 The district stretches from the Erzgebirge ("Ore Mountains") on the Czech Republic–Germany border to the plains between Leipzig and Dresden.The district borders (from the west and clockwise) the state Thuringia, the districts of Leipzig, Nordsachsen, Meißen, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, the Czech Republic, Erzgebirgskreis, the urban district Chemnitz, and the district of Zwickau.The geography of the district varies considerably, stretching from the northern part which almost reaches the North German Plain, to the southern part in the mountainous Erzgebirge region.