Sachsen-Anhalt - Geography and history
Sachsen-Anhalt is one of the "new" Federal Länder and its present borders date from the unification of East and West Germany on 3 October 1990. It is surrounded by the Länder of Niedersachsen to the west, Brandenburg to the east, Thüringen to the south-west and Sachsen to the south-east.
It covers an area of 20 445 km2, has a population of around 2.5 million, and is the eighth biggest of the 16 Länder in terms of area and the eleventh biggest in terms of population. The average population density is 125 inhabitants per square kilometre. It comprises three urban districts [Kreisfreie Städte] and 21 rural districts [Landkreise]. Of its 1 235 municipalities, 127 have a borough charter [Stadtrecht], Magdeburg being the capital.
Sachsen-Anhalt's topography is made up of parts of the North German lowland, the foreland of the central uplands [Mittelgebirge] and the central uplands themselves. The northern part of the Land consists of the Altmark area, with its characteristic permanent pasture, and the Elbauen area. In the south of the Altmark plain [Altmärkisches Flachland] there is a forestry area with spruce and linden known as the Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide. Here, and in the Dübener Heide further to the south-east, there are extensive sandy areas.
To the west of the River Elbe, between Bode and Ohre, is a plain known as the Magdeburger Börde, which has traditionally been used for arable farming on account of its fertile soil. Also to the west is the thickly-wooded Oberharz range with its 1 141 metre high peak, the Brocken. The low-lying Unterharz has been extensively deforested for use in arable farming, but there are still large, unbroken stretches of mixed woodland. To the south-east of the Harz range is the Goldene Aue area, which is mainly devoted to arable farming. To the north of Halle is a porphyry area, the highest point of which is the 250 metre high Petersberg. The Fiener Bruch to the east of the River Elbe used to be marshland, but now has meadows, pastures and arable land. The Fläming is a sparsely populated ridge to the north of the middle Elbe. The southernmost part of Sachsen-Anhalt is the Saale-Unstrut region with its many castles and vineyards. There are extensive nature reserves including the Hochharz National Park around the Brocken, the Saale-Unstrut Valley and the "Flusslandschaft Elbe" [Elbe River Landscape] biosphere reservation.
Two-thirds of the land is used for agriculture, the most fertile areas being in the Magdeburger Börde and the foreland of the Harz range. Sachsen-Anhalt is rich in natural resources such as lignite, natural gas, Kupferschiefer (a bituminous marl), limestones and near-surface deposits of resources for the extractive industries.
Thanks to its central location, Sachsen-Anhalt has important transport links, including a well-developed system of motorways and one of the densest rail networks in Europe. The River Elbe, which flows through Sachsen-Anhalt from south-east to north-east, is one of the most important waterways in Central Europe and the main link to the international port of Hamburg for inland shipping. Mention must be made of the new Leipzig/Halle Airport, which is of great importance for the people and the economy of the region even though it is not in Sachsen-Anhalt itself but right on the border. With its up-to-the-minute technologies, it plays an important part in international air transport and is one of the top ten German airports. Intercontinental long haul flights without load or range restrictions have been possible since 2000. Sachsen-Anhalt also has several regional airports.
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