Gifhorn District

Gifhorn District 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 Altmark 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).

History
The district was established in 1885 by the Prussian 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.

Towns and municipalities
(numbers of inhabitants from the 30th June, 2005)

Communities
 * 1) Gifhorn, Town, autonomous community  (42.658)
 * 2) Sassenburg (10.946) [Seat: Westerbeck
 * 3) Wittingen, Town (12.268)

Samtgemeinden with their local communities

* Seat of Samtgemeinde government

Area without community (uninhabited)
 * Giebel (10,36 km²)