Sugar Beet - East Germany

 

 

Beta vulgaris - Sugar, extracted from cane, was an expensive luxury for 18th century Europeans. In 1747 Andreas Marggraf, a director of the Prussian Royal Academy of Sciences,  began experiments to extract sugar from beetroots. His student Franz Archard tested several varieties to determine which yielded the highest concentrations of sugar and settled on the mangelwurzel, a variety of Beta vulgaris. Sugar made from beets accounts for almost 15% of the world’s total production.

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Lake Müritz is one of many lakes in the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau region of Eastern Germany. With an area of 112 square kilometers, it is the largest lake completely within the borders of Germany and was formed during the last ice age. The lake is fed and drained by the Elde River and is partially located in the Müritz National Park, a wildlife refuge of about 322 square kilometers. The park features extensive pine forests, marshy bogs, and over 100 other lakes exceeding one hectare in size.