Alfeld
Encyclopedia
For the town in the district of Nürnberger Land
, see Alfeld, Bavaria
.
Alfeld is a town in Lower Saxony
, Germany
. It is located on the Leine
river in the district of Hildesheim
and on the German Framework Road
.
of 1911, a fine example of early modernist architecture by Walter Gropius
. More famous are the Seven Hills (German: Sieben Berge
) in the north and the Lippoldshöhle ("Lippold's cave"), where a legendary robber-knight is said to have lived.
The assertion that the popular fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
was born in Alfeld is false. Even though the miners who mined ore In the Seven Mountains believed in the existence of dwarfs, it is more likely that the cradle of the fairy tale is to be searched in France. The version the brothers Grimm
heard and wrote down, as they travelled through the Seven Mountains, on the so called Märchenstrasse (Street Of Fairytales) is just one of many.
The biggest employer of the city is the SAPPI (South African Pulp and Paper Industry) factory with its big chimney, which has become one of Alfeld's landmarks. Even more famous than SAPPI is the Fagus Werk
, rebuilt in 1910-1915 after the blueprints of architect Walter-Gropius, what is said to be trend-setting for modern architecture.
Alfeld is a strategically important town fought for repeatedly by both NATO and Soviet forces in Tom Clancy's
novel Red Storm Rising
.
Nürnberger Land
Nürnberger Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Forchheim, Bayreuth, Amberg-Sulzbach, Neumarkt, Roth and Erlangen-Höchstadt, and by the city of Nuremberg.-History:...
, see Alfeld, Bavaria
Alfeld, Bavaria
Alfeld is a municipality in the district of Nürnberger Land in Bavaria in Germany. Alfeld has around 1200 inhabitants and is famous for his traditional kermis which the people celebrate at the end of August every year....
.
Alfeld is a town in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is located on the Leine
Leine
The Leine is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller river and 281 km in length.The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia...
river in the district of Hildesheim
Hildesheim (district)
Hildesheim is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hanover, Peine, Wolfenbüttel, Goslar, Northeim, Holzminden and Hamelin-Pyrmont.-History:...
and on the German Framework Road
German Framework Road
The German Timber-Frame Road is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to Lake Constance in the south. Along the road you can find nearly 100 cities and towns with remarkable timber-framed houses...
.
History and main sights
The town was founded in 1214. Sights in Alfeld include the town hall (1586) with its octagonal tower, the church Saint Nicolai and the Fillerturm, a medieval watchtower and the Fagus FactoryFagus Factory
The Fagus Factory , a shoe last factory in Alfeld on the Leine in Germany, is an important example of early modern architecture. Commissioned by owner Carl Benscheidt who wanted a radical structure to express the company's break from the past, the factory was designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf...
of 1911, a fine example of early modernist architecture by Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
. More famous are the Seven Hills (German: Sieben Berge
Sieben Berge
The Sieben Berge are a ridge of hills up to in the Lower Saxon Hills in the district of Hildesheim, Lower Saxony . Together with the Vorberge and the Sackwald the Sieben Berge belong to the geological formation of the Sackmulde....
) in the north and the Lippoldshöhle ("Lippold's cave"), where a legendary robber-knight is said to have lived.
Culture
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
was born in Alfeld is false. Even though the miners who mined ore In the Seven Mountains believed in the existence of dwarfs, it is more likely that the cradle of the fairy tale is to be searched in France. The version the brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
heard and wrote down, as they travelled through the Seven Mountains, on the so called Märchenstrasse (Street Of Fairytales) is just one of many.
Economy
Fagus Factory
The Fagus Factory , a shoe last factory in Alfeld on the Leine in Germany, is an important example of early modern architecture. Commissioned by owner Carl Benscheidt who wanted a radical structure to express the company's break from the past, the factory was designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf...
, rebuilt in 1910-1915 after the blueprints of architect Walter-Gropius, what is said to be trend-setting for modern architecture.
Popular culture
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
novel Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
.