Agathenburg (in High German, in

Low Saxon Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of th ...

: ) is a municipality in the district of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. It was formerly known as Lieth.

History

Lieth, as it was originally named, belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, a territory of

imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...

established in 1180. In the mid-16th century the inhabitants of Lieth adopted Lutheranism. During the Leaguist occupation under Johan 't Serclaes, Count of Tilly, Lieth suffered from attempts of re-Catholicisation. In 1648 the prince-archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown – interrupted by a Danish occupation (1712–1715) – and from 1715 on by the House of Hanover. In 1807 the ephemeric Kingdom of Westphalia annexed the duchy, before France annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy of Bremen was restored to the

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

, which – after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814 – incorporated the duchy in a real union and the ducal territory, including Agathenburg, became part of the Stade Region, established in 1823.

Sights

In 1655 the ducal Bremen-Verden general governor,

Hans Christoff von Königsmarck Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, of Tjust (4 March 1600 – 8 March 1663), son of Conrad von Königsmarck and Beatrix von Blumenthal, was a German soldier who commanded Sweden's legendary flying column, a force which played a key role i ...

erected a castle in Lieth and named it after his wife Agathe von Leesten. The name of the castle also became the toponym of the village Lieth.

Transport

The rapid transit system of

Hamburg S-Bahn The Hamburg S-Bahn is a suburban commuter railway network in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Together, the S-Bahn, the Hamburg U-Bahn, the AKN railway and the regional railway form the backbone of railway public transport in the city and the s ...

serves Agathenburg with a railway station.

References

{{Authority control Stade (district)