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Sülze (Bergen)
Encyclopedia
Sülze is a village administered by the Lower Saxon town of Bergen in the northern part of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath
in North Germany
.
about 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) north of Celle on state road (Landesstraße
) L 240 which runs from Celle to Hermannsburg
. Sülze is responsible for the neighbouring hamlets of Waldhof and Twießelhop.
Sülze belongs to the Low German
language area and the Northern Low Saxon
dialect group. Since the end of the Second World War, however, High German has largely superseded it. However, Low German continues to be used colloquially especially amongst the older members of the village.
s in Sülze.
The establishment of the village of Sülze cannot be precisely dated. However it can be assumed that Sülze originally emerged from an individual farmstead to become a horse-breeding estate or Sattelhof with state rights, and that the wider settlement appeared when the Sülze saltworks began operations in the 14th century. From 1390 the Sattelhof was owned by the Rabe family, although which of the Rabes lived here cannot be stated with certainty.
In 1354 the settlement was first mentioned in the records as Op dem Solte ("on the Salze"). In registers from the years 1381 and 1382 details of local private houses (Kötnerhöfe) were recorded, as well as the raising of a 'salt pan' tax (Pfannenzins). This is also the first time that the Sülze Saltworks
is mentioned in the records.
In 1475 the first chapel was built in Sülze, which initially belonged to the town of Bergen. Following a donation in 1502 the village was given its own rectorate (Pfarrstelle) and Sülze was made an independent parish and centre of the parish of Sülze
.
The extraction of salt by the saltworks was vital to the village for many centuries. The inhabitants secured their living by working as salt boilers (Sieder), salt drivers (Salzfahrer or Sölter) or craftsmen. The actual name of the village comes from these Salzfahrer, which in Low German is slurred to sult. This became the High German word Sülze.
The 19th century was marked by the closure of the Sülze saltworks in 1862 and by comprehensive agrarian reforms. Fundamental to the other reforms was a general division (Generalteilung) of land, whereby villages were given fixed boundaries and every piece of land was allocated to a community. The extent of the area given to individual villages was based on their historical grazing rights. Because Sülze was primarily dependent economically on the saltworks and agriculture only played a secondary role, it was only allocated just under 800 hectares (1,976.8 acre). This reform was followed by the Gemeinheitsteilung whereby the common land
was transferred into the freehold of individual farms, depending on their existing rights to common land.
On the basis of the Kingdom of Hanover
's 1833 redemption law the obligations on farms under the manorial system were repealed. Farms to which the so-called manorial rights applied had been hitherto obliged to give numerous services and make frequent payments to the manor. That was now repealed on payment of 25 times the annual dues and the land was then granted under freehold into the farmers' ownership.
's office, the lowest level of administration and justice, which was presided over by a ducal vogt
. From the 15th century the administrative post in Sülze was subordinated to it and was responsible for the parish of Sülze. Matters of importance that only affected Sülze were discussed and decided by the Realgemeinde, i.e. the farm owners who had common land
rights. The political reforms of the 19th century brought about a fundamental change from which the political municipality of Sülze arose. Participation in the resolution of village affairs was no longer dependent on ownership of property or land; instead every male villager over 25 had the right to vote.
Since the merging of local councils as part of the Lower Saxon administrative reforms of 1971, Sülze has been part of the town of Bergen. Sülze is represented by a local council (Ortsrat) and a mayor (Ortsbürgermeister). The council is empowered, inter alia, to make decisions about public services in the village, is responsible for maintaining the appearance of the village and for overseeing its clubs and societies, and has to be consulted by the town of Bergen on all important matters affecting the village. It consists of five elected representatives who, together with the mayor, sit on the Bergen town council. The village council elects its own mayor. The current incumbent is Peter Rabe (CDU).
and Celle
on a narrow gauge (Kleinbahn
) railway. Buses on the Celle
- Faßberg
route operated by CeBus stop several times a day in Sülze and link the place to the surrounding villages.
52°46′07"N 10°02′10"E
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...
in North 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...
.
Geography
Sülze lies on the edge of the Südheide Nature ParkSüdheide Nature Park
The Südheide Nature Park is a large protected area of forest and heathland in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany...
about 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) north of Celle on state road (Landesstraße
Landesstraße
Landesstraßen are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads that cross the boundary of a rural or urban district...
) L 240 which runs from Celle to Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg is a municipality in the Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the River Örtze, approx. 15 kilometers east of Bergen and 30 kilometers north of Celle.-Division of the municipality:...
. Sülze is responsible for the neighbouring hamlets of Waldhof and Twießelhop.
Expansion
The following table shows the expansion in Sülze's population. Note the significant jump in population size after the Second World War, mainly due to the influx of refugees.| Year | Population | Houses | Year | Population | Houses | Year | Population | Houses | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 328 | 1939 | 859 | 1967 | 1508 | |||||
| 1848 | 433 | 1950 | 1391 | 2000 | 1656 | |||||
Language
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
language area and the Northern Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon is a West Low German dialect.As such, it covers a great part of the West Low-German-speaking areas of northern Germany, with the exception of the border regions where Eastphalian and Westphalian are spoken...
dialect group. Since the end of the Second World War, however, High German has largely superseded it. However, Low German continues to be used colloquially especially amongst the older members of the village.
Religion
The majority of Sülze's inhabitants belong to the protestant faith. A priest in Bergen is responsible for Roman Catholics. In addition since the arrival of Kurdish families in the 1980s there is a fair minority of YazidiYazidi
The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...
s in Sülze.
History
In 1354 the settlement was first mentioned in the records as Op dem Solte ("on the Salze"). In registers from the years 1381 and 1382 details of local private houses (Kötnerhöfe) were recorded, as well as the raising of a 'salt pan' tax (Pfannenzins). This is also the first time that the Sülze Saltworks
Sülze Saltworks
The Sülze Saltworks was a 'saline', or saltworks, on the Lüneburg Heath in Germany which was worked for centuries, from the High Middle Ages to 1862. It had a considerable impact on the history of the village of Sülze and other heath villages in the area....
is mentioned in the records.
In 1475 the first chapel was built in Sülze, which initially belonged to the town of Bergen. Following a donation in 1502 the village was given its own rectorate (Pfarrstelle) and Sülze was made an independent parish and centre of the parish of Sülze
Church of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian, Sülze
The Church of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian in Sülze is a church of the Evangelical-Lutheran parish in the church district of Celle and in the Evangelical-Lutheran State Church of Hanover.- History of the parish :...
.
The extraction of salt by the saltworks was vital to the village for many centuries. The inhabitants secured their living by working as salt boilers (Sieder), salt drivers (Salzfahrer or Sölter) or craftsmen. The actual name of the village comes from these Salzfahrer, which in Low German is slurred to sult. This became the High German word Sülze.
The 19th century was marked by the closure of the Sülze saltworks in 1862 and by comprehensive agrarian reforms. Fundamental to the other reforms was a general division (Generalteilung) of land, whereby villages were given fixed boundaries and every piece of land was allocated to a community. The extent of the area given to individual villages was based on their historical grazing rights. Because Sülze was primarily dependent economically on the saltworks and agriculture only played a secondary role, it was only allocated just under 800 hectares (1,976.8 acre). This reform was followed by the Gemeinheitsteilung whereby the common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
was transferred into the freehold of individual farms, depending on their existing rights to common land.
On the basis of the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
's 1833 redemption law the obligations on farms under the manorial system were repealed. Farms to which the so-called manorial rights applied had been hitherto obliged to give numerous services and make frequent payments to the manor. That was now repealed on payment of 25 times the annual dues and the land was then granted under freehold into the farmers' ownership.
Politics and administration
Since the 14th century Bergen was recorded as having a vogteiVogtei
Vogtei could be:* The residenz or domain of a Vogt* Vogtei , a municipal association in the Unstrut-Hainich district of Thuringia, Germany....
's office, the lowest level of administration and justice, which was presided over by a ducal vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
. From the 15th century the administrative post in Sülze was subordinated to it and was responsible for the parish of Sülze. Matters of importance that only affected Sülze were discussed and decided by the Realgemeinde, i.e. the farm owners who had common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
rights. The political reforms of the 19th century brought about a fundamental change from which the political municipality of Sülze arose. Participation in the resolution of village affairs was no longer dependent on ownership of property or land; instead every male villager over 25 had the right to vote.
Since the merging of local councils as part of the Lower Saxon administrative reforms of 1971, Sülze has been part of the town of Bergen. Sülze is represented by a local council (Ortsrat) and a mayor (Ortsbürgermeister). The council is empowered, inter alia, to make decisions about public services in the village, is responsible for maintaining the appearance of the village and for overseeing its clubs and societies, and has to be consulted by the town of Bergen on all important matters affecting the village. It consists of five elected representatives who, together with the mayor, sit on the Bergen town council. The village council elects its own mayor. The current incumbent is Peter Rabe (CDU).
Transport
Sülze lies on state road 240 from Celle to Hermannsburg. Until 1975 Sülze station was linked to Bergen and, later when the line was extended, to HermannsburgHermannsburg
Hermannsburg is a municipality in the Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the River Örtze, approx. 15 kilometers east of Bergen and 30 kilometers north of Celle.-Division of the municipality:...
and Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
on a narrow gauge (Kleinbahn
Kleinbahn
The term Kleinbahn was a light railway concept used especially in Prussia for a railway line that "on account of its low importance for general railway transport" had less strict requirements placed on its construction and operation that main lines or secondary lines...
) railway. Buses on the Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
- Faßberg
Faßberg
Faßberg is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 35 km north of Celle, and 30 km west of Uelzen.-Places of interest:* Historic village centre of Müden * Berlin Airlift memorial* St...
route operated by CeBus stop several times a day in Sülze and link the place to the surrounding villages.
Personalities
- Georgette Dee (9 September 1958) − German singer and actress
- Hermann EhlersHermann EhlersHermann Ehlers was a German politician. He was President of the Bundestag from 19 October 1950 - 29 October 1954.He was a member of the Christian Democratic Union.- Early life :...
(1 October 1904 in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- 29 October 1954 in Oldenburg) − German politician
Literature
- Horst Gädcke: Eversen. Ein altes Dorf im Celler Land, 1994. ISBN 3-930374-02-1
- Wilhelm Helms - Sülze. Beiträge zur Dorf-, Kirchenspiel- und Salinengeschichte, 2005
- August Theiss - Die Geschichte der Saline zu Sülze 1979
External links
52°46′07"N 10°02′10"E