Flooded terrain in front of the dikes of the Lüneburg Elbe marshes
The Elbe marshes (German: Elbmarsch) are an extensive region of marsh or polderland along the lower and middle reaches of the River Elbe in northern Germany. It is also referred to as the Lower Elbe Marsch by Dickinson[1] and is region D24 in the BfN's list of the natural regions of Germany. The Germans refer to these polders as Marschen (singular: Marsch).
Originally this flat strip of land along the Elbe was completely tidal. But following the construction of the barrage near Geesthacht, the Elbe is no longer affected by the tide above that point. The part of the Elbe remaining tidal is called the Unterelbe (Low Elbe). As a result of regular land reclamation with the help of Dutch settlers (a process known in German as Hollerkolonisation) large areas of the previously flood-prone Elbe marshes were diked and reclaimed for the purposes of cultivation.
The Elbe marshes are very fertile and dominated by large areas of grassland. In addition to cattle rearing, especially of dairy herds, they are also used for arable farming. Dithmarschen is especially well known for its cabbages, the Altes Land is one of the largest fruit growing regions of central Europe, the Vierlande and Marschlande near Hamburg belong to the most important areas for growing vegetables and flowers. The Kehdinger Land and the Lüneburg Elbe marshes are home to numerous stud farms. For over 200 years the successful Hanoverian horses have been bred here.
In the 1990s there were national reports from the Elbe marshes that there had been a higher incidence of leukaemia in the area around the GKSS Research Centre and the Krümmel nuclear power station. However, no direct link has been proven between the levels of illness and the nuclear facilities.
^Dickinson, Robert E. (1964). Germany: A regional and economic geography (2nd ed.). London: Methuen.
The Elbemarshes (German: Elbmarsch) are an extensive region of marsh or polderland along the lower and middle reaches of the River Elbe in northern Germany...
section both banks of the Elbe are characterised by flat, very fertile marshlands (ElbeMarshes), former flood plains of the Elbe now diked. At Magdeburg...
Neuenfelde, Cranz, Francop and Finkenwerder. Altes Land is one of the ElbeMarshes. The region – the biggest contiguous fruit-producing region in North...
The Krempe Marsh (German: Kremper Marsch or Krempermarsch) is one of the Holstein Elbemarshes and lies northeast of the River Elbe between its tributaries...
in the Wadden Sea area – including the ElbeMarshes – are referred to in Germany as North Sea coastal marshes (Nordseemarschen). More recent are terms...
the north to the town of Stade in the south. Kehdingen is one of the ElbeMarshes. Until 1932 there was a Prussian district known as Land Kehdingen, and...
the ElbeMarshes, Land of Wursten, Butjadingen and Stadland (both part of today's Weser Marsh), as well as Stedingen, the Land of Würden, both marshes of...
Ahlenmoor. The marshland itself, forming part of the ElbeMarshes, is divided in turn into the fertile sea marsh, the so-called Hochland ("highland", ca. 1–2...
originally stretched along the rivers Ems, Weser, Elbe, Havel and Spree. Distinctive salt marshes, tideflats and tidal reed beds in the estuaries existed...
Railroad D24 road (Croatia) Dublin 24, a postal district in Ireland ElbeMarshes, a natural region in Germany Iyaguchi Station in Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture...
meaning castle or fort and hamma marshes in old German language). The Hammaburg, conveniently situated on the river Alster, Elbe and Bille, was from the beginning...
sometimes called Ländchen, and low marshes, called luchs. A few kilometres of the river before its confluence with the Elbe near Havelberg are in the State...
Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank...
of Himmelpforten, Stade, Buxtehude, the Stade Geest and the Bremian ElbeMarshes, left the prince-archbishopric and with them the foreign Catholic clergy...
type in Germany date to the late 15th century (e.g. in Schwinde, Winsen ElbeMarsh 1494/95). Regional differences arose due to the need to adapt to local...
Hamburg-St. Georg, Bergedorf, Geesthacht and Lauenburg north of the Elbe (see also: Elbe Urstromtal) the central geest areas of the islands of Amrum, Föhr...
transition from the marsh in the north to the geest in south east. On the marsh side lies the village of Rübke in the Lower Saxon Elbemarshes at sea level and...
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