Bautzen is a district in Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the Czech Republic and the districts of Sächsische Schweiz[?], Kamenz[?], Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis[?] and Löbau-Zittau[?].
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 belongs to the region of Upper Lusatia (Oberlausitz). The southern border region is occupied by the Lusatian Mountains[?]. 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. Behind Bautzen the river is dammed by a reservoir (Bautzener Stausee, 5.5 km²).
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The district's arms are identical to the arms of the margravate of Upper Lusatia. The coat of arms was established about 1350, when six towns of Upper Lusatia founded a confederacy. This loose alliance became a margravate under the Bohemian crown in 1378.
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