Gifhorn () is a district in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

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 ...

Geography

The district is located at the border of

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 ...

and extends from the southern edge of the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...

() in the north to the suburbs of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg in the south. The Aller River enters the district in the southeast, runs through the town of

Gifhorn Gifhorn () is a town and capital of the district of Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the more industrial and commercially import ...

, is joined by the

Ise Ise may refer to: Places *Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria * Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan *River Ise, a tributary of the ...

and

Oker The Oker () is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller (Germany), Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meanin ...

river and leaves the district in the west. The southern terminus of the

Elbe Lateral Canal The Elbe Lateral Canal (; ), is a long canal in Lower Saxony, Germany. It runs from the Mittelland Canal near Gifhorn to the Elbe in Artlenburg. It forms an important transport connection between southern and northern Germany, and it provides ...

at the

Mittellandkanal The Mittelland Canal, also known as the Midland Canal, (, ) is a major canal in central Germany. It forms an important link in the waterway network of the country, providing the principal east-west inland waterway connection. Its significance ...

is at Edesbüttel in the district. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the district of

Helmstedt Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage o ...

, the cities of

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

and

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, the districts of

Peine Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, northeast of Hildesheim, and east of Hanover ...

Hanover 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 ...

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

and

Uelzen Uelzen (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Uelzen (), is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the district of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality. Uelz ...

, and by the state of

(districts of

Altmarkkreis Salzwedel Altmarkkreis Salzwedel is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts Gifhorn, Uelzen, Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony, and the districts of Stendal and Börde (district). History Th ...

and

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 reg ...

). The lowest point of the administrative district Gifhorn lies at the Aller near Müden ( above sea level). The highest point lies in the north of the district near

Sprakensehl Sprakensehl is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, 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 ...

( above sea level).

History

The district was established in 1885 by the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n government. In 1932, the former district of Isenhagen became the northern part of the Gifhorn district. The city of Wolfsburg originally was a part of the district, but became a district-free city in 1951. In 1974 the district again lost parts of its territory, when the city of Fallersleben was incorporated into Wolfsburg.

Coat of arms

The lion as well as the hearts are heraldic symbols of

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

- Gifhorn was a part of the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg for many centuries and, briefly the

Duchy of Gifhorn The Duchy of Gifhorn () with its residence at Gifhorn Castle was founded in 1539 and lasted only 10 years until the death of its ruler, Duke Francis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1549. It consisted of the ''Amt (co ...

. The horn symbolises the syllable "horn" in the word Gifhorn.

Towns and municipalities

(numbers of inhabitants from 30 June 2005) Communities #

, town, autonomous community (42,658) #

Sassenburg Sassenburg is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 7 km northeast of Gifhorn, and 15 km northwest of Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg ...

(10,946) eat: Westerbeck#

Wittingen Wittingen () is a town in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is about northeast of Gifhorn, and southeast of Uelzen. Division of the town Wittingen consists of 27 districts: History The earliest identified record of Wittin ...

, town (12,268) * Seat of Samtgemeinde government

Samtgemeinde A (, ; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type of administrative division in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Samtgemeinden'' are local government associations of Municipalities of Germany, municipalities, equivalent to the ''Amt (administrative division) ...

n with their local communities Area without community (uninhabited) * Giebel ()

References

External links