The land descends from the more than 800m tall hills (the highest elevation is the 869m high Großer Farmdenkopf) down to the lower plains Sonneberger Unterland and Schalkauer Platte.

The Dreistromstein near Siegmundsburg near Neuhaus am Rennweg marks the intersection of three watersheds that drain into the rivers Rhine, Weser, and Elbe.

Jürgen Köpper of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has served as interim district administrator since Hans-Peter Schmitz resigned in March 2023, citing health concerns.

In the runoff, Jürgen Köpper was defeated by Robert Sesselmann of the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

This marked the first time any AfD candidate had been elected district administrator, and the first executive position to be held by the party.