The Altmark is a historical region that covers the territory of this district as well as parts of the neighbouring district of Stendal. In the 10th century AD, it was the eastern border province of the Holy Roman Empire; castles were built here in order to move the borders eastwards. The Altmark was a swampy and heavily contested region for centuries. In the 12th century, many swamps were drained, and the strongholds became small towns. In the Late Middle Ages, many towns were members of the Hanseatic League. Due to the Thirty Years' War the Altmark was completely devastated in the 17th century. It never regained its importance and remains sparsely populated to date.
The district was established in 1994 by merging the former districts of Gardelegen, Klötze, Salzwedel and (partially) Osterburg.
Geography
The area of the district is 2,294.6 km2 (886.0 sq mi).[2] The Altmark is a plain countryside, which once was full of fens and ponds. Today it is mainly covered with forests and heaths. It is generally dry, although some swampy regions survived. The largest of those is the Drömling, a large wetland in the southwest, which is a nature park shared with the neighbouring Börde (district).
The largest lake of the district is the Arendsee (5.54 km2); the town of Arendsee is named after this lake.
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