Saxony-Anhalt

From Wikinfo

Flag

File:Saxony anhalt flag.jpg
Statistics
Capital:	Magdeburg
Area:	20,447 km�
Inhabitants:	2,580,626(2001)
pop. density:	126 inh./km�
Homepage:	sachsen-anhalt.de
ISO 3166-2:	DE-ST
Politics
Minister-President:	[[Wolfgang B�hmer]] (CDU)
Ruling party:	CDU/FDP coalition
Map
File:Bundeslaender germany sa.png

With an area of 20,447 km� and a population of 2.6 million, Saxony-Anhalt (German Sachsen-Anhalt) is one of the new German Bundesl�nder (federal states) included until 1990 in East Germany. The capital is Magdeburg.

Geography

Lying to the north-east of central Germany, it is eighth largest in area and (since 1996) tenth in population among the country's sixteen Bundesl�nder. It borders on the states of Lower Saxony to the north-west, Brandenburg to the east, Saxony to the south-east and Thuringia to the south-west.

Most of the state is plain and agriculturally used, but in the south-west there is the eastern part of the Harz mountains. The main river of Saxony-Anhalt is the Elbe, running through the state from southeast to northwest. The second largest river, the Saale, is a tributary of the Elbe.

Saxony-Anhalt is divided into three Regierungsbezirke - Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg - which are subdivided into 21 districts:

File:Saxony anhalt map.png

Altmarkkreis Salzwedel
Anhalt-Zerbst
[[Aschersleben-Sta�furt]]
Bernburg
Bitterfeld
[[B�rdekreis]]
Burgenlandkreis

Saalkreis
Sangerhausen
[[Sch�nebeck (district)|Sch�nebeck]]
Stendal
[[Wei�enfels (district)|Wei�enfels]]
Wernigerode
Wittenberg

Furthermore there are three independent towns, which don't belong to any district:

History

The state was created shortly before reunification, covering much the same area as an earlier unit (1947-52) comprising the former Anhalt and the Prussian part of Saxony. The state and its larger cities have lost population since 1989 with migration to the former West Germany.