Eutin () is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants.

History

The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its meaning is not quite clear; it is probably derived from the personal name "Uta". The Slavic

Obotrites The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ...

tribe settled eastern Holstein in the 7th/8th centuries A.D. and built a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

on Pheasant Island in the lake now called the Großer Eutiner See. The originally Slavonic settlement of ''Utin'' was populated in the twelfth century by Dutch settlers. In 1156 Eutin became a market town. Town rights were granted in the year 1257. It later became the seat of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, as Lübeck itself was an imperial free city. When the bishopric was secularized in 1803, Eutin became part of the Duchy of Oldenburg. As a result of the Greater Hamburg Act of 1937, Eutin passed from the Free State of Oldenburg to the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n Province of Schleswig-Holstein. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, it became part of the modern Bundesland of Schleswig-Holstein.

Culture

Eutin is birthplace of composer Carl Maria von Weber. To honor him, an open-air theater (') was built in the park of

Eutin Castle Eutin Castle (german: Eutiner Schloss) in Eutin in the north German district of Ostholstein is the cultural centre and nucleus of the town. Taken together, this castle, Gottorf Castle and Glücksburg Castle, form the most important group of co ...

in 1951, and operas are performed there in July and August during the

Eutin Opera Summer Festival Eutin () is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its meaning i ...

('). The seating capacity of this open-air venue is about 2000. The festival includes music students in Eutin as well as students from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in Lawrence, Kansas, US, which is the twin city of Eutin. Eutin hosts an annual Blues Festival ( Bluesfest Eutin) at the beginning of summer. Local musicians, as well as up and coming blues artists from around the world, come to play at this three-day outdoor blues festival, which takes place in the market place in the center of town. As the costs are covered by sponsoring, public funding and volunteer helpers, admission is free. File:Eutin Marktplatz.jpg, Eutin central market place 'Marktplatz' File:Eutin All Time Stars.jpg, Eutin All Time Stars, BluesBaltica/Bluesfest 2014

Geography and economy

Eutin is surrounded by a number of lakes of the Holsteinische Schweiz, including the Großer Eutiner See, Kleiner Eutiner See, Kellersee and

Ukleisee Ukleisee is a lake in Kreis Ostholstein, Schleswig-Holstein, 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 po ...

. Many of the lakes are surrounded by forests. Popular activities on these lakes include boating, canoeing, rowing, swimming, and fishing. Schleswig-Holstein, particularly Eutin, is known for its numerous rapeseed fields, which are used for biofuel production. Wind turbines are also a common sight in this rural region.

Historic buildings

Originally constructed as a fully functioning windmill in 1850 by Carl Friedrich Trahn, ''Die alte Mühle'' (the old mill) now serves as a bar and restaurant.

Sons and daughters of the city

Caroline Bardua - Bildnis des Komponisten Carl Maria von Weber

Tom Buk-Swienty Tom Buk-Swienty (born July 19, 1966 in Eutin) is a Danish historian, journalist and author, known for his work on the Second Schleswig War. Buk-Swienty was raised in Sønderborg, Denmark. He holds degrees in history and American Studies from th ...

(born 1966) historian, journalist and writer * Wilhelm Dittmann (1874–1954), politician (USPD / SPD) * Peter Engel (born 1940), writer * Vadim Glowna (1941–2012), actor * Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (1759 – 1818), Queen of Sweden and Norway * Ulf Kämpfer (born 1972), politician (SPD), Lord Mayor in Kiel *

Christian Klees Christian Klees (born 24 June 1968 in Eutin) is a German former sport shooter, the first shooter since the 1989 target change to have achieved the maximum score (600) in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the Olympic Games, which was later rep ...

(born 1968), Olympic winner 1996 in Atlanta *

Friedrich Kühn General Friedrich Kühn (7 August 1889 – 15 February 1944) was a General der Panzertruppe in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. World War II At the start of World War ...

(1889–1944), officer, most recently General of the Panzertruppe * Heinrich Limpricht (1827–1909), chemist * Nicholas Mercator, (1620–1697), mathematician, born in Eutin or near Cismar * Adolf Pansch (1841–1887), anatomist, anthropologist and polar explorer *

Axel Prahl Axel Prahl (born 26 March 1960 in Eutin) is a German actor and musician. Prahl, born in Eutin, grew up in nearby Neustadt in Holstein. After his A-levels, Prahl started studying music and mathematics, but then went on to acting school in Kiel ...

(born 1960), film actor * Daniel Richter (born 1962), artist * Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt (1825–1884),

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

* Ralph Schumacher (born 1964), philosopher and behavioral scientist *

Jonathan Stock Jonathan Stock (born 2 January 1983) is a German journalist and staff writer for '' Der Spiegel'' magazine. Stock studied European history at University College London. After graduating, he attended the Henri Nannen School of Journalism. Before jo ...

(born 1983), journalist *

Peter Thoms Peter Thoms is an English musician and composer best known for playing keyboards and trombone for the synthpop band Landscape. Biography Landscape was formed in 1974 with Richard James Burgess (vocals, drums), Christopher Heaton (keyboards), An ...

(born 1940), actor and jazz musician * Peter Friedrich Ludwig Tischbein (1813–1883), German chief forester, entomologist and paleontologist * Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg (1802–1872), philosopher. *

Friedrich August Ukert Friedrich August Ukert (28 October 1780 – 18 May 1851) was a German history scholar, teacher and humanitarian. He was born in Eutin, Bishopric of Lübeck. From 1800 he studied philology at the University of Halle as a student of Friedrich Augus ...

(1780–1851), historian, geographer, librarian * Lars Unger (born 1972), former footballer *

Stefan Vogenauer Stefan Vogenauer (born 1968) is a German legal scholar who is the director of the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History. He was previously Linklaters Professor of Comparative Law The Professorship of Comparative Law is a chair in la ...

(born 1968), legal scientist * Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826), composer. * Dirk von Zitzewitz (born 1968), racing driver * Wincent Weiss (born 1993), singer

Other people who worked in Eutin

* Matthias Claudius (1740–1815), poet * Emanuel Geibel (1815–1884), lyricist *

Lotte Herrlich Lotte Herrlich (1883–1956) was a German photographer. She is regarded as the most important female photographer of the German naturism. This mainly was during the 1920s, in which the '' Freikorperkultur'' (''Free Body Culture'') was popular wi ...

(1883–1956), (nude) photographer * Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (1743–1819), philosopher and writer * Johann Heinrich Voss (1751–1826), classicist and poet *

Johann Wilhelm Petersen Johann Wilhelm Petersen (1 July 1649 in Osnabrück – 31 January 1727 in Zerbst) was a German theologian, mystic, and Millennialist. Johann Wilhelm Petersen grew up in Lübeck and studied theology at the Katharineum in Lübeck, as well ...

(1649–1727), theologian *

Hans-Heinrich Sievert Hans Heinrich Sievert (1 December 1909 in Grittern near Hückelhoven – 5 April 1963 in Eutin) was a German Olympic decathlete. He competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1934 he became the last decathlon worl ...

(1909–1963), athlete and Olympic athlete *

Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, known as the ''Goethe Tischbein'' (15 February 1751 in Haina – 26 February 1829 in Eutin), was a German painter from the Tischbein family of artists. Biography Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein was born on 15 ...

(1751–1829), painter *

Ferdinand Tönnies Ferdinand Tönnies (; 26 July 1855 – 9 April 1936) was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social g ...

(1855–1936), sociologist, lived from 1901 to 1921 in the Auguststraße 8 (now Albert-Mahlstedt-Straße) * Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935), high school professor and oral researcher

Twin towns – sister cities

Eutin is twinned with: * Guldborgsund, Denmark * Lawrence, United States * Putbus, Germany Each summer, Lawrence and Eutin take part in an exchange program, where high-school students from Lawrence and college students from the University of Kansas have some weeks in Eutin, while German students from Eutin come to Lawrence to study. The

also has established an internship exchange program with Eutin.

Language

In addition to

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...

(''Hochdeutsch''),

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle ...

(''Plattdeutsch'') is very commonly used in Eutin. A common greeting among the citizens is " moin", to which one replies with "moin moin".

References

External links

Official websiteWebsite of the Eutin Opera Summer Festival
from a live webcam on top of the Water Tower. {{Authority control Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Ostholstein 1250s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1257 establishments in Europe