Ostholstein

Ostholstein ("Eastern Holstein") is a Kreis (district) in the eastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Area 1391 km², population 203,400 (2001). The district's capital is Eutin.

The district was established in 1970 by merging the former districts of Eutin and Oldenburg. It consists of the Wagrien peninsula and the island of Fehmarn, the eastern part of the region called "Holsteinische Schweiz" (Holsatian Switzerland) and the northern suburbs of Lübeck.

Holsatian Switzerland is an area full of lakes and woody hills, which is shared with the adjoining district of Plön. The Bungsberg, though only 168 m in height, is the highest elevation in Schleswig-Holstein. The island of Fehmarn is the third largest island of Germany. Since 1963 it is connected to the mainland by a suspension bridge.

Towns in Ostholstein: Eutin, Oldenburg, Neustadt, Heiligenhafen, Bad Schwartau, Burg auf Fehmarn.