Osterwalde is a medieval shire (
Gau) 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 ...
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 ...
. In present-day terms, it is located in northern
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...
. It was bordered by the River
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 B ...
to the west and by the River
Dumme to the north; its eastern borders are unclear; it possibly reached all the way to 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 Re ...
. The most important town was
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 ...
, other towns were
Seebenau,
Tylsen, and
Osterwohle, after which it is probably named. Neighboring shires include
Drevani,
Chojna
Chojna (german: Königsberg in der Neumark; csb, Czińsbarg; la, Regiomontanus Neomarchicus "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szcze ...
,
Balsamgau The Balsamgau (or Belcsem, Balsami) was an early medieval Gau (shire) in the Eastphalia region of the Duchy of Saxony. It was centered on Stendal and located on the West bank of the River Elbe. Other towns in the Balsamgau include Arneburg, Döb ...
,
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 ...
,
Derlingau
The Derlingau was an early medieval county ('' Gau'') of the Duchy of Saxony.
Geography
The Derlingau approximately consisted of the area between the river Oker in the west and the Lappwald forest in the east. It was bordered by (from the north, ...
, and
Bardengau
The Bardengau was a medieval county ('' Gau'') in the Duchy of Saxony. Its main town was Bardowick; other important towns were Lüneburg and Oldenstadt (today Uelzen).
Since the 10th century, members of the House of Billung have been recorded as c ...
.
By the 12th century, the Gau Osterwalde 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 ...
. Together with the Balsamgau, 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. ...
.
{{coord missing, Germany
Carolingian counties
Duchy of Saxony
Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt