Editing Oker (section)

== The Oker as border river ==
[[File:SchunterMuendung.jpg|thumb|Mouth of the Schunter into the Oker near Groß Schwülper]]

Since the early ninth century the middle Oker river has formed the [[Diocese|diocesan]] boundary between the [[Bishopric of Halberstadt|bishoprics of Halberstadt]] and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim|Hildesheim]], established by Emperor [[Charlemagne]] and his son [[Louis the Pious]] in the [[Duchy of Saxony]]. North of Schladen the royal palace (''[[Königspfalz]]'') of [[Schladen-Werla|Werla]] was established on the banks about {{convert|20|m}} above the river bed. From the High Middle Ages the Oker between the villages of [[Ohrum]] and [[Börßum]] formed the eastern boundary of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim]] with the [[Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]], and further south to Wiedelah (today part of [[Vienenburg]]) with the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt, which became the Prussian [[Principality of Halberstadt]] following its [[secularization]] in 1648.

The Bishopric of Halberstadt was likewise [[German Mediatisation|mediatised]] in 1803, and according to the Final Act of the 1815 [[Vienna Congress]], the Oker was the eastern border of the [[Kingdom of Hanover]] with the [[Duchy of Brunswick]] and the Prussian [[Province of Saxony]]. When the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] annexed Hanover in 1866, it became the inner Prussian border between the [[Province of Hanover|provinces of Hanover]] and [[Province of Saxony|Saxony]] as well as the border, north of Börßum to Ohrum between the Province of Hanover in the west and the Duchy of Brunswick in the east. From 1945 to 1990 the [[Inner German border]] between [[East Germany|East]] and [[West Germany]] ran down the centre of the Oker between Wiedelah and Schladen, today between the German [[States of Germany|states]] of [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[Lower Saxony]].

Since the [[Expo 2000]] bridges over the Oker in Braunschweig and its surrounding area were artistically designed; after 2004 this was carried out as part of the ''Okerlicht'' project.