Gifhorn () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Geography

The district is located at the border of Saxony-Anhalt and extends from the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath () in the north to the suburbs of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg in the south. The Aller River enters the district in the southeast, runs through the town of Gifhorn, is joined by the Ise and

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. Origin and meaning of the name The ...

river and leaves the district in the west. The southern terminus of the

Elbe Lateral Canal The Elbe Lateral Canal (german: Elbe-Seitenkanal; ), is a long canal in Lower Saxony, Germany. It runs from the Mittelland Canal near Gifhorn to the Elbe in Artlenburg. It forms an important transport connection between southern and northern ...

at the Mittellandkanal is at Edesbüttel in the district. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the district of Helmstedt, the cities of Wolfsburg and

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, the districts of

Peine Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, and east of Hanover. History A deed from 113 ...

, Hanover,

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lüne ...

and Uelzen, and by the state of Saxony-Anhalt (districts of

Altmarkkreis Salzwedel Altmarkkreis Salzwedel is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts Gifhorn, Uelzen, Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony, and the districts of Stendal and Börde (district). History The A ...

and

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 ...

). The lowest point of the administrative district Gifhorn lies at the Aller near Müden ( above sea level). The highest point lies in the north of the district near

Sprakensehl Sprakensehl is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land a ...

( above sea level).

History

The district was established in 1885 by the

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 ...

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

The lion as well as the hearts are heraldic symbols of Lüneburg - Gifhorn was a part of the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg for many centuries and, briefly the Duchy of Gifhorn. The horn symbolises the syllable "horn" in the word Gifhorn.

Towns and municipalities

(numbers of inhabitants from 30 June 2005) Communities # Gifhorn, town, autonomous community (42,658) # Sassenburg (10,946) eat: Westerbeck#

Wittingen Wittingen () is a town in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is about northeast of Gifhorn, and southeast of Uelzen. Division of the town Wittingen consists of 27 districts: History The earliest identified record of Witti ...

, town (12,268) * Seat of Samtgemeinde government Samtgemeinden with their local communities Area without community (uninhabited) * Giebel ()

References

External links