The Neu Darchau to Darchau ferry is a ferry route across the

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 Re ...

river in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It crosses between the town of

Neu Darchau Neu Darchau is a municipality in the district Lüchow-Dannenberg, 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 ...

, in the district of

Lüchow-Dannenberg Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is usually referred to as Hanoverian Wendland (''Hannoversches Wendland'') or Wendland. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Uelzen and Lüneburg and the s ...

, and Darchau, in the municipality of Amt Neuhaus and district of

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

. Both terminals are in the 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 ...

, about southeast of the city of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. Ferries have existed on this stretch of the Elbe since historic times, with many farms on the south bank having pasture on the north side of the river. However after the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and the partition of Germany, the Amt Neuhaus area on the north bank found itself in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

, whilst the south bank was in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. The Elbe forming a closed frontier between the two and it was only after the Wende, in 1989, that travel across the river became possible again. Initially the demand was satisfied by the chartered passenger ferry ''Luna'', but in 1990 the municipality of Neu Darchau purchased a ferry, named ''Tanja'', and commenced vehicle ferry service. In 1993 the first ''Tanja'' was replaced by the current ''Tanja''. The ferry runs from 05:00 to 21:00 on Monday tr Saturday, and from 09:00 to 21:00 on Sundays and public holidays. During operating hours the ferry operates a round trip every 10 minutes, with a journey time of approximately 5 minutes. A road bridge over the Elbe between Neu Darchau and Darchau, which would replace the ferry, has been proposed and is in the initial planning stages.

References

Ferry transport in Lower Saxony Lüchow-Dannenberg Lüneburg (district) {{LowerSaxony-geo-stub