Gifhorn

Gifhorn (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɪfhɔʁn]) is a town and capital of the district of 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 important cities nearby, Brunswick and Wolfsburg. Further, Gifhorn is part of the Hanover-Brunswick-Göttingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region.

The oldest verifiable source attests the existence of the city in the year 1196.

Gifhorn is home to the International Wind- and Watermill Museum, which contains a comprehensive collection and working replicas of the world's most common windmills.

Geography

Gifhorn lies at the confluence of the Rivers Ise and Aller. Gifhorn is situated about 20 km (12 mi) north of the city of Brunswick and about 15 km (9 mi) west of Wolfsburg. In the city, the Bundesstraße 4 and 188 meet. At the northern end of the city, the Lüneburg Heath starts.

History

Gifhorn was first mentioned in 1196. It was located at the crossing of two then important merchant routes: The salt street (German: Salzstraße) being a main trading route for salt between Lüneburg and Brunswick, and the grain street (German: Kornstraße) transporting grain between Celle and Magdeburg.

Gifhorn (district)

Gifhorn (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɪfhɔʁn]) is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Geography

The district is located at the border of Saxony-Anhalt and extends from the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) 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, is joined by the Ise and Oker river and leaves the district in the west. Also in the district, at Edesbüttel, the Elbe-Seitenkanal diverge from the Mittellandkanal.

It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the district of Helmstedt, the cities of Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, the districts of Peine, Hanover, Celle and Uelzen, and by the state of Saxony-Anhalt (districts of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel and Börde).

The lowest point of the administrative district Gifhorn lies at the Aller near Müden (46 m above sea level). The highest point lies in the north of the district near Sprakensehl (124 m above sea level).