Meissen (district) covered by the "Amtshauptmannschaften" Meissen, Dresden and Großenhain. In 1939, these were renamed "Landkreise" (districts). In the administrative reform of 1952, several municipalities were transferred to the districts of Freiberg and Döbeln. In 1990, the old district borders were restored, and in 1996 parts of the district Dresden-Land were added. In August 2008 the district of Riesa-Großenhain was added to the district to give it its current size. The main river of the district is the Elbe, which also flows through the city of Meissen. Meissen (district) Meissen () is a district ("Kreis") in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.
Meissen based on extensive local deposits of china clay (kaolin) and potter's clay (potter's earth). Meissen porcelain was the first high-quality porcelain to be produced outside of the Orient. The first European porcelain was manufactured in Meissen in 1710, when by decree of King Augustus II the Strong the Royal-Polish and Electoral-Saxon Porcelain Factory ("Königlich-Polnische und Kurfürstlich-Sächsische Porzellan-Manufaktur") was opened in the Albrechtsburg. In 1861, it was moved to the "Triebisch" river valley of Meissen, where the porcelain factory can still be found today. Along with porcelain, other ceramics are also manufactured. The Albrechtsburg, the former residence of the House of