The Balsamgau (or Belcsem, Balsami) was an early medieval Gau (shire) in the

Eastphalia Eastphalia (german: Ostfalen; Eastphalian: ''Oostfalen'') is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern ''Gaue'' (shires) of the historic stem duchy of Saxony, roughly confined by the River Leine in the west and the Elbe a ...

region of the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...

. It was centered on

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

and located on the West bank of the River

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. Other towns in the Balsamgau include Arneburg, Döbbelin, Elversdorf, Windberge. It was bordered by the following shires:

Osterwalde Osterwalde is a medieval shire ( Gau) in the Eastphalia region of the Duchy of Saxony. In present-day terms, it is located in northern Saxony-Anhalt. It was bordered by the River Ohre to the west and by the River Dumme to the north; its eastern bor ...

, Liezizi, Morazani,

Nordthüringgau The Nordthüringgau was a medieval county (german: Gau) in the Eastphalian region of the German stem duchy of Saxony. Geography The county was located on both sides of the upper Aller river in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It was bounded by the ...

. By the 12th century, the Balsamgau had become a part of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

. Together with Osterwalde, it formed the westernmost part of Brandenburg, which later came to be known as the

Altmark :''See German tanker Altmark for the ship named after Altmark and Stary Targ for the Polish village named Altmark in German.'' The (English: Old MarchHansard, ''The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ...'', Volume 32. ...

References

* {{coord missing, Germany Carolingian counties Duchy of Saxony Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt