The Drömling is a sparsely populated depression on the border of 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 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...

 in Germany with an area of about 340 square kilometres (131.3 sq mi). The larger part belonging to Saxony-Anhalt in the east has been a nature park

Nature park

A nature park is a landscape protected by means of long-term planning, use and agriculture. These valuable landscapes are preserved in their present state and promoted for touristic purposes....

 since 1990. The former swampland

Swampland

In physics, the term swampland is used in contrast to the term "landscape," to indicate physical theories or aspects of such theories which could be true if gravity wasn't an issue, but which are not compatible with string theory...

 was transformed by drainaged from a natural into a cultural landscape in the 18th century under the direction of Frederick the Great of Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 . Today the depression, with its waterways, the Mittelland Canal and the rivers Aller

Aller

The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...

 and Ohre

Ohre

The Ohře is a 316 km long river in Germany and the Czech Republic , left tributary of the Elbe. The basin area of the river has a size of 6,255 km², of which 5,614 km² are in the Czech Republic and 641 km² in Germany...

 is a refuge for rare or endangered species of animal and plant. Most of the area is now made up of nature reserves  and protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

s. Nearby towns include Oebisfelde

Oebisfelde

Oebisfelde is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen. It is accessed by Bundesstraße 188.- Geography :...

 and Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...

.

Location

The Drömling lies in a flat hollow measuring about 15 to 20 kilometres across and surrounding by a 60 metre contour

Contour

Contour may refer to:* an outline or silhouette* a contour line on a contour map, or the corresponding line on the ground or sea bed* Contour , a phonetic sound* Pitch contour , a melody shape...

. It is a wider section of the Breslau-Magdeburg-Bremen glacial valley. In broad terms it stretches from Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde in the west to Calvörde

Calvörde

Calvörde is a municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km northwest from Haldensleben between the Ohre river and the Midland Canal...

 in the east and from 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....

 in the north to Oebisfelde in the south. To the west the geest

Geest (topography)

Geest is a type of slightly raised landscape that occurs in the plains of in Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils, usually mantled by a heathland vegetation, comprising glacial deposits left behind after the last ice age during the...

 ridges of the Vorsfelder Werder border on the Drömling.

The Drömling extends over the following districts: Salzwedel

Altmarkkreis Salzwedel

Altmarkkreis Salzwedel is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Gifhorn, Uelzen, Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony, and the districts of Stendal and Ohrekreis.- History :...

, Börde, Gifhorn, Wolfsburg and Helmstedt.

Sources

• Heinz Frenkler: Der Drömling in Naturschutzgebiete im Raum Gifhorn-Wolfsburg, Großkopf-Verlag, Wolfsburg 1986, ISBN 3-929464-00-4
• Helmut Maigatter: Land der tausend Gräben – Aus der Geschichte des Drömlings. 2. Auflage 1997, gedruckt in Helmstedt, ohne ISBN
• Naturschutz im Land Sachsen-Anhalt, Sonderheft: Der Naturpark Drömling. Landesamt für Umweltschutz Sachsen-Anhalt, Abteilung Naturschutz, Halle 1993, ISSN 0940-6638
• Ernst Andreas Friedrich: Naturdenkmale Niedersachsens. Hanover 1980. ISBN 3-7842-0227-6

External links

• Landscape fact file with may by the Bundesamt für Naturschutz
• Drömling Nature Park
• Aktion Drömling Schutz
• Photos of the Inner German Border in the Drömling
• Description of the nature reserve of Wendschotter and Vorsfelder Drömling at the NLWKN