Holzminden
Encyclopedia
Holzminden is a town in southern Lower Saxony
, Germany
. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden
. It is located directly on the river Weser, which here is the border to North Rhine-Westphalia
.
Many towns are built because they are the location of the source of river and Holzminden is no exception. During the time of Ludwig the Pious, monks from the Abbey of Corbie in Francia came here and founded the monastery in Hethis in the Solling. When the site of this monastery was no longer viable it was closed and a new one, (Corvey Abbey, Corbeia nova
) was opened close to the river. Old documents show that many donations were given to the Holtesmeni (monastery) – people in those times were very concerned about the condition of their souls and godly living.
Presumably, it came into being, along with other settlements in the vicinity, in the period of 500 to 800 AD. Some other of the villages were abandoned when Holzminden was granted municipal laws, thus promising more privileges to its citizens and exerting a stronger attraction on its surroundings.
In 1200 the town was moved under the protection of the prince’s castle of Everstein, and by 1245 a town charter had already been issued. It had been the Count of Everstein who granted the town its new rights. The town's coat of arms shows the Everstein lion rampant within the open town gate.
From 1408 the town belonged to the Welfen princes and from the 16th century to the princes of Brunswick of the Wolfenbüttel line. So from the 16th century until 1942, Holzminden belonged to Brunswick-Lüneburg
. In 1640 during the Thirty Years' War
, Holzminden was destroyed by the emperor’s troops and it only recovered slowly. Until the 20th century Holzminden remained a provincial town of small farmers and holdings.
Holzminden was the site of a German POW camp for captured British officers in the First World War.
It's almost a hundred years since Dr. Wilhelm Haarmann began developing the scent and flavors industry. In 1874, together with Prof. Ferdinand Tiemann, Dr. Haarmann managed the first synthesis of vanillin
. More and more new products were developed that are today produced in the factory Symrise
. Today Holzminden is the famous centre of the flavor and fragrance ingredient industry, ingredients which are used in the cosmetic and food industries worldwide.
The company Stiebel Eltron
, known worldwide, has its headquarters in Holzminden. This large company which produces heating equipment and ovens is an important part of, and contribution to the towns economy.
The "Reichspräsidentenhaus" links the old part of the town with the Hafendamm and was inaugurated in 1929. The beautiful „Glockenspiel“ or carrillon is very popular and it plays well known melodies at certain hours.
The steeple of the Lutheran church is a symbol of Holzminden. It was rebuilt inside in 1577 and made into a two-room church. The green-lightning roof is also shining through the night.
The Severinsche Haus is a richly decorated house dating from 1683 that is well known for its strangely slanting floors. It is also the largest of the small businessmen’s houses and is therefore particularly well known. It is decorated with a distinctive weathercock.
LSH, the Landschulheim am Solling is a private boarding school founded in 1909 in the course of an educational reform movement that sought to bring schooling to bear upon the entire personality until leaving examination. 'Mind, Heart and Hand' of students were and are to be advanced equally. School buildings and campus within large park - like grounds on a western slope of the Solling are well-remembered by many graduates throughout the world. Thus, the LSH contributes, since almost 100 years now, to the fame of its home town.http://www.lsh-holzminden.de
in Fife, UK
Holzminden homepage http://www.holzminden.de/
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 the capital of the district of Holzminden
Holzminden (district)
Holzminden is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hamelin-Pyrmont, Hildesheim and Northeim, and by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia .-History:...
. It is located directly on the river Weser, which here is the border to North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
.
History
Holzminden was first mentioned in the 9th century as Holtesmeni; however, the name did not originally refer to the present city, but to the village of Altendorf, the "old village", which was incorporated into the city in 1922.Many towns are built because they are the location of the source of river and Holzminden is no exception. During the time of Ludwig the Pious, monks from the Abbey of Corbie in Francia came here and founded the monastery in Hethis in the Solling. When the site of this monastery was no longer viable it was closed and a new one, (Corvey Abbey, Corbeia nova
Corvey Abbey
The Imperial Abbey of Corvey was a Benedictine monastery on the River Weser, 2 km northeast of Höxter, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
) was opened close to the river. Old documents show that many donations were given to the Holtesmeni (monastery) – people in those times were very concerned about the condition of their souls and godly living.
Presumably, it came into being, along with other settlements in the vicinity, in the period of 500 to 800 AD. Some other of the villages were abandoned when Holzminden was granted municipal laws, thus promising more privileges to its citizens and exerting a stronger attraction on its surroundings.
In 1200 the town was moved under the protection of the prince’s castle of Everstein, and by 1245 a town charter had already been issued. It had been the Count of Everstein who granted the town its new rights. The town's coat of arms shows the Everstein lion rampant within the open town gate.
From 1408 the town belonged to the Welfen princes and from the 16th century to the princes of Brunswick of the Wolfenbüttel line. So from the 16th century until 1942, Holzminden belonged to Brunswick-Lüneburg
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
. In 1640 during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, Holzminden was destroyed by the emperor’s troops and it only recovered slowly. Until the 20th century Holzminden remained a provincial town of small farmers and holdings.
Holzminden was the site of a German POW camp for captured British officers in the First World War.
Economy
Crafts and farming have long ceased to be the main town's sources of income. Today, Holzminden is quite an industrial town.It's almost a hundred years since Dr. Wilhelm Haarmann began developing the scent and flavors industry. In 1874, together with Prof. Ferdinand Tiemann, Dr. Haarmann managed the first synthesis of vanillin
Vanillin
Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde, an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. Its functional groups include aldehyde, ether, and phenol. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. It is also found in Leptotes bicolor, roasted coffee and the Chinese red pine...
. More and more new products were developed that are today produced in the factory Symrise
Symrise
Symrise is a major producer of flavors and fragrances with sales of € 1,572 million in 2010. Major competitors include Firmenich, Givaudan, International Flavors and Fragrances and Takasago International.-History:...
. Today Holzminden is the famous centre of the flavor and fragrance ingredient industry, ingredients which are used in the cosmetic and food industries worldwide.
The company Stiebel Eltron
Stiebel Eltron
Stiebel Eltron is a company based in Holzminden, Germany that manufactures central heating products such as heat pumps. The UK office was set up on the Wirral Peninsula in 2008....
, known worldwide, has its headquarters in Holzminden. This large company which produces heating equipment and ovens is an important part of, and contribution to the towns economy.
Religion
As a part of the former Brunswick territory, Holzminden maintains a Protestant tradition. The church of St. Pauls in Altendorf, dating back to a time before 1200, is the oldest of the churches in town. Although it does not own prominent pieces of historical art, this house of worship and in its simplicity offers a serene place for rest and contemplation. In addition, churches named after Luther, St. Michael, St. Thomas and St. Joseph are existing.Sights
The Tilly house from 1609 is located on the Johannis square and has a beautiful Renaissance door, which survived the fires of the Thirty Years' War. The story goes that the commander Tilly spent a night here during that time.The "Reichspräsidentenhaus" links the old part of the town with the Hafendamm and was inaugurated in 1929. The beautiful „Glockenspiel“ or carrillon is very popular and it plays well known melodies at certain hours.
The steeple of the Lutheran church is a symbol of Holzminden. It was rebuilt inside in 1577 and made into a two-room church. The green-lightning roof is also shining through the night.
The Severinsche Haus is a richly decorated house dating from 1683 that is well known for its strangely slanting floors. It is also the largest of the small businessmen’s houses and is therefore particularly well known. It is decorated with a distinctive weathercock.
Specials of Education
- HAWK, the Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst was founded in 1831/32 by Friedrich Ludwig Haarmann as the first college of architecture in Germany. Meanwhile, the "Bauschule" has become an essential feature of the town, and many student' activities, such as the traditional master's procession, are characteristic for Holzminden.
LSH, the Landschulheim am Solling is a private boarding school founded in 1909 in the course of an educational reform movement that sought to bring schooling to bear upon the entire personality until leaving examination. 'Mind, Heart and Hand' of students were and are to be advanced equally. School buildings and campus within large park - like grounds on a western slope of the Solling are well-remembered by many graduates throughout the world. Thus, the LSH contributes, since almost 100 years now, to the fame of its home town.http://www.lsh-holzminden.de
International relations
Holzminden is twinned with: LevenLeven, Fife
Leven is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, north-east of Kirkcaldy and east of Glenrothes....
in Fife, UK
Freeman of the town
- August Hampe, * 20. April 1866 † 6. Februar 1945 in Holzminden; German politician, Minister of Justice of the Braunschweig District
- Erwin Böhme, * 29. Juli 1879 † 29. November 1917 bei Zonnebeke; veteran of WW I
- Leopold Scherman, † 11. September 1970; architect
- Carl Wilhelm Gerberding, * 14. März 1894 † 2. Mai 1984; industrialist and founder of the Dragoco
- Adolf HeusingerAdolf HeusingerAdolf Heusinger was a German General. He briefly served as Chief of the General Staff of the Army during World War II and served as the first Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, the West German armed forces, from 1957 to 1961...
, * 4. August 1897 † 30. November 1982 in Köln; German general - Eberhard Itzenplitz, * 8. November 1926; film director
Other notable people who have lived in Holzminden
- Robert BunsenRobert BunsenRobert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium and rubidium with Gustav Kirchhoff. Bunsen developed several gas-analytical methods, was a pioneer in photochemistry, and did early work in the field of organoarsenic...
, *30. März 1811 † 16. August 1899; chemist - Wilhelm RaabeWilhelm RaabeWilhelm Raabe , German novelist, whose early works were published under the pseudonym of Jakob Corvinus, was born in Eschershausen ....
, *8. September 1831 † 15. November 1910; novelist - James WhaleJames WhaleJames Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
, *22 July 1889 † 29 May 1957; film director - Niels JannaschNiels JannaschNiels Windekilde Jannasch, OC was a mariner, marine historian and the founding director of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.He was born on July 5, 1924 in Holzminden, Germany. Jannasch served with coastal forces in the German navy in World War Two. After the war he sailed in merchant ships,...
, *5. July 1924. † 9. November 2001; mariner, curator, maritime historian - Jonatan BrielJonatan BrielJonatan Karl Dieter Briel was a German director, screenplay author, and actor. He was born in Bodenwerder, Lower Saxony, and died in Berlin...
, *9. Juni 1942 † 26. Dezember 1988 in Berlin; film director, actor - Uwe Schünemann, *8. August 1964; CDU-politician and Minister of the Lower Saxony
- Thomas Gnyra, *12. October 1991; entrepreneur
- Armin Nagel, *03. may 1974; entrepreneur alternativ fuel systems (GM Service)
See also
- Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-WolfsburgMetropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-WolfsburgThe Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region is an economic and cultural region in Northern Germany. The metropolitan area comprises approximately one third of the area of Lower Saxony, with almost half the inhabitants of the state...
Holzminden homepage http://www.holzminden.de/