Magdeburg Börde
Encyclopedia
The Magdeburg Börde
is the central landscape unit of the state of Saxony-Anhalt
and lies to the West and South of the eponymous state capital Magdeburg
. It is noted for its very fertile soils.
. To the northwest it is bordered by the nature park
of the Drömling
near Oebisfelde
. To the north the Börde merges into the Altmark
, being also a part of Saxony-Anhalt. The boundary here is generally reckoned to be coincident with the river Ohre
or the Colbitz-Letzlingen Heath. In any case the Flechtingen Hills
south of the Ohre only partly belong to the Magdeburg Börde. Its eastern boundary is mainly defined by the river Elbe
, but several villages east of Magdeburg also consider themselves as part of the Börde. To the southeast the Börde passes into the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve. Its transition to Mansfeld Land to the southeast is also gradual. To the south lie the Harz Mountains, where an area of the adjacent Harz Foreland is also considered part of the Börde.
The Magdeburg Börde is crossed by the rivers Bode, Aller
and Saale
.
. The area has very fertile soils (partly of black earth
), on which sugar beet
and wheat
are the main crops. In 1934 the soil in the old municipality of Eickendorf (today Bördeland) was given a soil value of 100, which made it the richest soil in Germany, and it was used until the division of Germany in 1945 as a yardstick for the quality of German soils.
The Magdeburg Börde lies in the rain shadow
of the Harz Mountains and is consequently one of the driest regions of Germany, albeit not the warmest or sunniest. The highest elevation on the Magdeburg Börde is the Großer Wartberg near Niederndodeleben
with a height of 145.7 m.
In the Magdeburg Börde traditionally the Low German dialect Bördeplatt is spoken, though the number of speakers is declining.
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 :...
is the central landscape unit of 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...
and lies to the West and South of the eponymous state capital Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
. It is noted for its very fertile soils.
Boundaries
The boundaries of the Magdeburg Börde are very ill-defined. Only to the west there is a clear boundary - the border with Lower Saxony - that separates it from the Hildesheim BördeHildesheim Börde
The Hildesheim Börde is a natural region, 272 km2 in area, in the northern part of Hildesheim district, which is known for its especially rich black earth loess soil.- Location :...
. To the northwest it is bordered by the 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....
of 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...
near 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 :...
. To the north the Börde merges into 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...
, being also a part of Saxony-Anhalt. The boundary here is generally reckoned to be coincident with the river 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...
or the Colbitz-Letzlingen Heath. In any case the Flechtingen Hills
Flechtingen Hills
The Flechtingen Hills are a wooded, hilly upland area up to 179 m high in the northwestern part of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, named after the town of Flechtingen.- Location :...
south of the Ohre only partly belong to the Magdeburg Börde. Its eastern boundary is mainly defined by the river Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
, but several villages east of Magdeburg also consider themselves as part of the Börde. To the southeast the Börde passes into the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve. Its transition to Mansfeld Land to the southeast is also gradual. To the south lie the Harz Mountains, where an area of the adjacent Harz Foreland is also considered part of the Börde.
The Magdeburg Börde is crossed by the rivers Bode, 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 Saale
Saale
The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
.
General
The landscape is gently undulating and largely treeless. The underlying terrain mainly comprises loose morainic material from the Saale glaciation period with individual outcrops of older rock. This older bedrock and loose morainic debris is mostly obscured by a covering of wind-blown loessLoess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
. The area has very fertile soils (partly of black earth
Black earth
Black earth, Black land or Dark earth may refer to:-Locations:* Black Earth, Wisconsin, a village* Black Earth , Wisconsin* Central Black Earth Region, of Central Russia-Soil science:...
), on which sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
are the main crops. In 1934 the soil in the old municipality of Eickendorf (today Bördeland) was given a soil value of 100, which made it the richest soil in Germany, and it was used until the division of Germany in 1945 as a yardstick for the quality of German soils.
The Magdeburg Börde lies in the rain shadow
Rain shadow
A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...
of the Harz Mountains and is consequently one of the driest regions of Germany, albeit not the warmest or sunniest. The highest elevation on the Magdeburg Börde is the Großer Wartberg near Niederndodeleben
Niederndodeleben
Niederndodeleben is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Hohe Börde....
with a height of 145.7 m.
In the Magdeburg Börde traditionally the Low German dialect Bördeplatt is spoken, though the number of speakers is declining.
Transport links
- Waterways and crossings
- River ElbeElbeThe Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
- Mittelland Canal
- Magdeburg Water BridgeMagdeburg Water BridgeThe Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany, opened in October 2003. It connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittellandkanal, crossing over the Elbe River...
(largest in the world)
- River Elbe
- Motorways (Autobahns) and federal roads
- A 2
- A 14Bundesautobahn 14is an autobahn in eastern Germany.Currently, the route comprises two disconnected sections:* The old A 241. A North-South route in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which runs from Wismar to Schwerin....
- B 1Bundesstraße 1The Bundesstraße 1 or B1 is a German federal highway running in an east-west direction from the Dutch border near Aachen to the Polish border at Küstrin-Kietz on the Oder River.-Route description:...
- B 71Bundesstraße 71The Bundesstraße 71 is one of the longer German federal roads numbered in the 60s and 70s series. It begins at the B 6 in Bremerhaven by the Unterweser and ends in Könnern near Halle in Saxony-Anhalt...
- B 79
- B 81Bundesstraße 81The German Bundesstraße 81 acts as a main road link between the Magdeburg, Halberstadt and Nordhausen.- Course :...
- B 245Bundesstraße 245The Bundesstraße 245 is a German federal highway in Saxony-Anhalt. It runs from Haldensleben in Börde to Halberstadt in Harz....
- B 246a
- Railways
- HanoverHanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
-MagdeburgMagdeburgMagdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
-BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... - WittenbergeWittenbergeWittenberge is a town of twenty thousand people on the lower Elbe in the district of Prignitz , Brandenburg, Germany.-History:...
-MagdeburgMagdeburgMagdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
-Halle (Saale) - Hannover-WernigerodeWernigerodeWernigerode is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,500 in 1999....
-Halle (Saale) - MagdeburgMagdeburgMagdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
-Oschersleben (Bode)-HalberstadtHalberstadtHalberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway.... - Schönebeck-StaßfurtStaßfurtStaßfurt is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on both sides of the river Bode, approximately northeast of Aschersleben, and south of Magdeburg. Pop. 23,538....
-AscherslebenAscherslebenAschersleben is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle .-Pre-20th century:...
- Hanover
- Airports
- CochstedtMagdeburg-Cochstedt AirportMagdeburg-Cochstedt Airport is located in Cochstedt, in the middle of Europe and eastern Germany. The airport is located approximately southwest of Magdeburg, capital of the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, and about 190km west from the center of Berlin....
- Magdeburg
- Cochstedt