Sülzetal is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

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 ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

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 ...

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 betwe ...

. It is situated on the creek Sülze, a tributary of 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 ...

, about southwest of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

. Sülzetal was established on April 1, 2001 by the merger of the former municipalities ''Altenweddingen, Bahrendorf, Dodendorf, Langenweddingen, Osterweddingen, Schwaneberg, Stemmern'' and ''Sülldorf''.Gebietsänderungen vom 01.01. bis 31.12.2001
Statistisches Bundesamt The Sülze valley is characterized by

artesian aquifer An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within t ...

s, delivering brine ''(sulza)'' that had been used for salt production. Rathaus Suelzetal

Seats in the municipal assembly ''(Gemeinderat)'' as of 2004 elections: * Social Democratic Party of Germany: 8 * Christian Democratic Union: 6 * Association of Independent Voters: 2 * Free Democratic Party: 1 * Culture and Sports Club Osterweddingen: 1 *

Free Voters Free Voters (german: Freie Wähler, FW or FWG) in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it involves a locally organized group of voters ...

Schwaneberg: 1 * The Left: 1 The first documentation of a settlement in the area dates back to 937 with the mention of Osterweddingen and Sülldorf. The village of Langenweddingen and Dodendorf were mentioned in 946 and 978 respectively as a possession of Saint Maurice's Abbey at Magdeburg. On May 5, 1809 the churchyard of Saint Christopherus at Dodendorf was the site of an attack by

Prussian 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 e ...

freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

troops under

Ferdinand von Schill Ferdinand Baptista von Schill (6 January 1776 – 31 May 1809) was a Prussian major who revolted unsuccessfully against French domination of Prussia in May 1809. Schill's rebellion ended at the Battle of Stralsund, a battle which also saw Schil ...

and

Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm Freiherr von Lützow (18 May 17826 December 1834) was a Prussian general notable for his organization and command of the '' Lützow Freikorps'' of volunteers during the Napoleonic Wars. Early life Lützow was born in Berlin ...

against the army of Napoleonic Westphalia. Lützow was severely wounded and had to face a court-martial for his arbitrary act. The villages of Dodendorf, Osterweddingen and Langenweddingen have access to the railway line from Magdeburg to

Thale Thale () is a town in the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. Located at the steep northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range, it is known for the scenic Bode Gorge stretching above the town centre. Geography The town is situated ...

, served by the Veolia Verkehr company since 2005. On July 6, 1967 the level crossing at Langenweddingen was the scene of one of the worst train accidents in Germany, when a bilevel train hit a tanker truck, resulting in an explosion that killed 94 people, many of them children on their way to a summer camp in the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

mountains. The letter processing center for the greater Magdeburg area is located in Sülzetal.

Notable people

* Friedrich Aue, resistance fighter, born July 27, 1896 at Dodendorf, died November 27, 1944 at

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

* Heinz Weitzendorf (born 1931), composer and conductor

References

Börde (district) {{Börde-geo-stub