Uelzen(German:[ˈʏltsn̩];Low German:Ülz'n[3]), officially theHanseatic Town of Uelzen(German:Hansestadt Uelzen), is atownin northeastLower Saxony,Germany,and capital of thedistrict of Uelzen.It is part of theHamburg Metropolitan Region,aHanseatic townand an independent municipality.
Uelzen
Ülz'n(Low German) | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Uelzen within Uelzen district  | |
  Uelzen  Uelzen | |
| Coordinates:52°57′53″N10°33′57″E/ 52.96472°N 10.56583°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Uelzen |
| Subdivisions | 16 districts |
| Government | |
| •Mayor(2021–26) | Jürgen Markwardt[1](SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 135.84 km2(52.45 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 43 m (141 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 33,934 |
| • Density | 250/km2(650/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00(CEST) |
| Postal codes | 29525 |
| Dialling codes | 0581 |
| Vehicle registration | UE |
| Website | uelzen.de |
Uelzen is characterised by timber-framed architecture and also has some striking examples of North Germanbrick Gothic.The town earned pan-regional fame whenFriedensreich Hundertwasserwas selected to redesign the railway station: the final work of the celebrated Viennese artist and architect was ceremonially opened in 2000 as theHundertwasser Station, Uelzen,and remains a popular tourism destination.
ThePolabianname for Uelzen isWilcaus(spelledWiltzausin older German reference material), possibly derived fromwilcaorwilsa(<Slavic*olăša) 'alder'.
History
edit
The town was founded in 1250. In 1270 DukeJohn of Brunswick-Lüneburg,aWelfwho ruled the Principality of Lüneburg from 1252 to 1277, granted Uelzen itstown privileges(Stadtrechte).[4]In the Middle Ages it became an active member of theHanseatic League.[5]The townfortification,built in the 14th century, originally had threegates,awall,and amoat.Parts of the wall are still standing.
While Uelzen only played a small role in the Hanseatic League, there is evidence that it traded withLivoniaandSpain.[citation needed]At theSchnellenmarket,aLondontrading office purchased Uelzenerlinen,earthenware pitchers were offered for sale andbrewerybusiness flourished.[citation needed]On 21 October 1470, Uelzen was the venue for a Hanseatic League Convention. This was a special honor, as these annual resolutions of the association of cities usually took place inLübeck.[6]
The town became part of theElectorate of Hanoverin 1708, theKingdom of Westphaliain 1807, theKingdom of Hanoverin 1814, and thePrussianProvince of Hanoverin 1866.
Uelzen was the site of aNaziconcentration campthat operated in Uelzen until 17 April 1945. The camp was a subcamp of theNeuengamme concentration camp.[7]
Uelzen was hit by five air raids duringWorld War II,on 18 April 1944, 10 November 1944, 27 November 1944, 22 February 1945 and 7 April 1945. Across these raids, 1362 buildings were destroyed or damaged.[8]The heaviest raid was on 22 February 1945 when 149 people lost their lives and 95 houses were completely destroyed. On 7 April 1944, three civilians were killed and 153 houses were destroyed or damaged.[9]Estimates indicate up to 27% of the town was destroyed at some point during the war.[citation needed]
Geography
editLocation
editUelzen lies on the eastern edge of theLüneburg Heath.The town is a transport hub on the north–south axis fromHamburgtoHanoveras well as the east–west axis fromBrementoBerlin.Also of economic importance is its location on theElbe Lateral Canal.The town is situated on theIlmenau,and the banks in Uelzen are dotted with small parks wetland areas. Large areas in the vicinity of Uelzen have been set aside asnature parkswith moors, woods, lakes, and heathland: theElbhöhen-Wendland Nature Park,Lüneburg Heath Nature Parkand Lower Saxon Elbe Valley Water Meadows Biosphere Reserve.
Divisions
editThe following parishes belong to the borough of Uelzen: Groß Liedern, Halligdorf, Hambrock, Hansen, Hanstedt II,Holdenstedt,Kirchweyhe,Klein Süstedt, Masendorf, Mehre, Molzen, Oldenstadt, Riestedt, Ripdorf, Tatern, Veerßen, Westerweyhe, and Woltersburg.
Furthermore, there are four other places that have the status of "special parishes" (Sonstige Ortsteile): Borne, Kl. Liedern, Pieperhöfen, and Oldenstadt-West.
Climate
editUelzen has a typicaloceanic climate(Köppen:Cfb;Trewartha:Dobk). The average temperature ranges from 1 °C (34 °F) in winter to 18 °C (64 °F) in summer, with precipitation concentrated from May to August. On average, there are 11 days with a maximum temperature of over 30 °C (86 °F) per year, and high temperatures of over 35 °C (95 °F) occur every four years on average.
The Uelzen weather station has recorded the following extreme values:[10]
- Highest Temperature 39.8 °C (103.6 °F) on20 July 2022.
- Warmest Minimum 20.0 °C (68.0 °F) on 29 July 1969.
- Coldest Maximum −15.1 °C (4.8 °F) on 1 February 1956.
- Lowest Temperature −26.4 °C (−15.5 °F) on 24 February 1956.[11]
- Highest Daily Precipitation 73.9 mm (2.91 in) on 29 June 2024.
- Wettest Month 157.3 mm (6.19 in) in June 1953.
- Wettest Year 1,026.7 mm (40.42 in) in 2023.
- Driest Year 268.8 mm (10.58 in) in 1959.
- Earliest Snowfall: 7 November 1968.
- Latest Snowfall: 29 April 1985.
- Longest annual sunshine: 1,961.8 hours in 1959.
- Shortest annual sunshine: 1,228.5 hours in 1978.
| Climate data for Uelzen, 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1951-present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.4 (61.5) |
19.1 (66.4) |
24.5 (76.1) |
29.3 (84.7) |
32.7 (90.9) |
36.3 (97.3) |
39.8 (103.6) |
38.0 (100.4) |
32.0 (89.6) |
27.5 (81.5) |
20.1 (68.2) |
16.4 (61.5) |
39.8 (103.6) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) |
11.7 (53.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
23.7 (74.7) |
27.4 (81.3) |
30.2 (86.4) |
31.9 (89.4) |
32.0 (89.6) |
26.5 (79.7) |
21.0 (69.8) |
15.0 (59.0) |
11.6 (52.9) |
33.9 (93.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.8 (38.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
8.8 (47.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
18.5 (65.3) |
21.8 (71.2) |
24.3 (75.7) |
23.5 (74.3) |
19.4 (66.9) |
13.9 (57.0) |
8.0 (46.4) |
5.0 (41.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.5 (34.7) |
1.5 (34.7) |
4.6 (40.3) |
9.2 (48.6) |
12.9 (55.2) |
16.1 (61.0) |
18.4 (65.1) |
17.5 (63.5) |
13.9 (57.0) |
9.6 (49.3) |
5.3 (41.5) |
2.8 (37.0) |
9.4 (48.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.1 (30.0) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
0.4 (32.7) |
3.4 (38.1) |
6.9 (44.4) |
10.1 (50.2) |
12.3 (54.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
5.5 (41.9) |
2.5 (36.5) |
0.4 (32.7) |
5.0 (41.0) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −9.8 (14.4) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
4.7 (40.5) |
7.3 (45.1) |
6.3 (43.3) |
2.6 (36.7) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.1 (−13.2) |
−26.4 (−15.5) |
−20.0 (−4.0) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
1.1 (34.0) |
2.7 (36.9) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
−19.5 (−3.1) |
−19.5 (−3.1) |
−26.4 (−15.5) |
| Averageprecipitationmm (inches) | 60.4 (2.38) |
41.1 (1.62) |
45.7 (1.80) |
34.6 (1.36) |
55.3 (2.18) |
62.8 (2.47) |
73.3 (2.89) |
61.1 (2.41) |
47.9 (1.89) |
53.9 (2.12) |
50.1 (1.97) |
57.3 (2.26) |
643.6 (25.34) |
| Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) | 4.0 (1.6) |
5.0 (2.0) |
3.2 (1.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1.2 (0.5) |
3.2 (1.3) |
9.0 (3.5) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 18.5 | 16.1 | 15.0 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 13.7 | 15.0 | 16.2 | 13.9 | 15.5 | 16.9 | 18.7 | 185.0 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 88.0 | 85.0 | 79.4 | 72.1 | 72.5 | 74.2 | 74.5 | 77.2 | 81.7 | 86.6 | 90.3 | 90.1 | 81.0 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 41.7 | 71.6 | 130.2 | 195.5 | 202.4 | 212.1 | 210.3 | 190.9 | 163.6 | 107.0 | 51.0 | 32.7 | 1,609.1 |
| Source: DWD Open Data[11][10] | |||||||||||||
Governance
edit
Uelzen belongs to theBundestagconstituency ofCelle-Uelzen. In 2009Henning Otte(CDU) was directly elected, having been on the state list (place 19) since 2005.Kirsten Lühmann(SPD) was elected in 2009 via the state list. In the years 1998, 2002 and 2005Peter Struck(SPD), former defense minister and chairman of the SPD party in the German Bundestag, was directly elected.
Mayor
editJürgen Markwardt (independent) has been the mayor of Uelzen since 2014, when he was elected with 64.4% of the vote. The deputy mayors are Karsten Jäkel (CDU) and Ariane Schmäschke (The Greens).
- 1913–1946: Johann Maria Farina.
- 1946:Dr. Heinz Lücke (CDU).
- 1946–1948:Adolf Hochgraefe(SPD).
- 1948–1950: Dr. Heinz Lücke.
- 1950–1952: Adolf Hochgraefe.
- 1952–1961: Dr. Heinz Lücke.
- 1961–1963: Adolf Hochgraefe.
- 1963–1964: Dr. Heinz Lücke.
- 1964–1972:Alfred Krüger(CDU).
- 1972–1979: Rudi Schrödter (SPD).
- 1979–1981:Hans-Alexander Drechsler(SPD).
- 1981–1991: Rudolf Froin (CDU).
- 1991–1997: Günter Leifert (SPD).
- 1997–2001: Günter Leifert (hauptamtlich).
- 2001–2014:Otto Lukat(SPD).
- 2014:Jürgen Markwardt (independent).
Twin towns – sister cities
edit
Barnstaple,England, United Kingdom
Bois-Guillaume,France
Kobryn,Belarus
Tikaré,Burkina Faso
Arts and culture
edit
Theatre
editUelzen contains a number of theaters, including the theatre on the Ilmenau, the Jabelmann Events Hall, and the fringe theatre on the Rosenmauer.
Museums
editWorthy of mention is the Holdenstedt Castle Museum which is the town's local history museum. Permanent exhibitions include furniture from the Middle Ages, a glass collection, artwork by painter Georg Wolf, and archaeological finds from the local area.
Economy
edit
The largestsugar beetrefinery in theNordzuckergroup is in Uelzen. It processes approximately 20,000 tons of sugar beet per day. Other large employers in the town areNestlé Schölleror the dairy manufacturerUelzena.Bituminous roofing felts and insulation material has been manufactured in Uelzen byC. Hasse & Sohnsince 1872.
Infrastructure
editRailway station
editTheHundertwasserbahnhofis a railway station in Uelzen at the eastern edge of theLüneburg Heath Nature Parkin northeasternLower Saxony.Cities directly reachable by rail from this hub areHamburg,Hannover,Lüneburg,Celle,Braunschweig,BremenandBerlin.
The original station was renovated forExpo 2000following plans by the Austrian artist and architectFriedensreich Hundertwasser.An "environmentally, culturally oriented" station, the station was renamed after the architect as 'Hundertwasser Station, Uelzen'. Today it is one of the town's popular tourist attractions.
Courts
editUelzen has a district court (Amtsgericht), which belongs to the state court region ofLüneburgand the Oberlandesgericht (High State Court) region ofCelle.
Education
editSchools in Uelzen include the Herzog-Ernst-Gymnasium, Lessing-Gymnasium, Oberschule-Uelzen, Lucas-Backmeister-Schule, Sternschule, Berufsbildene Schulen I and II and 6 elementary schools.
Health and medicine
editUelzen has one hospital (HELIOS Klinikum), two clinics that specialise in different areas (Klinik VeerßenandPsychiatrische Klinik Uelzen) and some pharmacies and dentists.
Notable people
edit
- Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick(1497–1546),Prince of Lüneburg,ruled thePrincipality of Lüneburgfrom 1520.
- Francis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg(1508–1549), ruled theDuchy of GifhornfromGifhorn Castle
- Bernhardus Varenius(1622–1650), a German geographer, grew up locally.[13]
- Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann(1743–1815), geographer and zoologist.
- Friedrich Kuhlau(1786–1832), court composer to the Danish royal court
- Georg Wilding, Fürst von Butera und Radali, (DE Wiki)(1790–1841), royal-Neapolitan envoy in St. Petersburg
- Theodore Kaufmann(1814–1896), American painter.[14]
- Eric Muenter(1871–1915), a German-American political terrorist, activist, spy, professor and would-be assassin.
- Walter Wallmann(1932–2013), politician (CDU),Mayor of Frankfurtfrom 1977 to 1986
- Klaus-Ernst Behne(1940–2013), professor of musicology
- Angelika Volquartz(born 1946), politician (CDU), 2003–2009 Mayor ofKiel
- Rebecca Harms(born 1956), politician (The Greens)
- Mola Adebisi(born 1973), TV presenter (VIVA)
- André Doehring(born 1973), musicologist
Sport
edit- Charlotte Mühe(1910–1981), a swimmer, bronze medallist at the1928 Summer Olympics.
- Felipe Fernández Laser(born 1988), racing driver
- Sören Bertram(born 1991), footballer who has played over 280 games
See also
editNotes
edit- ^"Direktwahlen in Niedersachsen vom 12. September 2021"(PDF).Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen.13 October 2021.
- ^"LSN-Online Regionaldatenbank, Tabelle A100001G: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, Stand 31. Dezember 2022"(in German).Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen.
- ^Eduard Kück:Lüneburger Wörterbuch. Wortschatz der Lüneburger Heide und ihrer Randgebiete, seit 1900 zusammen mit vielen Mitarbeitern gesammelt und sprachwissenschaftlich sowie volkskundlich erläutert von Professor Dr. Eduard Kück.Dritter Band: S–Z. Neumünster: Karl Wachholtz 1967
- ^"Uelzen - Hanse.org".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-09-26.Retrieved2011-06-06.
- ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 556.
- ^"Uelzen".hanse.org.Retrieved23 April2018.
- ^The camp is listed as No. 1491 Uelzen in the official German list.
- ^"Hansestadt Uelzen - aus dem Archiv: April 1945 – der Krieg geht in Uelzen zu Ende".
- ^"Alliierte bombardierten Uelzen 1944 und 1945 wegen Eisenbahn-Knotenpunkt".28 January 2022.
- ^ab"Monatsauswertung".sklima.de(in German). SKlima.Retrieved3 November2024.
- ^ab "Extremwertanalyse der DWD-Stationen, Tagesmaxima, Dekadenrekorde, usw"(in German). DWD.Retrieved3 November2024.
- ^"Internationale Partner".hansestadt-uelzen.de(in German). Uelzen.Retrieved2021-02-18.
- ^.Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 27 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 905.
- ^.The American Cyclopædia.Vol. IX. 1879.
References
edit- Official German list of concentration campsVerzeichnis der Konzentrationslager und ihrer Außenkommandos(in German)
- Johann Parum Schultze;Reinhold Olesch (Hrsg.):Fontes linguae Dravaenopolabicae minores et Chronica Venedica J. P. Schultzii.(= Slavistische Forschungen; Band 7). Böhlau, Köln und Graz 1967
- Christian Hennig von Jessen:Vocabularium Venedicum (oder Wendisches Wörter-Buch)(1705). Nachdruck besorgt von Reinhold Olesch. - Köln [u.a.]: Böhlau 1959 (Gewährsmann des Pastors C. Hennig von Jessen war der polabisch sprechende Bauer Johann Janieschge aus Klennow)
External links
edit
- Official site(in German)
- Uelzen website translated to English with google translation
- .Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). 1911.