Magdeburg region

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Basic data
State :	Saxony-Anhalt
Region :	Magdeburg
Area :	5,570 km²
Residents :	690,919 (December 31, 2018)
Regional breakdown:	1 urban district and 3 rural districts
Zweckverband regional planning community Magdeburg
Office address:	Julius-Bremer-Str. 10 39104 Magdeburg
Website :	www.regionmagdeburg.de

The Magdeburg region is one of five planning regions in Saxony-Anhalt . It includes the regional capital Magdeburg and the three districts of Börde , Jerichower Land and Salzlandkreis . Around 691,000 people live in 26 cities and 38 communities in the Magdeburg region.

In the meaning used here, however, it is not a historically grown term or a historically grown region - "Magdeburg region" is above all an administrative planning unit of the state or a marketing strategy geared towards it .

Geography and location

The region is located in the middle of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, is part of the North German lowlands , covers an area of 5750 km² and is divided into four large landscapes and two anthropogenic landscape units. The most important river is the Elbe , which flows through the region from south to north for about 115 kilometers; the most important navigable tributary within the region is the Saale with 27 kilometers. The highest elevation in the region is the Bullenberg in the Lappwald ( district of Börde ) at 210.6 m above sea level.
Most of the Magdeburg region belongs to rural areas (94%), which is reflected in the uses: 66% agricultural area, 19% forest area.

Population development

Around 691,000 people live in the region, which corresponds to around 31% of the population of Saxony-Anhalt. As in the entire state of Saxony-Anhalt, the population development in the region is declining. Although there is less population loss than in the 1990s and urban exodus is also weakening, according to the 5th regionalized population forecast, the region has to reckon with a further decrease in population and aging by 2025.

The region

Administration union

The Magdeburg region is not a historically evolved unit. Through the state planning law of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, five planning regions in the state of Saxony-Anhalt regional planning communities were founded as special-purpose associations . One of these five planning regions in Saxony-Anhalt is the Magdeburg region. Members of the Zweckverband are the state capital Magdeburg, district Börde, district Jerichower Land and the Salzlandkreis.

In addition to regional planning, the Magdeburg Regional Planning Association promotes regional cooperation and regional development with its office. Other regional players such as the Magdeburg-Elbe-Börde-Heide tourist board and the regional manager tti-Magdeburg GmbH can be found under the logo.

history

The region is one of the oldest cultural landscapes in Germany. The natural spatial separation by the Elbe and Saale shaped the early history. The west Elbe area was one of the settlement areas of the Germanic tribes and the east Elbe area was predominantly settled by Slavic tribes. Armed conflicts between the ethnic groups have been handed down. After the defeat of the Saxons, whose settlement area extended to the Elbe and Saale, against Charlemagne in 785 and the baptism of Duke Widukinds , Saxony was incorporated into the Frankish Empire and divided into three dominions: Westphalia , Engern and Ostfalen . Ostfalen formed the eastern part of Saxony and stretched from Bardowick to Merseburg.

During the reign of Emperor Otto I (912–973) Magdeburg was imperial palace . The Archdiocese of Magdeburg was founded and Christianization reached a climax. The east and west Elbe areas were united and the archbishopric exercised territorial and spiritual power for several centuries. Under Archbishop Wichmann von Seeburg , a close advisor to Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa , trade and traffic were promoted. At this time, the development of the country was promoted and in the East Elbe areas swamps were drained by the Flemish people and dykes were built. The foundations for the later Magdeburg law were laid. Protestantism prevailed in the region during the Reformation . After the end of the Thirty Years' War , in the course of which there was severe devastation ( Magdeburg Wedding ), the area fell to the Electorate of Brandenburg . When it was founded in 1701, most of the region belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia .
After the end of the Second World War , the state administration was introduced in the Soviet occupation zone . The state of Saxony-Anhalt first existed in the GDR until 1952, after which the district of Magdeburg was founded through administrative reform and existed until 1990. In the course of reunification, the federal structure of the states was taken over based on the model of the Federal Republic of Germany and the state of Saxony-Anhalt was re-launched with a slightly different regional layout.

The Salzlandkreis is located in the southern part of the Magdeburg region. This connects parts of Anhalt (areas around Aschersleben, Bernburg) and the former Prussia (areas around Staßfurt and Schönebeck).

Spatial structure

In the western part of the Magdeburg region the impression of the large fields of the Magdeburg Börde predominates , whose soils are among the best in Europe ( black earth ). The soil in the Eickendorf district , with a land value of 100, represents the best soil in Germany and has served as a reference for the valuation of agricultural land in Germany since the Reich soil estimate in 1934. In the Magdeburg Börde there are only a few larger forest islands, such as the Wartenberg near Calbe (Saale) , the Saure and the Hohe Holz . The villages are predominantly clustered with typical four-sided courtyards and arched gates. The name ending "-leben" is widespread among the localities.

To the north is the Flechtinger ridge , in the subsurface of which the northernmost hard rock deposit in Germany is located. At the state border with Lower Saxony , the landscape merges into the Braunschweig hill country and the Lappwald . Drömling and the Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide connect to the northwest and north of the Mittelland Canal .

The eastern part of the region is characterized by the foothills of the Fläming and the Fiener Bruch . Agricultural and forest areas alternate. In addition to the larger cities of Burg , Genthin and Gommern, there are several smaller towns in the Jerichower Land and the population density is below the national average. The linear street and anger villages predominate in these areas, they are often mixed with estate hamlets. The district is named after the city of Jerichow , in which the ( Jerichow Monastery ) with the collegiate church in the late Romanesque architectural style is located, which is one of the oldest brick buildings in northern Germany.

A number of the oldest towns and villages in the region can be found from the Börde to the Harz foreland and along the rivers and streams. In addition, numerous devastations can be proven, which speaks for a turbulent settlement genesis. In the villages, the number of farmers was usually quite small, and it often decreased over time as the landlord acquired more and more land. The economic and legal situation of the rural population was nevertheless relatively favorable. Those who did not own land were mostly involved in a trade. The successors to the old half-timbered buildings were often brick houses with urban plastered facades, in which the rural wealth of the 19th and 20th centuries is expressed. In addition, there are residential and farm buildings made of exposed brick and quarry stones from the surrounding area ( Grauwacken , limestone , sandstone ).

language

A regionally colored High German is spoken in the Magdeburg region. Most of the territory belongs to the Low German language area. In Magdeburg itself, the “Machteburjer” everyday language spoken by the townspeople emerged, which is influenced by the dialect. In the Börde area, the East Westphalian dialect is spoken (as part of Lower Saxony ); In the northern and northeastern areas, however, the Altmark dialect is widespread (as part of East Low German ). South of the Benrath line , which runs in the southern tip of the region from Aschersleben via Calbe to Barby , Central German dialects predominate ( Thuringian-Upper Saxon , east of the Saale also known as "Anhalt").

Culture and economy

Infrastructure

The region is the junction of important waterways, motorways and rail connections.
Two major traffic axes in the state of Saxony-Anhalt run through the region in the east-west direction ( A2 : Hanover - Berlin ) and in the north-south direction ( A14 : Magdeburg - Halle / Leipzig ). Elbe and Saale flow through the area, the region is connected to the waterway connection Ruhrgebiet-Hannover-Magdeburg-Berlin via the Mittelland Canal , the waterway intersection and the Elbe-Havel Canal . The port of Magdeburg is the largest inland port in the new federal states .

Economy, science and research

Centers for teaching and research are the Otto von Guericke University , which is particularly well represented in technical subjects , the universities of applied sciences in Magdeburg and Bernburg, the Fraunhofer Institute and the Max Planck Institute in Magdeburg, and the Leibniz Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop plant research in Gatersleben .

Despite the rural character and the almost complete collapse of industry 20 years ago, machine and plant engineering, environmental protection technologies and the circular / recycling economy as well as health / medical technology are among the main industries in the region.

Companies from the region are for example:

SKET GmbH Magdeburg
Serumwerk Bernburg AG
Solvay GmbH Bernburg
Sodawerk Stassfurt GmbH & Co. KG
Waschmittelwerk Genthin GmbH

Culture and sights

The state of Saxony-Anhalt is characterized by Romanesque monuments. Buildings of extraordinary beauty are lined up along the Romanesque Road - cathedrals, castles, monasteries and churches.

Baroque gardens, parks and numerous castles and mansions show the former wealth of the landed gentry.

A selection of regional attractions:

A selection of the cycle routes:

Elbe Cycle Path (Hamburg - Magdeburg - Prague)
European Cycle Route R1 (The Hague - Harz - Berlin)

The so-called sweet tour - sugar and beet route - leads through the Magdeburg Börde and illustrates the tradition of sugar production and processing in the region.

The area is looked after by the Magdeburg Tourism Association Elbe-Börde-Heide e. V., the Magdeburg Tourist Information Office and the Salzlandkreis Tourist Association.

Web links

The region operates the website www.regionmagdeburg.de .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c State Statistical Office Saxony-Anhalt .

↑ State Office for Environmental Protection Saxony-Anhalt , accessed on November 25, 2010.

↑ State Statistical Office Saxony-Anhalt , accessed on January 30, 2012.

↑ sachsen-anhalt.de ( Memento of the original from January 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ tti-Magdeburg GmbH .

[StaLa_LSA-1] State Statistical Office Saxony-Anhalt .

[2] State Office for Environmental Protection Saxony-Anhalt , accessed on November 25, 2010.

[3] State Statistical Office Saxony-Anhalt , accessed on January 30, 2012.