Gatersleben () is a village and a former municipality in the district

Salzlandkreis Salzland is a district in the middle of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts Harz, Börde, Magdeburg, Jerichower Land, Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Mansfeld-Südharz and Saalekreis. History ...

, in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Since 1 September 2010, it has been part of the town of Seeland. It is situated southwest of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

and northwest of

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

Biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

are the two major focus areas to promote economic development in and around the village. The Biotechpark Gatersleben

developed at the initiative of the State of

, provides space for growing biotech companies. The Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research IPK (http://www.ipk-gatersleben.de]), Gatersleben, is a nonprofit research institution for crop genetics and molecular biology and is part of the

Leibniz Association The Leibniz Association (German: ''Leibniz-Gemeinschaft'' or ''Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz'') is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines. Funding and Structure As of 2020, 96 non-u ...

. At present, Gatersleben is rapidly becoming a center for “green”

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

. The establishment of SunGene, a plant biotechnology company and subsidiary of the BASF group, provided the principal impetus in 1998. Today, SunGene is a part of the BASF Plant Science organisation and has more than 60 employees and an ideal research environment in a modern laboratory building. Three other biotech firms, hived off from the IPK, work in a business centre completed in autumn 2000: TraitGenetics, Novoplant, and ArrayOn. Plantalytics GmbH, a small service company for

photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...

metering, also operates on the campus. Due to major structural problems in Saxony-Anhalt, such as a high rate of unemployment, Gatersleben, with its biotech-park, is of great importance to developing that area.

G-Life

Gatersleben combines rural village life in the plains of the Harz with an international community, creating a culture known as G-Life. The internationally known Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, IPK (http://www.ipk-gatersleben.de), together with the associated biotechnology companies, attract a diverse community from around Germany, Europe, and the world.

Transport

The major local modes of transport are

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

and

trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

. The fares depend on the distance and region of travel. The village occasionally has buses operated b
QBUS
that link to other towns and villages. Both the national Deutsche Bah
DB
regional train service and the local Harz Elbe Express
HEX Online
provide service to Gatersleben. The train service connects Halle to the southeast, and to the northwest, the HEX makes connections through

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

, while the regional service from DB connects through

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. The nearest airport is Magdeburg-Cochstedt Airport, located only 7 km from the village. The nearest major airport is

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is a state-owned enterprise and allows 24 hour take off and landing for cargo flights. In ...

, located around 90 km south of the village.

In and around the village

Gatersleben is a small village with a traditional restaurant/pub, a bank, a post office, a supermarket, a hardware store, and a drugstore. The nice landscape of the village is worth watching during different seasons. Beautiful communities like Wernigerode, Quedlinburg, etc. surround Gatersleben.

References

{{Authority control Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Seeland, Germany