Maschen is a village in the municipality of
Seevetal
Seevetal (Northern Low Saxon: ''Seevdaal'') is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km south of Hamburg, and 15 km west of Winsen (Luhe). Its seat is in the village Hittfel ...
in
Harburg district in the German state of
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 area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
. It lies south of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
on the northern edge of the
Lüneburg Heath and within the
commuter zone of the city of Hamburg.
Maschen Marshalling Yard
Maschen Marshalling Yard (german: Maschen Rangierbahnhof, abbreviated to ''Maschen Rbf'' or ''AM'' in the official railway directory) near Maschen south of Hamburg on the Hanover–Hamburg railway in Germany is the largest marshalling yard in Eur ...
is the largest of its kind in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and the second biggest in the world. It was opened in 1977.
With its 9,266 inhabitants
(as at: 31 December 2005) Maschen is the second largest village in
Seevetal
Seevetal (Northern Low Saxon: ''Seevdaal'') is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km south of Hamburg, and 15 km west of Winsen (Luhe). Its seat is in the village Hittfel ...
. Maschen was first mentioned in the records in 1294 as ''Merschene'' (
Low German = end of the marsh). In 1671 the first school was built; it has moved location several times since. Today Maschen Primary School is in the centre of Maschen next to the village hall. The restored school clock from the old school has been installed in the tower of the hall.
The ''
Maschen disc brooch
The Maschen disc brooch (german: Scheibenfibel von Maschen) is an Early Medieval fibula, which was found in 1958 during archaeological excavations of the late Saxon grave field near Maschen, in the Lower Saxony district of Harburg, Germany. On it ...
'' is an
Early Medieval
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
fibula
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity i ...
, which was found on the late
Saxon grave field
A grave field is a prehistoric cemetery, typically of Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe.
Grave fields are distinguished from necropoleis by the former's lack of remaining above-ground structures, buildings, or grave markers.
Types
Grave fields can b ...
near Maschen.
Villages in Lower Saxony
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