Altmarkkreis Salzwedel
Encyclopedia
Altmarkkreis Salzwedel is a district in Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts Gifhorn
Gifhorn (district)
-Geography:The district is located at the border of Saxony-Anhalt and extends from the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath in the north to the suburbs of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg in the south. The Aller River enters the district in the southeast, runs through the town of Gifhorn, is joined by...

, Uelzen
Uelzen (district)
Uelzen is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Gifhorn, Celle, Heidekreis, Lüneburg and Lüchow-Dannenberg, and by the state of Saxony-Anhalt...

, Lüchow-Dannenberg
Lüchow-Dannenberg
Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany which is usually referred to as Hannoversches Wendland or Wendland. It is bounded by the districts of Uelzen and Lüneburg and the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in...

 in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, and the districts of Stendal
Stendal (district)
Stendal is a district in the north-east of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Neighboring districts are Jerichower Land, Börde, Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, the district Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony, and the districts Prignitz, Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Havelland in Brandenburg.- History :In the...

 and Ohrekreis
Ohrekreis
The Ohrekreis was a district in the north-east of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Neighboring districts are Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, Stendal, Jerichower Land, the district-free city Magdeburg, Bördekreis, and the districts Helmstedt and Gifhorn in Lower Saxony...

.

History

The Altmark
Altmark
The Altmark is a historic region in Germany, comprising the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt. As the initial territory of the Brandenburg margraves, it is sometimes referred to as the "Cradle of Prussia", as by Otto von Bismarck, a native from Schönhausen near Stendal.- Geography :The Altmark is...

is a historical region that covers the territory of this district as well as parts of the neighbouring district of Stendal
Stendal (district)
Stendal is a district in the north-east of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Neighboring districts are Jerichower Land, Börde, Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, the district Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony, and the districts Prignitz, Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Havelland in Brandenburg.- History :In the...

. In the 10th century AD, it was the eastern border province of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

; castles were built here in order to move the borders eastwards. The Altmark was a swampy and heavily contested region for centuries. In the 12th century, many swamps were drained, and the strongholds became small towns. In the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....

, many towns were members of the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...

. Due to the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

 the Altmark was completely devastated in the 17th century. It never regained its importance and remained sparsely populated to date.

The district was established in 1994 by merging the former districts of Gardelegen, Klötze, Salzwedel and (partially) Osterburg.

Geography

The Altmark is a plain countryside, which once was full of fens and ponds. Today it is mainly covered with forests and heaths. It is generally dry, although some swampy regions survived. The largest of those is the Drömling
Drömling
The Drömling is a sparsely populated depression on the border of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany with an area of about . The larger part belonging to Saxony-Anhalt in the east has been a nature park since 1990. The former swampland was transformed by drainaged from a natural into a...

, a large wetland in the southwest, which is a nature park shared with the neighbouring Ohrekreis
Ohrekreis
The Ohrekreis was a district in the north-east of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Neighboring districts are Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, Stendal, Jerichower Land, the district-free city Magdeburg, Bördekreis, and the districts Helmstedt and Gifhorn in Lower Saxony...

.

The largest lake of the district is the Arendsee (5.54 km²); the town of Arendsee
Arendsee
Arendsee is a municipality in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is named after the lake Arendsee, located north of the town.-Geography:...

 is named after this lake.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays:
  • The heraldic eagle of Brandenburg
    Brandenburg
    Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

    , which was also part of the arms of Salzwedel
    Salzwedel
    Salzwedel of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the German Framework Road.-Geography:...

  • The lion of Lüneburg
    Lüneburg
    Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...

    , since the town of Klötze belonged to the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in medieval times
  • The symbol of the Altmark, that was used during the 11th and 12th centuries

Towns and municipalities

The district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel consists of the following subdivisions:
Free townsVerbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...

  1. Arendsee
    Arendsee
    Arendsee is a municipality in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is named after the lake Arendsee, located north of the town.-Geography:...

  2. Gardelegen
    Gardelegen
    Gardelegen is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Milde, 20 m. W. from Stendal, on the main line of railway Berlin-Hanover....

  3. Kalbe
    Kalbe
    Kalbe is a town in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel , in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km north of Gardelegen, on the river Milde. To avoid confusion with Calbe, it is also called Kalbe an der Milde....

  4. Klötze
    Klötze
    Klötze is a town in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel , in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km northwest of Gardelegen, and 35 km northeast of Wolfsburg....

  5. Salzwedel
    Salzwedel
    Salzwedel of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the German Framework Road.-Geography:...


Beetzendorf-Diesdorf
Beetzendorf-Diesdorf
Beetzendorf-Diesdorf is a Verbandsgemeinde in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel , in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 1 January 2010, it was a Verwaltungsgemeinschaft. It is situated southwest of Salzwedel...

  1. Apenburg-Winterfeld
    Apenburg-Winterfeld
    Apenburg-Winterfeld is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was formed by the merger of the previously independent municipalities Apenburg, Winterfeld and Altensalzwedel, on 1 July 2009....

  2. Beetzendorf
    Beetzendorf
    Beetzendorf is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....

    1
  3. Dähre
    Dähre
    Dähre is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A section of the Salzwedel Dumme river flows through it....

  4. Diesdorf
    Diesdorf
    Diesdorf is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....

  5. Jübar
    Jübar
    Jübar is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....

  6. Kuhfelde
    Kuhfelde
    Kuhfelde is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....

  7. Rohrberg
    Rohrberg, Saxony-Anhalt
    Rohrberg is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....

  8. Wallstawe
    Wallstawe
    Wallstawe is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....


External links

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