Spreewald
Encyclopedia
The Spreewald is situated about 100 km south-east of Berlin
. It was designated a biosphere reserve
by UNESCO
in 1991. It is known for its traditional irrigation system which consists of more than 200 small channels (called "Fließe"; total length: 1,300 km ) within the 484 square kilometres (186.9 sq mi) area. The landscape was shaped during the ice-age. Alder
forests on wetlands and pine forests on sandy dry areas are characteristic for the region. Grasslands and fields can be found as well.
tribes of the Sorbs
/Wends
. They have preserved their traditional language, customs and clothing to this day.
People mostly depend on tourism. Many tourists enjoy the exploration of the Spreewald in punts
. Agriculture, forestry and fishery are other important sources of income. The principal town of the area is Lübbenau
.
Spreewald gave its name to the following German districts
:
Berlin
Berlin 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...
. It was designated a biosphere reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 1991. It is known for its traditional irrigation system which consists of more than 200 small channels (called "Fließe"; total length: 1,300 km ) within the 484 square kilometres (186.9 sq mi) area. The landscape was shaped during the ice-age. Alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
forests on wetlands and pine forests on sandy dry areas are characteristic for the region. Grasslands and fields can be found as well.
Overview
About 50,000 people live in the biosphere reserve (1998). Many of them are descendants of the first settlers in the Spreewald region, the SlavicSlavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
tribes of the Sorbs
Sorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
/Wends
Wends
Wends is a historic name for West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a homogeneous people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where and when it is used...
. They have preserved their traditional language, customs and clothing to this day.
People mostly depend on tourism. Many tourists enjoy the exploration of the Spreewald in punts
Punt (boat)
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole...
. Agriculture, forestry and fishery are other important sources of income. The principal town of the area is Lübbenau
Lübbenau
Lübbenau is a town of 17,897 in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located in the Spreewald about 82 km southeast of Berlin.-History:...
.
Spreewald gave its name to the following German districts
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
:
- Dahme-SpreewaldDahme-SpreewaldDahme-Spreewald is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Oder-Spree, Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Elbe-Elster and Teltow-Fläming, and by the city of Berlin.- History :...
- Oberspreewald-LausitzOberspreewald-LausitzOberspreewald-Lausitz is a Kreis in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Dahme-Spreewald, Spree-Neiße, the districts Kamenz and Riesa-Großenhain in Saxony, and the district Elbe-Elster....