Stade (district)

Stade is a district (Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Harburg, Rotenburg and Cuxhaven, the Elbe River, and the city state of Hamburg.

History
The district of Stade was established in 1932 by merging three smaller precursor districts.

Geography
The district is situated at the southern banks of the Elbe River, between the city of Hamburg and the river's mouth. The western border of the district is the Oste, a narrow tributary of the Elbe. The land between the Oste and the town of Stade is traditionally called Kehdingen. The area to the east of Stade is known as the Altes Land (literally "Old Land"). It is characterised by thousands of fruit-trees.