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Gifhorn (district)
Encyclopedia
Geography
The district is located at the border of Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-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...
and extends from the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath
Lüneburg Heath
The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...
(Lüneburger Heide) in the north to the suburbs of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg in the south. The 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...
River enters the district in the southeast, runs through the town of Gifhorn
Gifhorn
Gifhorn is a town and capital of the district Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the industrial and commercially important cities nearby, Brunswick and Wolfsburg...
, is joined by the Ise
Ise (river)
The Ise is a roughly 50 km long, almost natural river in East Lower Saxony, Germany, which crosses the district of Gifhorn from north to south and discharges into the Aller at Gifhorn itself.- Course :...
and Oker
Oker
The Oker is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction.- Course :...
river and leaves the district in the west. Also in the district, at Edesbüttel, the Elbe-Seitenkanal
Elbe-Seitenkanal
The Elbe Lateral Canal, or the Elbe-Seitenkanal in German, is a long canal in Lower Saxony, Germany. It runs from the Elbe near Lauenburg/Elbe to the Mittelland Canal near Gifhorn. It forms an important transport connection between southern and northern Germany, and it provides a bypass of a...
diverge from the Mittellandkanal.
It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the district of Helmstedt
Helmstedt (district)
Helmstedt is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Wolfenbüttel, the City of Braunschweig, the District of Gifhorn, the City of Wolfsburg and the State of Saxony-Anhalt .-Geography:The district is bounded by the Elm in the west and the Lappwald in the east...
, the cities of 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...
and Braunschweig, the districts of Peine
Peine (district)
Peine is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hildesheim, Hanover and Gifhorn, and the cities of Brunswick and Salzgitter.-History:...
, Hanover
Hanover (district)
Hanover Region is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Heidekreis, Celle, Gifhorn, Peine, Hildesheim, Hamelin-Pyrmont, Schaumburg and Nienburg....
, Celle
Celle (district)
Celle is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Uelzen, Gifhorn, Hanover and Heidekreis.- Geography :...
and 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...
, and by the state of 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...
(districts of Altmarkkreis 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 :...
and Börde
Börde
Börde, a district in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, is arguably best known as the area of the former repository for radioactive waste Morsleben. The disposal of waste into the facility ended in 1998.- History :...
).
The deepest point of the administrative district Gifhorn lies at the 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...
near Müden (46 m above sea level). The highest point lies in the north of the district near Sprakensehl
Sprakensehl
Sprakensehl is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
(124 m above sea level).
History
The district was established in 1885 by the PrussiaPrussia
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...
n government. In 1932, the former district of Isenhagen became the northern part of the Gifhorn district. The city of Wolfsburg originally was a part of the district, but became a district-free city in 1951. In 1974 the district again lost parts of its territory, when the city of Fallersleben was incorporated into Wolfsburg.
Coat of arms
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The lion as well as the hearts are heraldic symbols 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... - Gifhorn was a part of the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany... for many centuries and, briefly the Duchy of Gifhorn Duchy of Gifhorn The Duchy of Gifhorn with its residence at Gifhorn Castle was founded in 1539 and lasted only 10 years until the death of its ruler, Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1549... . The horn symbolises the syllable "horn" in the word Gifhorn. |
Towns and municipalities
Communities
- GifhornGifhornGifhorn is a town and capital of the district Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the industrial and commercially important cities nearby, Brunswick and Wolfsburg...
, Town, autonomous community (42.658) - SassenburgSassenburgSassenburg is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 7 km northeast of Gifhorn, and 15 km northwest of Wolfsburg. The seat of the municipality is in the village Westerbeck....
(10.946) [Seat: Westerbeck - WittingenWittingenWittingen is a town in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 30 km northeast of Gifhorn, and 30 km southeast of Uelzen.- Division of the town :Wittingen consists of 27 districts:- Demographic data :...
, Town (12.268)
Samtgemeinden with their local communities
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Area without community (uninhabited)
- Giebel (10,36 km²)