Altenau (Oker)

Altenau Wade at Küblingen

The Altenau near the Wendover eaters mill overlooking the aces and a tributary of Falkenheim (2013 )

The Altenau is 25 kilometers long river in Lower Saxony, which rises in the north-east of Elm Eitzum and flows Halchter, a district of Wolfenbüttel, from the right into the Oker.

• 3.1 Shipping in the 16th Century
• 3.2 watermills
• 3.3 sugar factories

Geography

Course

The Altenau originates northeast of Schoeppenstedt in mixed and deciduous forest of the Elms and winds largely close to nature towards the west into a valley cut where it bends at the level of nature friends house faces south and is fed by other sources. It happened Eitzum on the eastern edge of the village and takes away from the right one the main road crossing stream and other source outflows. South of Eitzum it divides into the field mark in two arms that reunite above the timber mill.

Between the forest and the mill district Schöppenstedter Küblingen is a striking ford where the unpaved dirt road leading to about 20 meters through the creek. After a brief natural history reaches the Altenau Küblingen, from where it flows on in a stone bed decisions taken along the houses and a former mill. In Schoeppenstedt she shares above the market. The right arm leads predominantly open but strongly channeled north through the village, while the southern arm is completely built over. Both arms appear below the market square in the Stobenstraße back into the light.

Along the cemetery leads her run to the site of the former sugar mill and the wastewater treatment plant, which it uses as a drainage ditch. She bends to the northwest to the two former lagoons west of Banslebener cuckoo mill from. You are a leased by NABU water bird sanctuary since 1997.

Between the Aces and the Heeseberg in the south and in the north of Elm, a nearly treeless arable hall, which is about 25 km long " Schöppenstedter hollow" extends. There the Altenau flows in a wide meadow valley about 500 meters in east-west direction. In the more southerly part of the middle trough Altenau combines a number of streams and pervades as a regulated, relatively straight stream trough.

It wraps around the north aces and follows their height profile west of the former sugar factory Dettum to the southwest. It is from there to the mouth of the river of between Wolfenbüttel and the integrated municipality aces. Later it passes the Wend eaters mill and the place Wendessen where it is crossed by the federal road 79. Below small Denkte she bends between the elevation head and the bush Osel from the southeast and crosses under the historical thunder castle bridge. After another bend to the southwest it occurs south of the hamlet of Linden in the Okeraue, which is north of Altenau used as Segelfluggelände Big Meadow, and reaches the Oker

Catchment area

The Altenau drained together with the Schunter the Elmgebiet and Schöppenstedter trough for Oker, which belongs to the catchment area of ​​the river Weser. The source of Altenau is located immediately north and west of the watershed between Weser and Elbe. The in Eitzum from left opens out Rothenbachstraße still belongs to the same area, while the east running brakes Bach / Manebeek for large Dahlum and the other south-east of Schoeppenstedt and the Heeseberg flowing streams to the Great trench or Schöninger Aue aspire, which Bode and Saale to the Elbe drain off.

Schöppenstedter trough

The surface shape of the trough is characterized by the down trending of the Elmbergen Keuper layers. The entire hollow core of a 0.50 to 2.0 meters thick loess cover - coated - predominantly loam. There are here a pure black earth soils, best agricultural soils with high fertility. This was recognized by humans in prehistoric times and settled here. Their traces can be detected as far back as the Stone Age at many places hallway. Archaeological evidence and documentary traditions recognize that in this area before more villages have existed as at present. It can be shown 18 desertions.

Since about 1400 there was already west of Wolfenbüttel an old -developed trade route from Hildesheim, which should be continued from then on in two directions eastward. The southern walked past on the north bank heights of Altenau to Wendessen, Ahlum, Dettum, Eilum and Bansleben. In connection with this road probably the medieval castles Weferlingen and Bansleben emerged. As one 1842 the railway from Wolfenbüttel to Oschersleben (Bode) (53 kilometers long ) planned, it was decided in the routing for the Valley of the Altenau. The railway track followed the trough depths between Elm and aces.

Water quality

The upper reaches of the Altenau is largely close to nature, in its course through the Lößbörde it is completely non-natural structures. The banks are no shade for miles, which hinders the diversity of vegetation. Additionally, there are numerous Sohlabstürze present, which are partially removed. The catchment area of arable land with its loess soil lead to a permanent entry of fertilizer into the water. The biological quality of the water is, however, up rated in the upper reaches also because of their species richness with "very good", hereinafter collectively as "good", " satisfactory". The water quality is monitored at Wendessen.

Economic use

Shipping in the 16th Century

The regulation of the stream was not as usual after the land consolidation in the 19th century, but already in the 16th century. Duke Julius took the Dutch hydraulic engineer de moraine, and bound him, the Oker expand to regulate the Altenau and the honeycomb, in order to be able to sail on rafts. A tradition dating from 1577 states that the implementation is very difficult - it lacked the money - skilled workers would have to be used from the Netherlands. Only a few had been created so far, so is "the Altenau straightened over a length of 12 km, the river bed widened to 30 m, in which rafts of wood and lime could get out of the Elme to Oker ". A built dam at Dettum care of the required water depth. A continuation of this work should be among Duke Heinrich Julius, a son of the Duke Julius 1590 done. 1601, however, was only an 'improvement of the navigation channel " made. But not only for river navigation Schöppenstedter this trough was interesting.

Water mills

In the area with a high proportion of wheat production rapidly developed mills, which are called as water mills since the 12th century documented. In Eitzum passed up to four water mills. Even today, the names of forest mill at Küblingen, cuckoo mill at Bansleben and Wend eaters mill are available. An active use of hydropower is currently no longer takes place.

Sugar factories

Since the 19th century, sugar beet into an attractive crop especially in the fertile loess soils of Schöppenstedter well was. According sugar factories emerged in Schoeppenstedt and Dettum, formerly unknown, cleaned since the mid-20th century in the Altenau initiated their wastewater, resulting in a high workload on. Apart from the sanitation, the connection to the railway line was a significant location advantage. The lagoons of the sugar factory in Schoeppenstedt be used after the closure as a bird sanctuary.