Its administrative centre was Temesvár (Romanian: Timișoara, German: Temeswar or Temeschwar), which was also the capital of the crown land.

Following the 1854 reform Temesvár itself was directly subject to the crown land, and so separate from the district, while still acting as its capital.

In 1851 they were divided into subdivisions called (politische) Bezirke,[1] usually translated as '(political) districts'.

In Bach's reforms from 1853[4] (formally applied to the crown land in 1854[2]) the Districte became Kreise, a form of administrative division already in use across much of the non-Hungarian part of the Empire since the 18th century.

The change of name was not superficial – different political, administrative and judicial structures were used in each subdivision type.