Hitzacker
Encyclopedia
Lüchow-Dannenberg
Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany which is usually referred to as Hannoversches Wendland or Wendland. It is bounded by the districts of Uelzen and Lüneburg and the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in...
district of 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. It is situated on the river Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
, approx. 8 km north of Dannenberg
Dannenberg
- Places :* Dannenberg , a town in Germany* County of Dannenberg, a medieval fief founded by Henry the Lion- People :* Konrad Dannenberg, German-American engineer* Peter A Dannenberg, Russian general...
, and 45 km east of Lüneburg
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
. The 2007 population of Hitzacker was 4,982, and its postal code is 29456. The mayor is Karl Guhl. The town is located on the German Timber-Frame Road and is part of the Samtgemeinde ("collective municipality") of Elbtalaue
Elbtalaue
Elbtalaue is a Samtgemeinde in the district of Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Its seat is in the town Dannenberg.The Samtgemeinde Elbtalaue consists of the following municipalities:#Damnatz#Dannenberg...
.
The famous library now in Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Oker river about 13 kilometres south of Brunswick. It is the seat of the District of Wolfenbüttel and of the bishop of the Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick...
was originally founded here by Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Augustus of Brunswick-Lüneburg , called the Younger, was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In the estate division of the House of Welf of 1635, he received the Principality of Wolfenbüttel....
(who died in 1666) and was moved to its present location in 1643.
Location
Hitzacker is situated at the confluence of the River Jeetzel with the ElbeElbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
. Whilst the so-called Elbe Heights (Elbhöhen, also Klötzie), at the southeastern foot of which Hitzacker lies, belong to the natural region of the Lüneburg Heath
Lüneburg Heath
The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...
(c.f. the Drawehn
Drawehn
The Drawehn is a partly wooded and partly agricultural region of hills in the northeastern part of the German state of Lower Saxony, lying between the districts of Lüneburg and Uelzen in the west and Lüchow-Dannenberg in the east.- Definition :...
), the lowland areas of the old town belong to the Elbe valley water meadows (Elbtalaue).
Its height varies from at the Jeetzel confluence to on the hill of Weinberg in the Klötzie
Drawehn
The Drawehn is a partly wooded and partly agricultural region of hills in the northeastern part of the German state of Lower Saxony, lying between the districts of Lüneburg and Uelzen in the west and Lüchow-Dannenberg in the east.- Definition :...
. Further down the Elbe, the hill of Kniepenberg near Drethem attains and offers a panoramic view over the Elbe valley depression.
Town divisions
Since the municipal reform of 1972, the borough of Hitzacker has consisted of the town itself and the 11 villages listed below.- Bahrendorf
- Grabau
- Harlingen
- Hitzacker
- Kähmen
- Nienwedel
- Pussade
- Seerau
- Tießau
- Tiesmesland
- Wietzetze
- Wussegel
Other settlements in the borough are:
- Dötzingen, manor
- Hagen, manor
- Leitstade
- Marwedel
- Meudelfitz, manor
- Meudelfitz, settlement
- Posade, forest house (Forsthaus)
- Sarchem
- Schmessau
- Schmardau
Before 1972, Pussade and Posade Forsthaus belonged to the municipality of Harlingen, Dötzingen Manor, Hagen Manor, Marwedel, Meudelfitz Manor, Meudelfitz and Sarchem to the town of Hitzacker and Leitstade to Wietzetze. The manors of Dötzingen, Hagen and Marwedel are located today within the town of Hitzacker.
History
Man had already settled by around 3000 B.C. at the lake of Hitzackersee and the region has been continuously settled for over three thousand years.On the Weinberg next to the present old town (Altstadt) Slavs built a castle in the eighth century. As a result Hitzacker became an important trading centre even before its receiving town rights. Its actual foundation as a town took place in 1258, whereupon the castle lost its significance and was allowed to fall into ruins.
A manuscript referring to Hitzacker dating to 20 January 1376 states the following:
"The dukes, Wenceslas
Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg from the House of Ascania ruled from 1370 to 1388 and was a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire as well as Prince of Lüneburg. He was the son of Rudolf I and his 3rd wife, Agnes of Lindow.- Life :In 1370 Wenceslas succeeded his brother Rudolf II...
and Albert of Saxony and Lüneburg
Albert of Saxe-Wittenberg, Duke of Lüneburg
Albert of Saxe-Wittenberg was born as the son of Otto , a younger son of the prince-elector Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg, and his wife Elisabeth, daughter of Duke William II of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and Duke Bernard of Brunswick of Lüneburg
Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Bernard , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruled over several principalities of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In the genealogy of the House of Welf, he is considered the first member of the Second House of Lüneburg....
allow the council of the town of Lüneburg to add the 30 marks of the lot
Lot (unit)
A lot is an old unit of weight used in many European countries since Middle Agesuntil the beginning of the 20th century.Most often it was defined as either or of a pound....
which Lord Ludolf von Tzellenstede undertook to pay on the town's behalf on 13 April next, and the 150 marks of the lot which he also agreed to pay on the following 25 December, as well as the 100 marks of the lot the council paid on behalf of Lords Ordenberg and Siegfried Bock, i.e. 280 marks of the lot and the interest due to be added to the pledge for the castles of Bleckede
Bleckede
Bleckede is a town in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated mostly on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. 20 km east of Lüneburg.Bleckede is located on the German Framework Road.-History:...
and Hitzacker and the taxes from Lüneburg and Hitzacker, in the event that the lords do not repay the council on the said days, and vow also not to relieve the council from the pledges before they have repaid the sum pledged and the above money."
In 1548, on the Friday after Jubilate Sunday
Jubilate Sunday
Jubilate Sunday is the third Sunday after Easter. It is called this because in the liturgy of the Catholic Church the first line of the introit for that day's mass is "Jubilate Deo omnis terra" from Psalm 66 ....
, a conflagration reduced the village of Hitzacker to ashes apart from the church and one house.
In 1610 a number of people in Hitzacker and the surrounding area were accused of witchcraft and sorcery.
On the 3rd day of Christmas in 1668 the church, vicarage and eight houses burned down.
In the Polabian
Polabian language
The Polabian language is an extinct West Slavic language that was spoken by the Polabian Slavs in present-day North-Eastern Germany around the Elbe river, from which derives its name...
("Wendish") language of the region that died out in the 18th century Hitzacker was called Ljauci (Lgautztgi).
The borough of Hitzacker was created as part of the municipal reform in 1972 from ten hitherto independent parishes.
Politics
The town of Hitzacker belongs to state constituency No. 48 – Elbe and federal constituency No. 38 – Lüchow-Dannenberg – Lüneburg.Council
The town councilTown council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
of Hitzacker has 17 councillors.
| CDU | SPD | FDP | Initiativ für Hitzacker / INI | Total | |
| 2006 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 17 seats |
as at: local elections of 10 September 2006
Partnerships
The town used to be partnered with the municipality of WischWisch (Gelderland)
Wisch is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The municipality was created in 1818, in a merger of Terborg and Varsseveld, and existed until 2005, when it became a part of the new municipality of Oude IJsselstreek....
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Culture and places of interest
- Town roundabout with timber-framed houses and the 1589 customs house (Zollhaus)
Museums
- Hitzacker Archaeological CentreHitzacker Archaeological CentreThe Hitzacker Archaeological Centre is an archaeological open air museum in Hitzacker in the German state of Lower Saxony. The core them of the museum is the presentation of Bronze Age settlements....
- The Old Customs House Museum (Das Alte Zollhaus)
- Hunting Lodge and Forest Museum in GöhrdeGöhrdeGöhrde is a municipality in the district of Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.The municipality was named after the Göhrde State Forest, which has an area of about , famous for its oaks, beeches and game preserves. The hunting lodge situated in the forest was built in 1689 and was restored...
Other
- Excavations at the Hitzacker See
- Sacrifice stone (Opferstein) near Pudripp
- Wildlife enclosure (Wildgehege) in Hitzacker
- Prince's Graves (Fürstengräber), Marwedel
- Megalithic tombs and tumuli near Pussade
- The Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellschaft or Wifo: former Nazi underground fuel depot in the Dötzingen Forest outside Hitzacker
- Hitzacker's shooting guild, the Schützengilde von 1395 zu Hitzacker (Elbe), is one of the oldest in Europe.
Tourism
Hitzacker has a long tradition as a tourist destination. For instance, the Local History Working Group of Lüchow-Dannenberg (Heimatkundliche Arbeitskreis Lüchow-Dannenberg or HALD) held a conference in 1983 with the title "100 Years of Tourism in Hitzacker – 50 Year Old Local History and Museum Society“. Around the turn of the century, holidaymakers from the Hamburg and Hanover regions came to the spa hotel on the Weinberg hill. The hotel had its own spring used as a drinking fountain and for bathing by those taking the Kur. Day excursions on the river, along the Elbe, took place, and it had its own shipping line: Hamburg-Lauenburg-Dömitz. Today tourism has experienced a change. The health business has been replaced by "wellness" and beauty facilities. Hitzacker has since become a recognised climatic spa. Many of its hotels offer so-called wellness treatments and there is a spa area with a Kneipp basin and barefoot path. Hitzacker is the venue for musical events like the Hitzacker Summer Music Days (Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker) under the artistic direction of Dr. Markus Fein, and Hitzacker Music Week (Musikwoche Hitzacker) under the direction of Ludwig GüttlerLudwig Guttler
Ludwig Güttler, also Ludwig Guttler, is an internationally known German trumpet and corno da caccia virtuoso....
. There are three museums, including the Archaeological Centre with a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
open air museum. On the Weinberg, vines have been cultivated for several centuries, and once a year the vintage is celebrated by the officiating wine queen. Hitzacker takes part in various marketing initiatives; for example the town is on the German Timber-Frame Road, the Lower Saxon Asparagus Road
Lower Saxon Asparagus Road
The Lower Saxon Asparagus Road is a tourist route in North Germany that confers recognition of the asparagus as a delicacy in the region. The vegetable is grown in the areas between Brunswick and Lüneburg, between Bremen, Cloppenburg and Vechta, and from Nienburg/Weser via Hoya to Soltau.The...
and a partner in the German-Dutch Orange Route
Orange Route
The Orange Route is a holiday route, that runs from Amsterdam in the Netherlands through North and Central Germany and returns to Amsterdam. It is 2,400 kilometres long and crossess the Netherlands and nine German federal states...
.
Transport
Hitzacker has a railway link to Dannenberg and Lüneburg on the Wendland Railway. Another station on the same line is located in the local village of Leitstade. There are bus links to Lüneburg, Uelzen and Dannenberg as well as the county town of Lüchow. In Hitzacker there is a passenger ferry over the Elbe.Education
There are three schools in Hitzacker:- Hitzacker Primary School
- Bernhard Varenius School
- Hitzacker Free School
Notable townsfolk
- Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick and Lüneburg-WolfenbüttelAnthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-WolfenbüttelAnthony Ulrich was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Wolfenbüttel subdivision of the duchy from 1685 until 1702 jointly with his brother, and solely from 1704 until his death.-Life:Anthony Ulrich was the second son of Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg; he studied at the...
(1633–1714), duke, writer and art lover - Hans Georg Ahrens (* 1944), German opera singer
- Claus von Amsberg (1926–2002), German diplomat and Prince of the Netherlands
- Bernhard Varenius (1622–1650), physician, geographer
- Ferdinand Wohltmann (1857–1919), agronomist
- Rudi Müller-Glöge (* 1951), German lawyer and vice-president of the Federal Labour Court
Sources
- Berndt Wachter: „Die Fortführung der Grabung auf dem Weinberg bei Hitzacker (Elbe) im Jahr 1971“. In: NNU 41 (1972), p. 227 ff.
- Berndt Wachter: „Eine slawische Wallanlage – Die Grabung auf dem Weinberg in Hitzacker (Elbe) im Jahre 1972“. In: NNU 42 (1973), p. 300 ff.