Bovenden is a municipality in the
district of Göttingen, in
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 betwe ...
. In 2020 the population in the eight villages belonging to the municipality was 13,891.
Geography
Bovenden is situated on the river
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 downriver, t ...
, approx. 6 km north of
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
and on the north western border of
Göttingen Forest. The main village of the municipality, Bovenden, is between Ostererg and the Keuperrücken of the Lieth, a small river which flows into the river
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 downriver, t ...
. On a hill east of the village
Eddigehausen stand the remains of the
Plesse Castle
Plesse Castle is situated to the north of Göttingen in Germany, close to the village of Bovenden.
History
The castle was transferred in 1015 from the private estate of Meinwerk, bishop of Paderborn to the city of Paderborn. Since 1150 it is ...
.
Parts of the municipality
The municipality is divided into the following villages:
*
Billingshausen
* Bovenden, main village
*
Eddigehausen
*
Emmenhausen
*
Harste
*
Lenglern
*
Reyershausen
*
Spanbeck
Furthermore, there are the former villages that have ceased to be since the Middle Ages:
* Rodershausen oder Rodershusen (2 km to the northwest of Bovenden)
* Aspe oder Aspa (1 km to the northeast of Spanbeck)
* Botleveshusen (0,2 km to the west of Mariaspring)
* Backenhusen (1,2 km to the east of Reyershausen)
* Sturmbeke oder Stumbeke (0,9 km to the west of Reyershausen)
Population development
The population of the main village Bovenden has increased ever since the second half of the 20th century:
History
The village of Bovenden is first mentioned in a deed by
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
from February 2, 949, in which the future emperor certifies a barter with
Hersfeld Abbey. In this first designation the toponym was ''Bobbenzunon''. In the following years the village was also referred to as ''Bobbantun'' (1141), '' Bobentun'' (1170), and ''Bobentum'' (1191). Since the 13th century the name ''Boventen'' was commonly used and since the end of the 16th century today's designation Bovenden was introduced. The origin of the town name is contended. One derivation is the combination of the personal name Bovo or Bob(b)o with the suffix ''-tun''. The suffix ''-tun'' is Low German and means "fence, confinement, or fenced area". Consequently, the name might refer to a settlement founded or governed by Bobo. Another interpretation is that the stem of the name is derived from ''bioðan'' (=„above“, cf. Low German ''boven''), referring to the contrained settlement above the flood plain of the Leine.
In the 12th century the aristocratic family of the "Herren von Bovenden" makes its first appearance. They are mentioned in a document in 1170 for the first time. In this document, which contains information about bestowals in the area around Bovenden to the Abbey Helmershausen, Bobo of Bovenden is mentioned as one of the witnesses. Starting in 1211 the "Herren von Bovenden" appear as the patrons of the local chapel. In the following decades the family of Bovenden succeeded in enlarging their property. Bovenden remained nevertheless the main village, in which seven farms, eleven and a half hooves of land, two meadows and the castle were included. The family of Bovenden appeared as
Burgmanns at the Hardenberg, served as Mainzians, and were often witnesses at the Hardenbergers, a noble family of Lower Saxony. Despite the vicinity to the
Electorate of Mainz the family of Bovenden also took feudal tenures from the
House of Welf
The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...
. In the 14th century the family of Bovenden sided mainly with the family of Braunschweig, for example in 1364 Knight Günther of Bovenden promised
Duke Otto to help him with everything except the archbishop of Mainz. And in case Duke Otto managed to free him of the alliance with the Electorate of Mainz Knight Günther would serve only Duke Otto. The influence of the family of Boventen on the history of the area was significant for two centuries until the end of the 14th century. Only the line of Lenglern continued the name after 1500. The possessions of the Herren of Bovenden, which are referred to as ''nobiles'' and ''miles'' in documents, were transferred to the noble men of Plesse. Today, the key in Bovenden's emblem indicates the relationship to the Electorate of Mainz as Burgmans at the Hardenberg.
The Herren of Bovenden are the most significant landowners in Bovenden since the 14th century. They gave their whole estate to
Landgrave Louis I of Hesse in 1447 and received the estate again as a feudal tenure.
[Heinz Ahlborn, Ulrich Scheuermann: ''Beiträge zur Geschichte Elliehausens (Stadt Göttingen)''. Heft 1: ''Die Edelherren von Plesse als Grundherren in Elliehausen''. Sonderdruck aus Plesse-Archiv 28, Bovenden 1992, S. 243] Through this measure the Herren of Bovenden were able to obtain a higher degree of home rule in front of the
Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig und Lüneburg), or more properly the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was a historical duchy that existed from the late Middle Ages to the Late Modern era within the Holy Roman ...
. After the line of Plesse ended in 1571 the rule was transferred to the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...
and the area turned into a Hesse enclave. Since the 16th century Bovenden received more rights as a consequence of being the most important location of the reign of the Plesse family. These rights included that Bovenden was designated a "Flecken" since 1587 which showed that the area has a market right and since 1605 Bovenden was also bestowed with
brewing right
In Medieval times, the brewing right or ''gruit right'' was one of the privileges granted by the land owner or territorial ruler. Sometimes this right was linked to a plot or a house, called a "beer court"; sometimes the right was held by a heredi ...
.
After Plesse Castle was abandoned in 1660, Bovenden turned into the administrative center. Starting in 1777, a new representative baroque building replaced two former
Meierhof
A ''Meierhof'' or ''Meyerhof'' (from ) was a farm or building which was occupied or had been occupied by the administrator (the ''Meier'') of a noble or ecclesiastical estate.
Large landlords, especially kings and churches, had extensive networ ...
s of the Steina Abbey. The representative and administrative tasks were executed in this Hesse castle until 1815. The building further served as the hunting lodge of the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Rotenburg. The location of the enclave provided various professions with special development possibilities.
Due to the founding of the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
in 1737 Bovenden experienced an economic boost in the second half of the 18th century. Many students came to the Hesse-Kassel enclave to watch traveling theater groups, eat in the tavern "Zum letzten Heller" as well as to drive to the tavern in Rauschenwasser. It was also popular to purchase wine, spirits, coffee, and sugar there as these goods were burdened with luxury taxes in Göttingen. As these activities were regarded as a waste of time and incurring debts by the students, the authorities of Göttingen University came up with the term "Dangers of Bovenden."
In the context of a local government transformation in Germany in 1973 the eight villages of the area were merged to become the municipality of Bovenden.
Culture and sights
Economy and Infrastrusture
Twin towns
Bovenden is twinned with
Dursley
Dursley is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in southern Gloucestershire, England, almost equidistant from the cities of Bristol and Gloucester. It is under the northeast flank of Stinchcombe#Stinchcombe Hill, Stinchco ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Göttingen (district)