First results from NA49 on Pb+Pb collisions at 158 GeV/nucleon

First results from the NA49 experiment with a {sup 208}Pb beam on a Pb target at the CERN SPS with total energy of 33 TeV are presented. Data on transverse energy production, forward energy flow and rapidity density of negative hadrons are shown and discussed. The degree of nuclear stopping and the energy densities achieved are estimated for near head-on collisions.