Wikipedia

Hitzacker

Hitzackeris a town in theLüchow-Dannenbergdistrict ofLower Saxony,Germany.It is situated on the riverElbe,approx. 8 km north ofDannenberg,and 45 km east ofLüneburg.The 2007 population of Hitzacker was 4,982, and its postal code is 29456. The mayor is Holger Mertins. The town is located on theGerman Timber-Frame Roadand is part of theSamtgemeinde( "collective municipality" ) ofElbtalaue.

Hitzacker
Town
View from the Weinberg over the old town
View from theWeinbergover the old town
Coat of arms of Hitzacker
Coat of arms
Location of Hitzacker within Lüchow-Dannenberg district
Mecklenburg-VorpommernSaxony-AnhaltBrandenburgLüneburg (district)Uelzen (district)Neu DarchauHitzackerGöhrdeGöhrde (unincorporated area)DamnatzKarwitzZernienGusbornLangendorfDannenberg (Elbe)JamelnLüchowWustrowLuckau (Wendland)KüstenWaddeweitzClenzeBergen an der DummeSchnegaLübbowWoltersdorfLemgowPrezelleTrebelGorlebenGartowHöhbeckSchnackenburgGartow (unincorporated area)
Hitzacker is located in Germany
Hitzacker
Hitzacker
Hitzacker is located in Lower Saxony
Hitzacker
Hitzacker
Coordinates:53°8′N11°3′E/ 53.133°N 11.050°E/53.133; 11.050
CountryGermany
StateLower Saxony
DistrictLüchow-Dannenberg
Municipal assoc.Elbtalaue
Subdivisions12 parishes
Government
•MayorHolger Mertins (FDP)
Area
• Total
58.44 km2(22.56 sq mi)
Elevation
12 m (39 ft)
Population
(2022-12-31)[1]
• Total
5,107
• Density87/km2(230/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+02:00(CEST)
Postal codes
29456
Dialling codes05862, 05858 (OT Pussade), 05861 (OT Kähmen)
Vehicle registrationDAN
Websitehitzacker.de

The famous library now inWolfenbüttelwas founded here byAugustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg(who died in 1666) and was moved to its present location in 1643.[2]

Geography

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Location

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Hitzacker is situated at the confluence of theRiver Jeetzelwith theElbe.While the so-called Elbe Heights (Elbhöhen,alsoKlötzie), at the southeastern foot of which Hitzacker lies, belong to the natural region of theLüneburg Heath(c.f. theDrawehn), the lowland areas of the old town belong to the Elbe valley water meadows (Elbtalaue).

Its height varies from11 m above NNat the Jeetzel confluence to83 m above NNon the hill ofWeinbergin theKlötzie.Further down the Elbe, the hill ofKniepenbergnear Drethem attains86 m above NNand offers a panoramic view over the Elbe valley depression.

Town divisions

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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

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Man had already settled by around 3000 B.C. at the lake ofHitzackerseeand the region has been continuously settled for over three thousand years.

On theWeinbergnext to the present old town (Altstadt)Slavsbuilt a castle in the eighth century. As a result, Hitzacker became an important trading centre even before its receivingtown rights.Its actual foundation as a town took place in 1258, whereupon the castle lost its significance and was allowed to fall into ruins.[3]

A manuscript referring to Hitzacker dating to 20 January 1376 states the following:[4]

"The dukes,WenceslasandAlbert of Saxony and Lüneburgand DukeBernard of Brunswick of Lüneburgallow the council of the town of Lüneburg to add the 30 marks of thelotwhich 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 ofBleckedeand 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 afterJubilate Sunday,a conflagration reduced the village of Hitzacker to ashes apart from the church and one house.[5]

In 1610 a number of people in Hitzacker and the surrounding area were accused of witchcraft and sorcery.[6]

On the third day of Christmas in 1668 the church, vicarage and eight houses burned down.[7]

In thePolabian( "Wendish" ) language of the region that died out in the 18th century Hitzacker was calledLjauci(Lgautztgi).

The borough of Hitzacker was created as part of the municipal reform in 1972 from ten hitherto independent parishes.

Politics

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The town of Hitzacker belongs to state constituency No. 48 – Elbe and federal constituency No. 38 – Lüchow-Dannenberg – Lüneburg.[8][9]

Council

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Thetown councilof Hitzacker has 17 councillors.

CDU SPD FDP Initiativ für Hitzacker / INI Total
2006 5 5 4 3 17 seats

as at:local electionsof 10 September 2006

Mayor

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The Mayor (Bürgermeister) of Hitzacker is Holger Mertins.

Partnerships

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The town used to be partnered with the municipality ofWischin theNetherlands.

Culture and places of interest

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The market place in Hitzacker
Am Marktin Hitzacker
  • Town roundabout with timber-framed houses and the 1589 customs house (Zollhaus)

Museums

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Buildings

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  • Katemin Mill (Kateminer Mühle)

Other

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  • Excavations at the Hitzacker See
  • Sacrifice stone (Opferstein) near Pudripp
  • Wildlife enclosure (Wildgehege) in Hitzacker
  • Prince's Graves (Fürstengräber), Marwedel
  • Megalithic tombsandtumulinear Pussade
  • TheWirtschaftliche ForschungsgesellschaftorWifo: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.

Economy and infrastructure

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Tourism

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Hitzacker has a long tradition as a tourist destination. For instance, the Local History Working Group of Lüchow-Dannenberg (Heimatkundliche Arbeitskreis Lüchow-Dannenbergor HALD) held a conference in 1983 with the title "100 Years of Tourism in Hitzacker – 50 Year Old Local History and Museum Society".[10]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 theKur.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)[11]under the artistic direction of Dr. Markus Fein, and Hitzacker Music Week (Musikwoche Hitzacker)[12]under the direction ofLudwig Güttler.There are three museums, including theArchaeological Centrewith aBronze Ageopen-air museum.[13]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 theGerman Timber-Frame Road,theLower Saxon Asparagus Roadand a partner in the German-DutchOrange Route.

Transport

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Passenger ferry Hitzacker - Bitter

Hitzacker has a railway link to Dannenberg and Lüneburg on theWendland 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

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There are three schools in Hitzacker:

  • Hitzacker Primary School
  • Bernhard Varenius School
  • Hitzacker Free School

Notable townsfolk

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Prince Claus of the Netherlands,1986

Aristocracy

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References

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  1. ^"LSN-Online Regionaldatenbank, Tabelle A100001G: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, Stand 31. Dezember 2022"(in German).Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen.
  2. ^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Hitzacker".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 540.
  3. ^[1]Archived16 June 2008 at theWayback Machine
  4. ^Sudendorf, Hans, Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Herzöge von Braunschweig und Lüneburg und ihrer Lande, Fünfter Teil (1374–1381), Hanover, 1865, p. 79.
  5. ^Blazek, Matthias,Das Löschwesen im Bereich des ehemaligen Fürstentums Lüneburg von den Anfängen bis 1900,Adelheidsdorf: 2006, p. 89.
  6. ^Grässe, Johann Georg Theodor, Sagenbuch des preußischen Staats, Hildesheim, New York 1977, S. 907; Blazek, Matthias, "Aberglaube und Hexenverfolgung", in ders.: Hexenprozesse – Galgenberge – Hinrichtungen – Kriminaljustiz im Fürstentum Lüneburg und im Königreich Hannover, Stuttgart 2006, p. 62 ff.
  7. ^Blazek, Löschwesen, a. a. O., p. 102.
  8. ^Landtagswahlkreise ab 16. Wahlperiode. Wahlkreiseinteilung für die Wahl zum Niedersächsischen Landtag.Anlage zu § 10 Abs. 1 NLWG, p. 4. (pdfArchived25 July 2011 at theWayback Machine;87 kb).
  9. ^Beschreibung der Wahlkreise.Anl. zu § 2 Abs. 2 Bundeswahlgesetz. In:Achtzehntes Gesetz zur Änderung des Bundeswahlgesetzes.Anl. zu Artikel 1. Bonn 18. März 2008, p. 325. (pdfArchived25 July 2011 at theWayback Machine;200 kb).
  10. ^"HALD - Herbsttagungen - HALD".Hak-ld.de. Archived fromthe originalon 22 March 2012.Retrieved1 December2011.
  11. ^62. Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker.
  12. ^Musikwoche Hitzacker.
  13. ^AZH – Archäologisches Zentrum Hitzacker::.. ARCHAEO-CENTRUM.DE[permanent dead link‍].
  14. ^"Varenius, Bernhardus".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 27 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 905.
  • Johann Parum Schultze; Reinhold Olesch (ed.):Fontes linguae Dravaenopolabicae minores et Chronica Venedica J. P. Schultzii.(= Slavic Research; Vol. 7). Böhlau, Köln and Graz 1967
  • Christian Hennig von Jessen:Vocabularium Venedicum (oder Wendisches Wörter-Buch)(1705). Reprint by Reinhold Olesch. – Cologne [inter alia]: Böhlau 1959 (source for Pastor C. Hennig von Jessen was the Polabian-speaking farmer, Johann Janieschge from Klennow)

Sources

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  • 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.
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