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 A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

was transformed by drainage from a natural into a cultural landscape in the 18th century under the direction of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

. Today the depression, with its waterways, the

Mittelland Canal The Mittelland Canal, also known as the Midland Canal, (german: Mittellandkanal, ) is a major canal in central Germany. It forms an important link in the waterway network of that country, providing the principal east-west inland waterway connec ...

and the rivers Aller and

Ohre The Ohre is a river in northern Germany, left tributary to the Elbe. Its total length is . Its source is north of Wolfsburg, in Lower Saxony. It flows generally south-east, at first following the border of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. After ...

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 areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s. Nearby towns include

Oebisfelde Oebisfelde () is a town 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 (German federal highway) 188. Geography ...

and Wolfsburg.

Location

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

contour Contour may refer to: * Contour (linguistics), a phonetic sound * Pitch contour * Contour (camera system), a 3D digital camera system * Contour, the KDE Plasma 4 interface for tablet devices * Contour line, a curve along which the function has ...

. 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 () is a municipality in the Börde district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Flechtingen. Geography Calvörde is situated approximately northwest of Haldensleben and northwes ...

in the east and from

Klötze Klötze is a town in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel (district), in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km northwest of Gardelegen, and 35 km northeast of Wolfsburg. It was mentioned first in 1144 with the name ''Cloetze' ...

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

geest Geest is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outwash ...

ridges of the ''Vorsfelder Werder'' border on the Drömling. Drömling extends over the following districts:

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salz ...

Börde A ''börde'' (plural: ''börden'') is a region of highly fertile lowland in North Germany, a "fertile plain". These landscapes often cover great areas and are particularly important for arable farming on account of their rich soils. These region ...

, Gifhorn, Wolfsburg and Helmstedt.

Sources

* Heinz Frenkler: ''Der Drömling'' in ''Naturschutzgebiete im Raum Gifhorn-Wolfsburg'', Großkopf-Verlag, Wolfsburg 1986, * 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.

References

External links

Drömling Biosphere Reserve website
(in German)

] (in German)
Aktion Drömling Schutz

Description of the nature reserve of Wendschotter and Vorsfelder Drömling
at the Niedersächsischer Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz, NLWKN {{DEFAULTSORT:Dromling Nature parks in Germany Nature reserves in Saxony-Anhalt Nature reserves in Lower Saxony Forests and woodlands of Saxony-Anhalt Forests and woodlands of Lower Saxony Protected landscapes in Germany

Location

See also

Sources

References

External links