Hitzacker (Elbe)

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 53 ° 9 '  N , 11 ° 2'  E
Basic data
State :	Lower Saxony
County :	Lüchow-Dannenberg
Joint municipality :	Elbe Valley
Height :	17 m above sea level NHN
Area :	58.45 km 2
Residents:	4936 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	84 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	29456
Primaries :	05862 05861 (combing)
License plate :	DAN
Community key :	03 3 54 009
City administration address :	Am Markt 7 29456 Hitzacker (Elbe)
Website :	www.hitzacker.de
Mayor :	Holger Mertins ( FDP )
Location of the town of Hitzacker (Elbe) in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district

View from the vineyard to the old town of Hitzacker

The Elbe at Hitzacker

Hitzacker (Elbe) is a town in the northern part of the Lüchow-Dannenberg district in Lower Saxony (compare also: Wendland ). It is part of the Elbtalaue community .

geography

Geographical location

Hitzacker is located at the confluence of the Jeetzel and the Elbe . While the Elbe heights (also: Klötzie ), at the southeastern foot of which is Hitzacker, naturally already belong to the Lüneburg Heath (compare: Drawehn ), the lowlands of the old town are part of the Elbe Valley.

The altitude ranges from 11  m above sea level. NN at the mouth of the Jeetzel up to 53  m above sea level. NN on the vineyard in the Klötzie . The Kniepenberg near Drethem , located further down the Elbe, is 86  m above sea level. NN and offers a panoramic view of the Elbe valley.

City structure

Since the municipal reform of 1972, the city of Hitzacker has consisted of the twelve districts listed below. There are also additional living spaces.

Districts Bahrendorf Grabau Harlingen Hitzacker Combed Nienwedel , until March 16, 1936 Niendorf Pussade Seerau Tießau Tiesmesland Wietzetze Wussegel

Living spaces Dötzingen, good Hagen, good Leitstade Marwedel Meudelfitz, good Meudelfitz, settlement Posade, forester's house Sarchem Schmessau Schmardau

Before 1972 Pussade and Forsthaus Posade belonged to the municipality of Harlingen; Gut Dötzingen, Gut Hagen, Marwedel, Gut Meudelfitz, Meudelfitz and Sarchem to the city of Hitzacker and Leitstade to Wietzetze. The Dötzingen and Hagen and Marwedel goods have now been incorporated into the Hitzacker location.

history

Beginning of settlement and development up to the founding of the city

Already in prehistoric times settled around 3000 BC. Chr. People at the Hitzackersee. The area where the Jeetzel flows into the Elbe has been continuously populated since around the Iron Age .

On the vineyard on the edge of the old town, Slavs built the Weinbergsburg as a ring wall in the 8th century . Hitzacker was an important trading center even before the city was founded. The St. Johannis Church was built in the 12th century. The city was actually founded in 1258, after which the Weinbergsburg , which had meanwhile been converted into a medieval castle , lost its importance. In 1296, Margrave Otto von Brandenburg had the Weinbergsburg destroyed because the robber baron Hermann Ribe attacked merchant trains from here .

Between the 14th and 20th centuries

A document relating to Hitzacker from January 20, 1376 has the following content:

"The dukes Wenzlaus and Albrecht of Saxony and Lüneburg and Duke Bernhard of Braunschweig and Lüneburg allow the council of the city of Lüneburg the 30 soldering marks, which he will receive on April 13th, and the 150 soldering marks, which he will receive on the following December 25th to pay for them to the knight Ludolf von Tzellenstede, furthermore the 100 soldering marks which the council paid for them to the knights Ordenberg and Siegfried Bock, i.e. 280 soldering marks, and the interest due if they do not give this money to the council to reimburse the mentioned days, to hit on the pledge sum of the castles Bleckede and Hitzacker and the customs duties to Lüneburg and Hitzacker, also vow not to deprive the advice of the pledges before they have refunded the pledge sum and the above money. "

In 1548, the Friday after Jubilate , a conflagration burned the village of Hitzacker down to the church and a house.

From 1605 to 1635 August the Younger built a small lordship in Hitzacker with his own court in the city. During this time he collected numerous books that were housed in his own library building and, with over 13,000 volumes, formed an essential part of the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel. In 1642, Swedish soldiers under Colonel Georg von Derfflinger plundered the castle and the town of Hitzacker. The castle continued to deteriorate, so that the city bought the area and built a new building after the ruins were removed. At this point in time, the library had already been transferred to Wolfenbüttel.

In 1610, a number of people in Hitzacker and the surrounding area were charged with witchcraft and sorcery , who then accused others as accomplices under torture.

On December 27, 1668 the church, parish and eight town houses burned down in the town of Hitzacker.

In the Polabian ( Wendish ) language of the area, which died out in the 18th century , Hitzacker was called Ljauci ( Lgautztgi ).

In the time of National Socialism , the economic research company at Hitzacker operated a secret large tank farm for fuels and lubricating oils. It was badly damaged in bombing raids at the end of World War II and was dismantled by 1948.

During the division of Germany, there was a customs commissioner's office and a customs ship station in Hitzacker , whose personnel patrolled the inner-German border that ran through the Elbe.

Flood 2006

Hitzacker was particularly badly affected by the Elbe floods in 2002 and 2006. a. erected a flood protection wall.

Incorporations

On July 1, 1972, the municipalities of Bahrendorf, Grabau, Harlingen, Kähmen, Nienwedel, Seerau, Tießau, Wietzetze and Wussegel were incorporated into Hitzacker due to the regional reform in Lower Saxony .

politics

The city of Hitzacker belongs to the state electoral district 48 Elbe and to the federal electoral district 38 Lüchow-Dannenberg - Lüneburg .

City council

Town hall on the market square

      

A total of 15 seats

• SPD : 3
• Greens : 2
• UWG : 1
• Initiative for Hitzacker (INI) : 2
• CDU : 4th
• FDP : 3

The Hitzacker city ​​council consists of 15 members. The local election on September 11, 2016 with a turnout of 53.4 percent (+2) resulted in the following composition:

Party / list	Share of votes	+/- in percent	Seats	+/- absolute
CDU	26.8	+4.4	4th	+ 1
SPD	17.1	- 4th	3	± 0
UWG	07.7	- 2.2	1	- 1
Green	011	+ 1.7	2	+ 1
FDP	17.8	+ 4.1	3	+ 1
Initiative for Hitzacker (INI) *	16.3	- 1.4	2	- 1
Individual applicants	03.3	- 2.6	0	- 1
Total number of seats			15th	0

+ / -: Difference to the 2011 local elections

mayor

Mayor of the city of Hitzacker is Holger Mertins (FDP).

Town twinning

• Wisch in the Netherlands : ended because the municipality was dissolved
• Lázně Toušeň (Bad Tauschim) in the Czech Republic : ended

Religions

St. Johannis Church

Kunsthalle Oktogon
(former Catholic Church of St. Mary Queen )

On the eastern edge of the old town center is the church of St. Johannis from the 12th century, belonging to the north region of the Evangelical-Lutheran church district Lüchow-Dannenberg .

The Catholic Church of St. Maria Königin was built in 1963/64. The last branch church of the parish of St. Agnes in Lüchow , it was profaned in 2006 . Since 2011 the building has been used as the “Oktogon” art gallery.

The New Apostolic congregation in Hitzacker was affiliated to the congregation in Dannenberg in 2011.

Culture and sights

Half-timbered houses on Hauptstrasse No. 12 to 16

Old Customs House Museum

Town center

Market square with fountain

View from the port area to the vineyard

Jeetzel with jetties and footbridge

The city island with half-timbered houses and the customs house built in 1589 are under monument protection (see: List of architectural monuments in Hitzacker ).

Museums

There are three museums, including the Hitzacker Archaeological Center with an open-air museum about the Bronze Age . The third facility is the Museum Das Alte Zollhaus .

The city of Hitzacker (Elbe) is a member of the Lüchow-Dannenberg Museum Association .

Buildings

• St. John's Church
• Villa Max Adolf
• Kateminer Mill
• Pumping station , sluice and flood protection wall (built 2006-2008, costs: more than 30 million euros)

Others

• Sacrificial stone at Pudripp
• Game reserve in Hitzacker
• Prince graves of Marwedel and excavations at Hitzacker Lake
• Megalithic tombs and burial mounds at Pussade
• Wifo : the underground large tank farm in the Dötzinger forest in front of Hitzacker has been preserved
• Hitzackers Schützengilde , the rifle guild from 1395 to Hitzacker (Elbe) eV , is one of the oldest in Europe.
• The bronze sculpture Der Flounder stands on the market square .

Economy and Infrastructure

tourism

Hitzacker can look back on a long tradition as a tourist destination. In 1983, the Lüchow-Dannenberg Local History Working Group (HALD) organized a conference entitled 100 Years of Tourism in Hitzacker - 50 Years of Local History and Museum Association . Around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, those looking for relaxation from the Hamburg area and the Hanover region came to the Kurhotel auf dem Weinberg. A spring with a drinking fountain and bathing treatments were available for spa vacationers. There were also day trips by water across the Elbe, and there was a separate shipping line Hamburg-Lauenburg-Dömitz.

Hitzacker has been a recognized climatic health resort since the 1990s . Many hotels have specialized in wellness and beauty offers, and there is a spa area with a Kneipp pool and barefoot path.

Musical events often take place in the Hitzacker , such as the Hitzacker Summer Music Days under the artistic direction of Oliver Wille or the Hitzacker Music Week under the artistic direction of Albrecht Mayer .

Hitzacker is involved in various marketing cooperations, for example, the city is part of the German Half-timbered Road , the Lower Saxony Asparagus Road and a partner of the German-Dutch Orange Route .

The vines on the vineyard

On the slope of the vineyard with a height of almost 53  m above sea level. NHN , which rises around 40 meters above the Elbe Valley, vines have been cultivated below the Weinbergsburg for centuries . Viticulture was first mentioned in 1521 under Ernst the Confessor . After Hagel destroyed the vines in 1713, wine has only been grown again since 1980 and vineyard droplets are pressed as Hidesacker . Once a year, the grape harvest is celebrated with the reigning wine queen .

traffic

Hitzacker has a connection to Dannenberg and Lüneburg via the Wendlandbahn . Another stop is in the Leitstade district. There are bus connections in the direction of Lüneburg, Uelzen and Dannenberg and the district town of Lüchow. In Hitzacker there is a passenger ferry across the Elbe.

education

There are three schools in Hitzacker:

• Hitzacker Elementary School
• Bernhard Varenius School
• Free School Hitzacker

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• August Varenius (1620–1684), theologian, professor
• Bernhard Varenius (1622–1650 / 1651), physician, geographer
• Rudolf August von Braunschweig and Lüneburg (1627–1704), Duke
• Anton Ulrich von Braunschweig and Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel (1633–1714), duke, writer and art lover
• Simon Leonhard von Haerlem (1701–1775), head dike inspector, son of head dike inspector Blasius von Haerlem, who had been in charge of dyke supervision since 1700
• Julius Ludowieg (1830–1908), lawyer and mayor in Einbeck, Hameln and Harburg
• Eduard Baring (1838–1900), Lutheran general superintendent
• Ferdinand Wohltmann (1857–1919), agricultural scientist
• Claus von Amsberg (1926–2002), diplomat and Prince Consort of the Queen of the Netherlands
• Hans Georg Ahrens (* 1944), opera singer
• Rudi Müller-Glöge (* 1951), lawyer and Vice President of the Federal Labor Court
• Jürgen Stahlbock (* 1951), educator and children's book author

Associated with Hitzacker

• Hermann Ribe (13th century), robber baron who attacked merchant trains from Hitzacker.
• August the Younger (1579-1666), Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, built an extensive in Hitzacker library on
• Kristina Söderbaum (1912–2001), Swedish actress, particularly successful during the Third Reich, last lived in Hitzacker and died here
• Helmut Dau (1926–2010), lawyer, librarian, lived in Hitzacker and wrote books here
• Heiner Kreuzer (1944–1985), member of the Lower Saxony state parliament, lived in Hitzacker

Web links

Commons : Hitzacker  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Hitzakker in the Topographia Braunschweig Lüneburg (Matthäus Merian)  - sources and full texts

Wikivoyage: Hitzacker  - Travel Guide

• Website of the Elbtalaue community

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Office for Statistics Lower Saxony, LSN-Online regional database, Table 12411: Update of the population, as of December 31, 2019  ( help ).
2. ↑ Statistics of the German Empire, Volume 450: Official municipality directory for the German Empire. Part I, Berlin 1939; P. 265
3. ↑ Wendland-Lexikon , Volume 2, Lüchow 2008, p. 293.
4. ^ Hans Sudendorf: Document book on the history of the dukes of Braunschweig and Lüneburg and their lands. Fifth part (1374-1381), Hannover 1865, p. 79.
5. ^ Matthias Blazek: The fire extinguishing system in the area of ​​the former Principality of Lüneburg from the beginnings to 1900. Adelheidsdorf 2006, p. 89.
6. ↑ Axel Kahrs : Wendland literary, A ruler as a book lover - Duke August in Hitzacker. Pp. 13-20.
7. ^ Johann Georg Theodor Grasse: Book of legends of the Prussian state. Hildesheim / New York 1977, p. 907.
   Matthias Blazek: Superstition and witch persecution. In: Matthias Blazek (ed.): Witch trials, gallows mountains, executions, criminal justice in the Principality of Lüneburg and in the Kingdom of Hanover. Stuttgart 2006, p. 62 ff.
8. ^ Matthias Blazek: The fire extinguishing system in the area of ​​the former Principality of Lüneburg from the beginnings to 1900. Adelheidsdorf 2006, p. 102.
9. ↑ WiFo Tanklager Hitzacker geschichtsspuren.de
10. ^ 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, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 232 .
11. ↑ Landtag constituencies from the 16th electoral term. Constituency division for the election to the Lower Saxony state parliament. Annex to § 10 para. 1 NLWG, p. 4. ( PDF ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and remove then this note .; 87 kB). 
12. ↑ Description of the constituencies. Appendix on Section 2 (2) of the Federal Election Act. In: Eighteenth law amending the federal electoral law. Appendix to Article 1. Bonn March 18, 2008, p. 325. ( PDF ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to instructions and then remove this note .; 200 kB). 
13. ↑ Internet pages of the Lüchow-Dannenberg Museum Association
14. ↑ http://www.nlwkn.niedersachsen.de/portal/live.php?navigation_id=8116&article_id=44959&_psmand=26
15. ↑ Archeo Center
16. ↑ View from the Butt in Hitzacker , accessed on October 4, 2016.
17. ↑ Autumn meetings of the HALD , accessed on November 24, 2013.
18. ↑ Weinberg Hitzacker and the Wine Queen ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
19. ↑ ferry times
20. ↑ Wendland-Lexikon, Volume 1, Lüchow 2000, p. 289.
21. ↑ Prince Claus on Hitzacker's homepage
22. ↑ Wendland-Lexikon, Volume 2, Lüchow 2008, p. 293.
23. ^ Museum Altes Zollhaus: Narrow Boundaries - Wide Horizons Who was Duke August the Younger? ( Memento of the original from November 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 19, 2013