Walsrode

Basic data
State :	Lower Saxony
County :	Heidekreis
Height :	49 m above sea level NHN
Area :	334.8 km 2
Residents:	30,081 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	90 inhabitants per km 2
Postcodes :	29664, 29699
Primaries :	05161, 05162, 05163, 05166, 05167, 05168, 04238, 04262
License plate :	HK
Community key :	03 3 58 024
LOCODE :	DE WAL
City structure:	31 districts
; City administration address :	Lange Strasse 22 ; 29664 Walsrode
Website :	www.walsrode.de
Mayoress :	Helma Spöring ( independent )
Location of the city of Walsrode in the Heidekreis district

former large coat of arms

The church square between the city center and the monastery

Walsrode is a town in the Heidekreis district in Lower Saxony . It has had the addition of Hermann-Löns -Stadt to its name since 1935 , because the heath poet made the town in the Lüneburg Heath his adopted home at the beginning of the 20th century. The city is known nationwide for the Walsrode World Bird Park , the world's largest bird park.

geography

Geographical location

Walsrode is located on the Böhme River in the southern Lüneburg Heath . With 334.80 km², the city is one of the largest cities in Germany in terms of area .

City structure

The city of Walsrode includes a total of 31 districts. In addition to the core city, these are in alphabetical order:

Neighboring municipalities

Direct neighboring municipalities are the city of Visselhövede ( Rotenburg (Wümme) district ), Soltau , Bad Fallingbostel , the municipality-free district of Osterheide , the joint municipalities of Schwarmstedt , Ahlden and Rethem / Aller and the municipality of Kirchlinteln ( Verden district ).

Verden 29 km	Visselhövede 15 km	Soltau 21 km
Dörverden 32 km		Bad Fallingbostel 9 km
Nienburg / Weser 40 km	Hanover 62 km	Celle 54 km

history

Hermann Löns as a life-size bronze statue at the Heidemuseum

middle Ages

The origins of the place Walsrode are not exactly known. Presumably, the settlement at the confluence of the Böhme and Fulde was considered sensible, because fords existed here and the crossing of important trade routes developed.

The founding of the Walsrode Monastery by Count Wale, which took place around 960, undoubtedly pushed the development of the settlement forward. According to the founding legend, Count Wale had to leave Borger Burg an der Böhme and got stuck with his car in the swamp in the area of today's Walsrodes. He saw this as a divine sign to buy the place and found a monastery there. He then called the place "Walesrode". The monastery is first mentioned in a document dated May 7, 986. Even if it is a medieval forgery, it seems that real traditions have entered into it. Therefore, the year 986 is still considered to be the year it was first mentioned.

From 1371 onwards, the rural settlement of Walsrode was repeatedly involved in the military conflicts of the War of the Lüneburg Succession. The place was helplessly exposed to the frequent pillage and pillage of the troops and was burned down by Bremen soldiers on December 28, 1381 because of the support of the Saxon dukes. For the loyalty of the residents, the dukes of Saxony, Elector Wenzel I and Albrecht von Sachsen-Wittenberg, awarded Walsrode the soft image justice, a form of city law, on July 22, 1383. This enabled the citizens to take protective measures. As a city fortification they dug a large moat and built four city gates. The town charter was then repeatedly confirmed in the 15th century by the dukes of Braunschweig and Lüneburg .

Modern times

The Reformation of Martin Luther took off very slowly in the Walsrode area. The sovereign Duke Ernst (the confessor) sent the preacher Henning Kelp to Walsrode around 1528 so that the monastery could be reformed by the "papal Irthühmern". The resistance of the canonesses and the lack of understanding of the rural population continued for decades. It was not until 1574 that the Reformation was considered complete in Walsrode Monastery.

Religious conflicts remained the order of the day in Europe and finally led to the devastating Thirty Years' War in 1618 , from which the heather region was not spared. Troops of the general Tilly invaded Walsrode in 1626, burned down Lange Strasse with the town hall and plundered the city. The soldiers also brought the terrible plague to the city, resulting in innumerable deaths. Walsrode only slowly recovered from the aftermath of the war, but began to flourish again in the late 17th century with numerous craft businesses. In 1681 the paper makers in Walsrode built another paper mill location on a tributary of the Böhme, which they called Bomlitz .

A dramatic turning point for Walsrode was the great city fire on July 6, 1757, which destroyed almost 95% of all houses. In a major reconstruction program, the urban area was significantly enlarged, the streets were considerably widened and building regulations were issued that reduced the risk of fire. By the end of the 18th century, the town of Walsrode was given a new structural shape, which it still largely shapes today.

In the middle of 1803 Walsrode was hit again by armed conflicts. Emperor Napoleon's soldiers were quartered in the city and took control of the administration. In 1810 the Böhme became the border river between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Westphalia, newly created in 1807, for several years . At the beginning of October 1813, shortly before the decisive Battle of the Nations near Leipzig, Russian and Prussian troops finally drove the French out of the city.

With the formation of the Kingdom of Hanover in October 1814, more and more businesses were founded in the region and economic growth was initiated. In 1815, August Wolff, a businessman from Walsrode, invested in the construction of the powder mill in Bomlitz, from which one of the most important companies in the region developed. The Wolff company (today Industriepark Walsrode) led to further industrial settlements in Walsrode in the course of time. For a time, the powder factory was the sole supplier of gunpowder to the Hanoverian army . Because of this important position, the Wolff family had frequent visits from the kings of Hanover. In September 1863, the Crown Prince Ernst August celebrated the age of majority with the whole royal family in Walsrode, which the so-called Age of Age Monument on the church square reminds of to this day. With the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by Prussia in October 1866, the relations of rule changed dramatically, but the majority of the population of the region remained connected to the Welfenhaus for a long time.

The Wolff & Co. Walsrode company in Bomlitz grew more and more in the following years, so that in 1883 the place received its communal independence for the first time as an independent manor district. During this successful period, the company also introduced electrical lighting in Walsrode, initially in the sawmill and barrel factory. Walsrode experienced a strong upswing through the connection to the railway network from 1890. It was first connected to the Bremervörde – Walsrode railway line and then to the Hanover – Schwarmstedt – Walsrode line . The city also made great strides in medical care with the completion of a new hospital in 1894.

20th and 21st centuries

At the end of the 19th century, there were increasing efforts to unite the Walsroder suburbs of Vorbrück and Vorwalsrode with Walsrode. But the process dragged on for over 40 years and could only be completed in 1929.

Walsrode was also badly affected by the rearmament after the National Socialists came to power. In the Bomlitz area, the new powder factory "Eibia" was built, which required thousands of workers. For example, the government had large settlement complexes and accommodation camps built in Walsrode and Benefeld for foreign and forced laborers from over 20 countries. After the war, countless refugees found new homes in these settlements and camps and changed the population structure in the region permanently.

During the time of the so-called economic miracle, the Bomlitz company Wolff & Co. Walsrode quickly grew to become the largest employer in the region, from which the city of Walsrode also benefited. In 1957, a location for the Federal Border Police was established near the train station , from which a training center for the Federal Police developed. The expansion of the motorway network was pushed ahead and with the Walsroder motorway triangle a traffic junction was created in 1964. a. ensures excellent connections to the surrounding cities. At the same time, the state government began to think more intensely about the local reorganization. In 1968, four communities in the neighboring community of Bomlitz joined together voluntarily to form the large community of Bomlitz. Walsrode followed in 1970 with the amalgamation of nine municipalities to form the Walsrode municipality. In the territorial reform that was completed in 1974, four more communities were incorporated in the Bomlitz community and a total of 22 communities in the city of Walsrode. As early as the year before, the Lower Saxony state parliament was considering further territorial reform in the Walsrode, Fallingbostel and Bomlitz area. However, this idea was not seriously pursued until 2007, but failed the following year when the city of Bad Fallingbostel "No". The city of Walsrode and the municipality of Bomlitz then intensified their cooperation, which from 2017 resulted in a merger process that was successfully completed in a remarkably short time. Since January 1, 2020, the former municipality of Bomlitz has belonged to the city of Walsrode, which now consists of 31 districts.

religion

The majority of the denominational residents belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church . There are several parishes in the city that belong to the Walsrode parish .

The members of the Roman Catholic denomination belong to the Roman Catholic parish " Saint Maria of the Holy Rosary " in Walsrode, which in August 2004 the previously independent Catholic parishes " Saint Mary of the Seven Sorrows" in Bad Fallingbostel and "Holy Spirit" in Bomlitz- Benefeld with “ Herz Jesu ” in Visselhövede were affiliated. The community is part of the Verden deanery in the Hildesheim diocese .

In the district of Krelingen is the nationally well-known factory Spiritual Armory Center Krelingen .

With the Evangelical Free Church Community ( Baptists ), the " Agape Evangelical Community" and the Resurrection Community in the Uetzingen district, there are three Protestant free churches in the Walsroder urban area.

South of the city center is the former Jewish cemetery Walsrode , where burials took place between 1783 and 1938.

Evangelical Lutheran St. John the Baptist Church in Walsrode
Evangelical Lutheran St. George Church in Meinerdingen
Evangelical Lutheran Peace Church in Bommelsen
Ev.-luth. St. John the Baptist Church in Düshorn
Ev.-luth. St. Georg-Christophorus-Jodokus-Church in Stellichte
Roman Catholic Church of St. Maria in Walsrode
Parish hall of the Baptist congregation in Walsrode

politics

City council

The council of the city of Walsrode consists of 34 council women and councilors. This is the specified number for a city with a population between 20,001 and 25,000. The 34 council members are elected by local elections for five years each. The full-time mayor is also entitled to vote in the city council.

The next general local elections in Lower Saxony are expected to take place in autumn 2021.

Municipal election Walsrode 2020

Turnout: 46.54%

%

40

30th

20th

10

0

27.3%

32.3%

17.2%

13.3%

1.8%

3.7%

4.0%

0.4%

FOAG ^c

EB

Gains and losses

compared to 2016

% p

4th

2

0

-2

-4

-6

-4.0 % p

+ 3.5 % p

-0.5 % p

+ 3.6 % p.p.

+1.8 % p

± 0.0 % p

-4.8 % p

+ 0.4 % p

FOAG ^c

EB

Remarks:

^c Walsrode citizens' list

In Walsrode, due to the merger with the municipality of Bomlitz on January 1, 2020, council and mayoral elections were held on March 8, 2020. The electoral term here lasts until October 31, 2026.

According to the result of the local elections on March 8, 2020, the city council is composed as follows:

Distribution of seats from 2020 in the council of the city of Walsrode

1

12

5

1

7th

10

2

1 12 5 1 7th 10 2

A total of 38 seats

Left : 1
SPD : 12
Greens : 5
FDP : 1
FOAG : 7
CDU : 10
AfD : 2

(Former) town hall from 1758

Mayoress

The full-time mayor of the city of Walsrode is Helma Spöring (independent). She took office on November 1, 2014 and replaced the previous incumbent Silke Lorenz (non-party), who had no longer stood as a candidate. In the 2020 local elections, Helma Spöring was confirmed in office with 84.16% of the valid votes without a competitor.

coat of arms

Blazon : “The coat of arms of the city of Walsrode has the shape of a triangular shield. The main shield contains the medieval monastery church in red on a gold (yellow) background with three Romanesque windows and a door in the facade. In the westwork of the church there are two round towers, each with a Romanesque window. The east gable has a Romanesque window and a weather vane. The church stands on a foundation made of two rows of bricks. In the base of the shield there is a blue wavy band, running from the edge of the shield to the edge of the shield, suggesting a "W" in two swings, and underneath a mill wheel with four spokes. "

Reasons for the coat of arms: The coat of arms is based on the oldest known color representation of the Walsroder city coat of arms (red church on a golden background). It was redesigned by the historian Thorsten Neubert-Preine as part of the merger of the city of Walsrode with the municipality of Bomlitz. It shows the medieval monastery church as it can be seen on the first seal of the city of Walsrode, which was used for centuries after the city charter was granted in 1383. The mill wheel is borrowed from the old coat of arms of the important Walsrode merchant family Wolff and stands for the industrial development of Walsrode and Bomlitz. The course of the river, which indicates a "W" and was taken from the previous Bomlitz coat of arms, underlines that water power was of great importance for the development of the city and its localities. In addition, the founding legend of the Walsrode monastery is associated with the Borger Castle, which was located in the Middle Ages at the confluence of the Warnau and the Böhme.

Banner and flag

	00Banner: "The banner is blue-red striped lengthways with the coat of arms above the middle."
	00Hoisted flag: "The flag has blue and red stripes with the coat of arms in the middle."

Town twinning

Walsrode maintains a total of four town partnerships : with Gernrode in Saxony-Anhalt (now part of Quedlinburg ), with the US city of Hibbing in Minnesota, with the Ukrainian city of Kowel and with the Dutch municipality of Zaltbommel . As a result of the merger with the municipality of Bomlitz, the twin towns Blainville-sur-Orne in Normandy and Kepice in Poland have been added.

Culture and sights

Heidemuseum in a hall house

Hermann Löns monument in the Tietlinger juniper grove between Walsrode and Bad Fallingbostel with the grave of the poet Hermann Löns under a boulder
Weltvogelpark Walsrode in the district of Borg , the world's largest park of its kind
Walsrode Monastery , first mentioned in a document in 986, unchanged floor plan since the 13th century, the oldest of the six Lüne monasteries , has been used as a Protestant women's monastery since the Reformation

Town hall ensemble , consisting of the former town hall from 1758 (private property, burnt down previous buildings from 1468 and 1660), the neo-Gothic old town hall from 1904 (tourist information, marriage room of the registry office) and today's town hall from 1978

Heidemuseum Rischmannshof am Stadtwald Eckernworth , which shows the history of rural life in the heath. The museum, one of the oldest German open-air museums, consists of a large exhibition building in the form of a hall house (popularly Lower Saxony house ) and several outbuildings on the history of handicrafts (carpentry, blacksmithing, beekeeping, shoemaking)

The Cordinger Mühle is located in the Benefeld district on the banks of the Warnau. The restored watermill is considered to be historically valuable. It can be used for civil weddings

Architectural monuments

Art in public space

The following objects were created as part of the “Art in the City” campaign:

“ Sisyphus ” by Mohamed Abla, corner of Moorstrasse / Brückstrasse
Well system (two halves of a granite boulder from Helmsen) by KM Twinn (artist name), Großer Graben
“ Planetary circular paths”, fountain, by Wolfgang Schroeder, on the Klosterseegelände

Within the framework of the town twinning:

“Tabula Solaris” by Anneke van der Horst (artist from the twin town of Zaltbommel ), on the Klosterseegelände
“De Schipper” by Joris Baudion, gift from the Rotary Club , twin town Zaltbommel, at the town hall, Lange Straße 22
" Romanische Straße " by Wolfgang Dreysse , twin town Gernrode , in the town hall of the town hall, Lange Straße 22

Other works of art:

" Januskopf " by Wolfgang Schroeder, in front of the town hall, Robert-Koch-Straße 1

“3 Flamingos ” by Gwendolyn L. Blume, by the fountain in front of the town hall, Lange Straße 22

Stainless steel sculpture by Reinhard Mund (owned by Galerie Hohmann), on the rented premises of Galerie Hohmann, corner of Hannoversche Strasse and Saarstrasse

" Caryatid " by Max Saug at the Deutsche Post AG building, Poststrasse 5

Art object of the students of an advanced course at the Walsrode grammar school on the outside wall of the building at the corner of Moorstrasse and Großer Graben

Art object with signature: ST. 1974, Böhmebrücke , Ostdeutsche Allee (as "art in construction" of the school center Walsrode, property of the district of Heidekreis)

Hermann Löns in bronze by Marlies Leonardy Rex, for example at Hermann-Löns-Straße 9 / Eckernworth. Inauguration on September 2nd, 2006 (140th birthday of Löns), gift from the Löns Association to the city of Walsrode

Economy and Infrastructure

Established businesses

The Weltvogelpark is a major employer in Walsrode.

The construction company Der Spieker has its headquarters in the Ebbingen district , building the half-timbered houses in the traditional style .

Walsrode industrial park in Bomlitz

education

As a general education school , Walsrode has three primary schools in the city center and one primary school each in the districts of Benefeld, Bomlitz, Düshorn and Kirchboitzen, two secondary schools and a grammar school ( Gymnasium Walsrode ) as well as three special needs schools . There are also vocational schools . Since the 2012/2013 school year, the Walsrode Oberschule has replaced the Realschule and Hauptschule.

Elementary school on the market
Elementary school Benefeld
Bomlitz primary school
Düshorn primary school
Primary school south
Primary school Vorbrück
Gymnasium Walsrode
Felix Nussbaum School, secondary school
Bomlitz High School
Free Waldorf School Benefeld
Ita Wegman School Benefeld
Hans-Brüggemann-Schule, special school learning with special language classes
Vocational Schools Walsrode
Klaus-Dieter-Haehn-Schule, day-care center - school support for children and young people with intellectual disabilities
Pestalozzi School, special school for emotional and social development, special school for mental development
Montessori primary school Walsrode
ver.di education and conference center

Public facilities

Clinic

Walsrode is a location of the Heidekreis Clinic .

traffic

Walsrode railway station

Walsrode is on the A 7 and A 27 motorways , which form the Walsrode triangle here. Walsrode can also be reached via the federal highways B 209 and B 440 .

Walsrode has a train station on the Heidebahn . There used to be connections to Verden (Aller) via the Verden (Aller) –Walsrode Nord railway (today freight traffic to Böhme), to Bomlitz via the Bomlitz – Walsrode railway and to Visselhövede via the Bremervörde – Walsrode railway (now largely dismantled).

The planned high-speed line Hamburg / Bremen – Hanover (" Y-Trasse ") should have passed Walsrode, the city and district demanded a train station on this long-distance line.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Hans Brüggemann (around 1480 – around 1540), 16th century carver in today's Schleswig-Holstein
Georg Ernst Levin Count of Wintzingerode (1752–1834), 1806–1816 First Minister in the Kingdom of Württemberg
Wilhelm Kern (1777–1834), philosopher and lecturer in Göttingen
Ludwig Harms (1808–1865), ev.-luth. Pastor, evangelist, revival preacher, “ the heathen awakening ”, founder of the Hermannsburg Mission
Friedrich Grütter (1820–1899), mayor from 1856 to 1871, then writer
Oskar Wolff (1858–1943), industrialist and politician
Hermine Overbeck-Rohte (1869–1937), painter
Hans Stuhlmacher (1892–1962), home nurse in the Fallingbostel district, teacher and Wehrmacht officer
Hans Isernhagen (1897–1960), politician (DP)
Martin Haspelmath (1935–1996), master organ builder
Martin Kind (* 1944), managing director and president of Hannover 96 and owner of a hearing aid company
Wolfgang Erdmann (1945–2003), archaeologist, art historian and non-fiction author
Konrad Sabrautzky (* 1948), German director and screenwriter
Maren Kroymann (* 1949), actress
Rosa Precht (1952–1991), songwriter, singer
Ulrich Maidowski (* 1958), judge at the Federal Administrative Court
Gaby Papenburg (* 1960), television presenter
Susanne Kathlen Mader (* 1964), painter
Thorsten Neubert-Preine (* 1965), historian
Kai Dittmann (* 1966), sports reporter
Christian Tietje (* 1967) lawyer and professor for public law, European law and international business law
Bettina Lohmeyer (* 1969), actress
Stephan Heinemann (* 1970), author, author of several works, especially on Walsrode topics
Frank Glorius (* 1972), chemist and professor of organic chemistry at the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster
Julian Monaco (* 1989), politician (NPD)
Onur Ayık (* 1990), football player

Personalities who have worked in the city

Hermann Loens

Hermann Löns (1866–1914), journalist and writer, Heide poet, since 1893 many stays in Walsrode, 1935 burial in the Tietlinger Wacholderhain near Walsrode
Hubertus Schmoldt (* 1945), chairman of the trade union IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie, went to school in Walsrode
Drafi Deutscher (1946–2006), singer, lived in Walsrode for about two years
Lilo Wanders (actually Ernie Reinhard ; * 1955), actor and travesty artist, went to school in Walsrode
Lisa Politt (* 1956), cabaret artist, winner of the German Cabaret Prize 2005, went to school in Walsrode
Gernot Erler (1935–2011), educator and author on regional topics, art monument curator for the Heidekreis district

literature

Hans Stuhlmacher : History of the City of Walsrode . Edited on behalf of the city administration, Walsrode 1964, 385 pp.
Gernot Erler (Ed.): Walsrode. A cityscape is changing. 55 local views from the turn of the century to the mid-eighties. Association of Friends of the Heidemuseum, Walsrode 1985
Gernot Erler (Ed.): Walsrode. 1000 years of monastery and village. 986-1986. Association of Friends d. Heimatmuseums, Walsrode 1986
The Hermann-Löns-Stadt Walsrode. Göttingen 1994, ISBN 3-929132-23-0
Gunter Gerhardt: Walsrode. Urban and countryside. Erfurt 1998, ISBN 3-89702-010-6
Stephan Heinemann : "Fear mixed into our relief ...". Memories of the citizens of Walsrode in 1945. Walsrode 1995, 96 p. M. Fig.
Stephan Heinemann: Those were the times. 1900-1999. Pictures and events from the 20th century in Walsrode. Walsrode 1999, 117 p. M. numerous Fig.
Stephan Heinemann: “Come on, let's go to the cinema!” 75 years of cinema in Walsrode. From the “Walsroder Lichtspiele” to the “Capitol Theater”. Walsrode 2001, 111 pp.
Stephan Heinemann: Walsroder streets and their namesake. A collection of 67 personalities from politics, business, science, technology, art and culture. Walsrode 2002, 64 pp.
Wilhelm von Hodenberg: Archives of the St. Johannis monastery in Walsrode (= Lüneburg document book , part 15). Capaun-Karlowa, Celle 1859 ( full text ).