It is situated on the upper course of the river
Main, about southeast of
Coburg, and northeast of
Bamberg. The hilly landscape is called
Gottesgarten am Obermain ("God's garden on the upper Main"), referring to the
Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and
Banz Abbey. The Maintal (valley of the Main) goes from East to West. The most important cities of the district are
Burgkunstadt,
Bad Staffelstein and the district city of Lichtenfels. The
Rodach river, a tributary of the Main, runs through the area and reaches its greatest width in the northern part between
Hochstadt am Main and Lichtenfels. The district of Lichtenfels lies in the western part of the government region (
Regierungsbezirk) of
Oberfranken (Upper Franconia). It is surrounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of
Coburg,
Kronach,
Kulmbach,
Bayreuth and
Bamberg. The southern bank of the Main stretches up to the mountain range of the
Franconian Jura (
Fränkische Alb) beneath the
Staffelberg close to
Bad Staffelstein. The northern bank of the Main stretches up to the Itz-Baunach Highlands.
Administrative division The town is divided into several districts:
Buch am Forst, Degendorf, Eichig, Gnellenroth, Hammer, Isling, Klosterlangheim, Kösten, Köttel, Krappenroth, Lahm, Mistelfeld, Mönchkröttendorf, Oberlangheim, Oberwallenstadt, Reundorf, Roth, Rothmannsthal, Schney, Schönsreuth, Seehof, Seubelsdorf, Stetten, Stöcken, Tiefenroth, Trieb, Unterwallenstadt und Weingarten. ==History==