Schnackenburg is a town in the Lüchow-Dannenberg 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 ...

. It is situated on the left bank of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...

. It is part of the ''

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) ...

'' ("collective municipality") Gartow. Lying at the easternmost projection of Lower Saxony, the town is bordered on all sides except the west by territory that was formerly

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. It is the least densely populated town ("Stadt") in what was

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, although there are nine towns in what was formerly East Germany that are less densely populated (mostly in

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Etymology of the toponym

The Polabian name of Schnackenburg is ''Godegord'' (also spelled ''Godegür'' in older German reference material), probably from ''god'' (< Slavic *''gadă'') ‘snake’ and ''gord'' (< Slavic *''gordă'') ‘fortress’, ‘town’. The German name Schnackenburg appears to be derived from Low Saxon ''Snaak'' or ''Snack'' ‘snake’ (plural ''Snaken'' or ''Snacken'') and ''Borg'' ‘fortress’, ‘town’.

History

Between 1945 and 1990 Schnackenburg served as West German

inner German border The inner German border ( or ''deutsch–deutsche Grenze''; initially also , zonal boundary) was the frontier between the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West ...

crossing for

inland navigation Inland navigation, inland barge transport or inland waterway transport (IWT) is a transport system allowing ships and barges to use inland waterways (such as canals, rivers and lakes). These waterways have inland ports, marinas, quays, and wharfs ...

on the Elbe. The crossing was open for freight vessels navigating between

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany (till 1949, thereafter the East

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

), or

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

and the British zone of occupation (till 1949) and thereafter the West German Federal Republic of Germany. The traffic was subject to the Interzonal traffic regulations, that between West Germany and West Berlin followed the special regulations of the

Transit Agreement (1972) The Transit Agreement (German language, German: ''Transitabkommen''), signed 17 December 1971, arranged access to and from West Berlin from West Germany, secured the right of West Berliners to visit East Berlin and East Germany, and secured the r ...

References

* Johann Parum Schultze; Reinhold Olesch (Hrsg.): ''Fontes linguae Dravaenopolabicae minores et Chronica Venedica J. P. Schultzii''. (= Slavistische Forschungen; Band 7). Böhlau, Köln und Graz 1967 *

Christian Hennig von Jessen A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

: ''Vocabularium Venedicum (oder Wendisches Wörter-Buch)'' (1705). Nachdruck besorgt von Reinhold Olesch. - Köln .a. Böhlau 1959 (Gewährsmann des Pastors C. Hennig von Jessen war der polabisch sprechende Bauer Johann Janieschge aus Klennow) *Lorie Karnath, Enrique Martinez Celaya: The Return of the Storks, 2008, www.akiraikedagallery.com {{Authority control Lüchow-Dannenberg