History of Vorsfelde
The history of Vorsfelde begins around 1130 when the city was planned to be founded. On January 11, 1145, Vorsfelde was first mentioned in a papal bull as Varesfelt . The small agricultural town on the Aller and on the edge of the Vorfeld Werder was the central administrative, market and court location for the Werder villages . For centuries the place with its two-street layout remained almost unchanged. Industrialization and the railroad connection towards the end of the 19th century led to the expansion of settlements, particularly due to the population growth after the Second World War . After Vorsfelde held town charter for 15 years in the post-war period , it was incorporated into Wolfsburg in 1972 and became a district .
Surname
The current name of Vorsfelde is Varesfelt in documents dating from 1145 . This term is based on the expression var for a place where you cross a river or land. In connection with -felde by field , it was a forest-free area. The name of the place corresponds to the geographical conditions at the time, because here a trade route crossed the Aller at a shallow ford . Until 1400, the local name nor was Varsfelde , then transformed in a sound change the a in o and thus Vorsfelde .
founding
Vorsfelde was a planned medieval city foundation around 1130. It took place as an eastern outpost in an area in which probably at the same time Slavic Wends in Rundlingen were set as settlers. The founders of the place were the Count Palatine von Sommerschenburg or Lothar III , who ended in 1179 . , also known as Lothar von Süpplingenburg , in question. Vorsfelde was created as the central location of the Vorsfeld Werder . The forerunner settlement was the village Achtbüttel at the foot of the Werder , after which a path in the vicinity of the old town school is named today ("achtenbüttelweg ").
Lords of Vorsfelde
The first indications of the von Vorsfelde family as the lower, less wealthy ministerial family in Welf service are given by the documentary mention of a Gottfried von Vorsfelde in a loan agreement by Otto IV. Later, Gottfried von Vorsfelde often appears in documents relating to Brunswick legal transactions. In documents up to the 15th century there are details of other members of the sex. Their possessions and rights existed in the area from Vorsfelde to Vechelde , Helmstedt and Königslutter . The last representative was Heinrich von Vorsfelde, who was last mentioned in 1478 as vicar at the St. Blaise Monastery in Braunschweig .
Settlement
The place arose directly on the Aller at the southern foot of the Vorsfelder Werder , an 80 km² large and elevated geest plate of ice age origin. At this point the kilometer-wide Aller- was glacial valley narrows to approximately 1,500 meters. A shallow ford has allowed the trade route from Braunschweig to the Braunschweig exclave Calvörde to pass since the Middle Ages . The Braunschweig – Calvörde postal route has been running on this route since the 18th century . In Vorsfelde the route ran on today's Helmstedter Straße.
Since glacial valleys represented considerable obstacles to traffic in the Middle Ages, trade routes were bundled at narrow points at which one could easily cross the valley. As in the case of Vorsfelde, these bottlenecks were a preferred location for city foundations and castles. In the vicinity of Vorsfelde it was hardly possible to pass the several kilometers wide valley gully, because there were impassable swamp lowlands , such as the Barnbruch in the west and the Drömling in the east.
Layout
The town plan with 125 houses shows the first city map from 1761, which was created by the Braunschweig general land survey . This shows the 50 equal-sized plots of land when the village was founded and the central square for the church. This structure speaks in favor of a planned settlement and points to an arrangement as an anger village .
The place is built according to the two-street principle. Originally there was only today's Lange Straße and today's Amtsstraße, which formed an elongated oval. This city center was divided by Kattenstrasse and Kirchstrasse (today: An der Propstei). The four local exits were called Oberes Tor, Meintor, Wolfsburger Tor and Dammtor, although the actual gate structures have not been proven. Since Vorsfelde was the market place, there were several places to hold the market. Small livestock and poultry as well as pigs were offered in the Schweinwinkel, a plaza-like indentation in Long Street. The Rossmarkt, where cattle and horses were traded, was on Meinstrasse.
The city fires of 1604, 1780 and 1798 destroyed numerous residential buildings that were then still made of wood and roofed with straw. The oldest houses date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Most of today's houses in the historic city center were built because of the fires in the 18th and 19th centuries. The majority are two-story half - timbered buildings that stand on a stone base.
Population development
| year | Population numbers |
|---|---|
| 1663 | 263 |
| 1781 | 871 |
| 1848 | 1,502 |
| 1890 | 1,762 |
| December 2, 1895 ¹ | 1,753 |
| December 1, 1900 ¹ | 1,820 |
| June 16, 1933 ¹ | 1,896 |
| May 17, 1939 ¹ | 2,102 |
| 1946 | 3,291 |
| 1950 | 4,479 |
| September 25, 1956 ¹ | 5,739 |
| June 6, 1961 ¹ | 7,291 |
| 1966 | 10,993 |
| May 27, 1970 ¹ | 11,252 |
1 Population according to the census of ...
Residents
Since the Middle Ages , the inhabitants of Vorfeld were predominantly arable citizens who owned some cattle and land, but also practiced handicrafts and trade. In Vorsfelde as the main town for the 18 villages on the Vorsfeld Werder , there was an economic development. The spot was an administrative, court, market and church location. The citizens were hit by the plague in 1350/51 and they suffered from various wars, such as the War of the Lüneburg Succession 1370-88, the Wolfsburg feud in the 15th century and the Thirty Years War . At the beginning of the 19th century the place had 1,422 inhabitants and there were 135 residential buildings.
A slight population increase began in 1938 with the influx of workers from the neighboring Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg . The place had the greatest increase in population towards the end of and after the Second World War through refugees. The first reached the Vorsfeld train station in February 1945 by train from Pomerania. The community had difficulties accommodating the refugees and displaced persons who later followed . They were temporarily given emergency quarters in the rifle house. Of the approximately 3,300 residents of the village in 1946, around 30% came from the Soviet occupation zone or the eastern areas of the German Reich .
Castle and fortifications
Today there are no visible traces of medieval fortifications in the cityscape . There is no evidence of a city wall , nor are there any floor references to a rampart. Enclosing with a hedge like a landwehr is conceivable. During research, remains of possible fortifications from the time of the Middle Ages were found in some places near Vorsfelde. Several circular (now almost leveled) elevations can be found near the Allerbrücke in the Allerwiesen, the former purpose of which is unclear.
According to historical records, there should have been a Vorsfeld castle . In 1288 the von Bartensleben family served as castle men on it . In the 13th and 14th centuries, robber barons are said to have attacked the surrounding rulers from the Vorsfeld castle. The castle probably became meaningless when the well-fortified Wolfsburg was built around 1300. Finally, a castle named Altes Haus is mentioned in a document for Vorsfelde in 1464. It is not known today where their location was. It is said to have been destroyed in the 15th century during a campaign of revenge by Duke Otto von Lüneburg against Duke Heinrich I of Brunswick , the peacemaker.
Castle complex in and on the spot
Although earlier castle-like structures are suspected in various places in the cityscape, a castle can no longer be located today. She should have dominated the area of Vorsfeld Werder. As Vorfelder Burg, the old house is first mentioned as a castrum in 1218 and is referred to as a slot (castle), which suggests a stronger fortification. The traditional name Old House points to the contrast to the New House , which existed in the form of Neuhaus Castle five kilometers away . According to a current theory, the old house is said to have stood on the property of the former office building on Amtsstraße. This is indicated by the field designation In the Burgäckern and an undulating terrain with depressions that could be interpreted as a moat . After the destruction of the facility, it could have been completely removed by the citizens of Vorsfeld so that the stones could be used for their own construction projects.
According to another theory, the castle could also have been located east of the Vorsfeld town center in the area of today's sewage treatment plant on the Aller. This is indicated by an aerial photo from 1940, which shows a rectangular area with soil discoloration in this area. It could have been a weir on the Aller, which used to run over several small rivers.
According to another theory, the castle could have stood on today's church square, as a former fortified church is believed to have been in the steeple of St. Peter's Church due to its strong walls .
Castle complex in Drömling
On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of Vorsfelde in 1945, which was only celebrated the following year due to the Second World War , an archaeological excavation was carried out in 1946 in the Drömlingswiesen in the east of Vorsfelde near the Sudammsbreite. According to a survey map from the 18th century, the Vorsfelde castle wall should be hidden in the ground , erroneously referred to as the old house in old information . After a long search, the Braunschweig regional archaeologist Alfred Tode carried out the excavation, which was the first regional archaeological project in the Braunschweig region after the Second World War. The excavation led to the discovery of a palisade fortification, which was seen as a defensive tower in the style of a moth . According to old maps, it was connected to a neighboring castle wall on a sand island in the Allerniederung via two elevated paths , which can be interpreted as a bailey . The excavated complex was assigned to the early Middle Ages of the 11th century on the basis of ceramic remains and other wooden finds . The structural remains of the Motte are in all probability not the Vorsfeld Castle, which is referred to as the Old House in the written records .
laboratory
A special facility in the village was a laboratory on a courtyard property on Langen Strasse. In 1755 it was set up by the Brunswick rulers for the production of separating water and medicines . The products went to the local pharmacy and the Fürstenhof in Braunschweig. A local potter made the vessels for the products. A 10 × 8 m building was erected for the laboratory. Because of the risk of fire from the kilns, it was not only built in the traditional timber-framed construction, but partly made of solid stone. The facility existed for about 50 years until it fell victim to one of the frequent local fires at the beginning of the 19th century.
Political affiliations
Since its foundation in the 12th century, Vorsfelde has belonged to the area of the later Duchy of Braunschweig . In the first centuries after the town was founded, the town and castle Vorsfelde constantly changed their fiefdoms . The town is mentioned in documents in 1345 as stedeken , 1352 as stad and 1394 as wycbild ( soft picture ). Because of their border location, Vorsfelde and Vorsfelder Werder were fought for over two centuries between the Guelph dukes of the Braunschweig and Lüneburg lines, the margraves of Brandenburg and the archbishops of Magdeburg . In 1346 war broke out in the area between Duke Magnus the Pious of Brunswick and Archbishop Otto von Magdeburg . In 1364 the city of Braunschweig took Vorsfelde in pledge possession and paid taxes to secure its important trade route over the Aller to Salzwedel.
It was not until 1389 that a permanent period of rule began for the place under a noble family - the brothers Werner, Busso and Günzel von Bartensleben received Vorsfelde and the Vorsfelder Werder from Brunswick Duke Friedrich as a fief . At first they ruled from the now defunct castle in Vorsfelde and from 1300 from nearby Wolfsburg .
Office of Vorsfelde
With the extinction of the male line of von Bartensleben in 1742, Vorsfelde fell back with the Werder as a settled fiefdom to the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel as a part of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg . The Duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel established the Vorsfelde office in 1742 and had it administered by Vorsfelde as the main town in the Vorsfeld Werder . For this purpose, the Amtshaus Vorsfelde was built in 1755 , which burned down in 1798 and, after being rebuilt, still exists today. The office included almost 15 villages in Werder and the Wippermühle . During the French era in 1807 the office became the Canton of Vorsfelde , which existed until 1813. Vorsfeld's affiliation to the Brunswick Duchy lasted until 1918.
Provost office Vorsfelde
The emergence of the Provosty Vorsfelde is also related to the extinction of the von Bartensleben family and the return of their fief to the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. This led to the establishment of the church superintendent in 1746 by Duke Karl I of Brunswick in Vorsfelde. The church included the places Bahrdorf, Calvörde, Grafhorst, Groß Twülpstedt, Saalsdorf, Velpke, Volkmarsdorf, Vorsfelde and Uthmöden. A first measure of Vorsfelder superintendent was on the orders of Duke Charles I the expansion of the St. Peter's Church . It took place between 1749 and 1751 and included the construction of a transept to increase the number of seats to 800.
First industry and technology
After Vorsfelde was connected to the Lehrter Bahn in 1871, the first industrial settlements in the completely rural town. A station building was erected on the railway line, around one kilometer south of the village. Around the station, factories for the production of potato flakes and canned food, a brewery and a dairy were built in the open fields. The present-day Vorsfelder Südstadt developed from this collection of buildings and businesses.
20th century
From 1910, Vorsfelde had electric street lighting. In 1914 it was connected to the telephone network. In 1936 the Mittelland Canal was built south of the town, albeit without a port for Vorsfelde.
After the First World War , the November Revolution and above all the November Revolution in Braunschweig had an impact on political events in the region. A workers 'and soldiers' council was also elected in Vorsfelde . 6 people belonged to it, including Ludwig Klingemann .
City rights
After the Second World War , Vorsfelde, which at that time belonged to the Helmstedt district, applied for city rights to be granted in 1946 . The demand was justified with favorable transport connections by railroad, Mittellandkanal and roads. As a city, it was hoped that economic development would be more favorable in the post-war period . The first building areas after the war were Engelhop (1947), Moorkämpe (1949), Sudammsbreite (1955) and Heidgarten (1962). In 1947 the district of Helmstedt announced that a decision could not be made due to the lack of a law. In 1951 the administrative district of Braunschweig Vorsfelde certified a rural structure without the right to city rights. The place is an industrial community in the shadow of the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg . Only after the designation of further building areas and the laying of the sewer system did the authorities endorse the application to become a town. On October 11, 1955, the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior awarded Vorsfelde city rights.
Incorporation
In the 1960s, Wolfsburg started thinking about the incorporation of places in the surrounding area. After an initially proposed small solution , the larger peripheral communities of Vorsfelde and Fallersleben were to remain independent. However, the state government of Lower Saxony submitted the draft of the Wolfsburg Act in 1971 . Thus, on July 1, 1972, in the course of the Lower Saxony municipal reform, 20 places in its surrounding area including Vorsfelde were incorporated into the city of Wolfsburg. Vorsfelde possessed then held a council over a Ortsrat . The great financial strength of the city of Wolfsburg had a positive effect on the development in Vorsfelde. Important infrastructure improvements were made, such as the Im Eichholz school center and other construction areas.
See also
literature
- Vorsfelde . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 16, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 287 ..
- Wilhelm Spangenberg: Vorsfelder Chronik . Vorsfelde 1975.
- Erhard Kühlhorn: Historical-regional excursion map of Lower Saxony, sheet Wolfsburg . Hildesheim 1977, ISBN 3-7848-3626-7 .
- Otto Sroka: Nice Vorsfelde . Vorsfelde 1980.
- Konrad Hecht: Vorsfelde and Fallersleben - On the question of the preservation and maintenance of two old small towns in the area of today's city of Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg 1975.
- Johann Dietrich Bödeker: The land of Brome and the upper Vorsfelder Werder. History of the room at Ohre, Drömling and Kleiner Aller. Braunschweig 1985, ISBN 3-87884-028-4 .
- History of the apron volume 1 . Wolfsburg City Archives, Wolfsburg 1995, ISBN 3-929464-01-2 .
- History of the apron volume 2 . Matthias Brodtmann, Wolfsburg 1995, ISBN 3-929464-02-2 .
- History of the apron volume 3 . Working group on the history of Vorsfeldes, Vorsfelde 1995.
- Heinz Burghard: Historic town houses. In: Historic buildings in the Gifhorn-Wolfsburg area. Gifhorn 1992.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Karl HG Venturini : The Duchy of Braunschweig in its previous and present condition. Helmstedt 1847 ( Online , p. 212.)
- ^ SPD local association Vorsfelde / Wendschott: 100 years of social democracy in Vorsfelde , published on August 7, 1998 from: Braunschweiger Allgemeine Anzeiger of November 29, 1918.
- ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer GmbH, Stuttgart and Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 221 .
