Altmark

See German tanker Altmark for the ship named after Altmark and Stary Targ for the Polish village named Altmark in German.

The Altmark (English: Old

March^[1]) is a historic region in Germany, comprising the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt. As the initial territory of the March of Brandenburg, it is sometimes referred to as the "Cradle of Prussia", as by Otto von Bismarck, a native of Schönhausen near Stendal

.

Geography

The Altmark is located west of the Elbe river between the cities of Hamburg and Magdeburg, mostly included in the present-day^[update] districts of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel and Stendal. In the west, the Drawehn hill range and the Drömling depression separate it from the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony; the Altmark also borders the Wendland region in the north and the Magdeburg Börde in the south. Adjacent east of the Elbe is the historical Prignitz region.

The population is small. The

heathlands. The largest towns are Stendal, with a population of 39,000, and Salzwedel

(21,500).

History

Before the

Christianisation

of the Saxon population.

In 936 the German king

Dietrich of Haldensleben, who nevertheless turned out to be an incapable ruler and lost all the territories east of the Elbe in the Slavic Lutici

uprising of 983. He retained only his margravial title and the initial land basis of his predecessor Gero's conquests west of the river.

For more than one and a half centuries, the lands east of the Elbe defied German control, until in 1134 Emperor

Pribislav and in 1150 succeeded him in his eastern territory around the fortress of Brandenburg an der Havel, which became the nucleus of his newly established Margraviate of Brandenburg

in 1157.

As the Brandenburg margraves expanded their territory during the course of the

March") in contrast to the Mittelmark (Middle March) and Neumark

(New March) beyond the Oder river; the written record first mentions it in 1304 as Antiqua Marchia.
As part of Brandenburg, from 1415 held by the
Treaty of Tilsit (1807) assigned the territory of the Altmark to the new Kingdom of Westphalia. Prussia regained the area upon Napoleon's defeat (per Article XXIII of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna, 1815); however, it was incorporated into the new Prussian Province of Saxony rather than being attached to the Province of Brandenburg.^[1] Within Prussian Saxony, the Altmark was subdivided into the districts of Salzwedel, Gardelegen, Osterburg, and Stendal, all administered within the Regierungsbezirk of Magdeburg
.
After

Bezirk Magdeburg from 1952 to 1990. With German reunification

in 1990, the Altmark became part of a reconstituted Saxony-Anhalt.

Rivers and lakes

The region is drained by the Elbe, joined by the Havel at Havelberg, and its left tributaries of the Milde-Biese-Aland system and the Jeetzel river.

The largest natural lake of the Altmark is the Arendsee.

Transport

Road

The Altmark is located off the main traffic routes. The Bundesautobahn 14 leads to the Bundesautobahn 2 from Hanover to Berlin, it however ends north of Magdeburg. A continuation through the Altmark towards Schwerin is planned. Beside which the Federal roads B71, B107, B188, B189, B190, B248 run through the region.

Rail

Stendal station is a stop on the Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway. Other lines include:

Towns

Notes and references

^
Final Act of the Congress of Vienna

External links

Altmarkwiki, the regional wiki for the Altmark

52°43′N 11°24′E / 52.717°N 11.400°E / 52.717; 11.400

[Hansard-82-1] 
Final Act of the Congress of Vienna

[1]

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