Alfeld is a town in the state of
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. Located on the
Leine
The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long.
The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriv ...
river, it is the second biggest city in the district of
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...
in southern Lower Saxony and part of the
Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
. Alfeld is a member of the
Leinebergland region and on the
German Timber-Frame Road. With the
Fagus Factory
The Fagus Factory ( German: ''Fagus Fabrik'' or ''Fagus Werk''), a shoe last factory in Alfeld on the Leine, Lower Saxony, Germany, is an important example of early modern architecture. Commissioned by owner Carl Benscheidt who wanted a radical ...
, Alfeld became a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
in 2011.
History
The town was founded before 1214, with the name ''Alvelde'' recorded in 1214, 1221, and 1233. The toponymic element "-feld" means "open area", "an undeveloped, open field", or "an untilled field". "Al-" likely derives from the
Indoeuropean root "el-/ol-" meaning "water", "damp", or "flowing".
In 1426, Alfeld joined the
Saxon League of Towns, thus becoming an indirect member of the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
. The town was one of the smallest cities in the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
, but had become prosperous in the fourteenth and fifteenth century through its trade in beer, hops, linen, and yarn.
Alfeld originally belonged to the
Diocese of Hildesheim, but was transferred to the
Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (german: Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 ...
after the
Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (1519-1523). In retrospect, this Brunswick period constituted Alfeld's Golden Age, its economy and culture flourishing before the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...
.
Main Sights
Sights in Alfeld include the town hall (1586) with its octagonal tower, the church Saint Nicolai and the Fillerturm, a medieval watchtower, and the
Fagus Factory
The Fagus Factory ( German: ''Fagus Fabrik'' or ''Fagus Werk''), a shoe last factory in Alfeld on the Leine, Lower Saxony, Germany, is an important example of early modern architecture. Commissioned by owner Carl Benscheidt who wanted a radical ...
of 1911, a fine example of early modernist architecture by
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Alvar Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one ...
. More famous are the
Seven Hills (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
: ''Sieben Berge'') in the north and the ''Lippoldshöhle'' ("Lippold's cave"), where a legendary robber-knight is said to have lived.
Culture
The assertion that the popular fairy tale of ''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection '' Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as ...
'' was born in Alfeld is false. Even though the miners who mined ore In the Seven Mountains believed in the existence of dwarfs, it is more likely that the cradle of the fairy tale is to be searched in France. The version the
brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...
heard and wrote down, as they travelled through the Seven Mountains, on the so-called ''Märchenstrasse'' (Street Of Fairytales) is just one of many.
The most popular beer in Alfeld is
Einbecker
The Einbecker Brewery (German: ''Einbecker Brauhaus'') is a brewery located in Einbeck, Germany. Founded before 1378, it is one of the oldest still operating breweries in the world. The city of Einbeck is noted for its bock beer, and Einbecker, t ...
Brauherrn, from
Einbeck
Einbeck (; Eastphalian: ''Aimbeck'') is a town in the district Northeim, in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, on the German Timber-Frame Road.
History
Prehistory
The area of the current city of Einbeck is inhabited since prehistoric times. Vari ...
, about 12 kilometers or so, away, south of Alfeld.
Veltins
Brauerei C & A Veltins () is a brewery in the west German city of Meschede-Grevenstein. In 2015, Veltins ranked fourth among Germany's best selling beers.
The small guesthouse brewery of Franz Kramer opened its simple wooden gates i ...
Pilsner,
Flensberger Pils and
Gottinger Pils are also popular beers in Alfeld.
Economy
The biggest employer of the city is the SAPPI (South African Pulp and Paper Industry) factory with its big chimney, which has become one of Alfeld's landmarks. Even more famous than SAPPI is the
Fagus Werk, rebuilt in 1910-1915 after the blueprints of architect Walter-Gropius, what is said to be trend-setting for modern architecture.
Popular culture
Alfeld is a strategically important town fought over repeatedly by
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
and the Soviet
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
forces in
Tom Clancy's
''Tom Clancy's'' is a branding used by video game company Ubisoft for video games, some of which feature the works of American author Tom Clancy, while others do not. Various sub-series are often unrelated to each other with a few exceptions, al ...
novel ''
Red Storm Rising'', due to the bridges over the
Leine
The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long.
The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriv ...
River.
International relations
Alfeld is
twinned with:
*
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
, United Kingdom
Notable people
*
Augustine of Alfeld (1480–1535), Franciscan and controversial theologian
*
Walter Kappe (1905–1944), German Nazi, who, as an emigrant in the US in the 1930s, created propaganda and committed espionage in service of Nazism
* Uwe Schmidt (born 1954), German politician (SPD) and since July 2009, head of the district Kassel
*
Albrecht von Goertz
Count Albrecht von Goertz, also known as Albrecht Goertz (German: ''Albrecht Graf von Schlitz genannt von Goertz und von Wrisberg''; 12 January 1914 – 27 October 2006), was a German industrial designer who designed cars for BMW, including t ...
(1914–2006), German industrial designer
*
Zbigniew Żedzicki (born 1945), Polish wrestler
See also
*
Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
*
Alfeld Sports Club SVA
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Lower Saxony
Hildesheim (district)
Members of the Hanseatic League