- Altes Land
.
The region – the biggest contiguous fruit
orchard inCentral Europe – extends over convert|143|km²|0|abbr=on. 76.8% of the trees areapple s, 12.7% are cherries. [cite web |url=http://www.900jahreneuenfelde.de/content/drumherum/abc.html |title=Altländer ABC |accessdate=2008-10-01 |publisher=900jahreneuenfelde.de de icon] The areas closest to the Elbe are those with the highest population. They include the most fertile marshlands; towardsGeest the area connects tofen s.The fertile land led to the development of a culture dominated by farming. The villages are known as "Marschhufendörfer", a special kind of village where the farmyards are set along a street with the land directly behind them. A characteristic feature is the richly-decorated half-timbered farmhouses with their elaborate gateways.
Etymology
The region's official
standard German name is "Altes Land", which means "old country". However, "Altes Land" is amistranslation of the originalLow Saxon "Olland", which originally had nothing to do with "old": It stems from "Holland ". This is a reference to the area's original reclamation and colonisation by Dutch settlers. The first colonisation agreement goes back to1113 and was drawn up during the time of Archbishop Friedrich I of Bremen. One of the municipalities of the "Altes Land" is Hollern, a name which comes from "Holländer" (German for the Dutch). However, the mistranslation of "Olland" as "Altes Land" has now come full circle, since mostLow Saxon speakers today refer to the region as "dat Ole Land" (literally "the old land"). There also is aneponymous periodical .Geography and history
The "Altes Land" is divided into three "
mile s" (German "Meilen"); the first, second and third miles. These miles are zones along the banks of the Elbe river. The first mile, between the rivers Schwinge and Lühe, was first dyked and then settled in around1140 . The second mile is the area east of the first between the Lühe and the Este, an area which was dyked at the end of the12th century . The third mile, between the Este and the Elbe, was only dyked at the end of the15th century when the area was especially hard-hit bystorm tide s.As of 2008
tourism plays a major role in the local economy, particularly during thecherry blossom andapple blossom . However, parts of the orchard plantations are slowly being displaced by residential developments. Many of these new homes are then sold or rented tocommuter s who work in nearbyHamburg .References
External links
* [http://3meilenvorhamburg.de/en_altesland_01.php 3 Meilen vor Hamburg] - official web site of the Altes Land tourism association
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