Bautzen and Bischofswerda. The district of Kamenz and the district-free city of Hoyerswerda were merged into the district in August 2008.

Geography
The district of Bautzen is part of the region of Upper Lusatia (Oberlausitz). The south of the district is occupied by the Lusatian Mountains, and the countryside slopes away to the north.

The Spree river enters the district from the southeast and runs through Schirgiswalde and Bautzen before leaving to the north. North of Bautzen, the river is dammed by a reservoir (Talsperre Bautzen, 5.5 km²).

At its widest, the district is 65km east-west, and 63km north-south.