Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...

city conserves an important monumental heritage of Romanesque and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

buildings, as well as numerous

timber framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

houses. During the

German partition The Prussian Partition ( pl, Zabór pruski), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the Partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian acqui ...

the nearby Bundesautobahn 2 was the site of the

Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing The Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing (german: Grenzübergang Helmstedt-Marienborn), named ''Grenzübergangsstelle Marienborn'' (GÜSt) (''border crossing Marienborn'') by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was the largest and most import ...

, the most important on the former

inner German border The inner German border (german: Innerdeutsche Grenze or ; initially also ) was the border between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the ...

as starting point of the shortest land route between

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

Geography

Helmstedt is situated in a basin between the

Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

and

Lappwald The Lappwald is a heavily wooded range of hills, 20 km long and up to 5 km wide, in central Germany. It stretches northwards from the town of Helmstedt. The border between Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt runs through the woods, of which ...

hill ranges, at the transition area between the northern foothills of the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

mountains and the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Balti ...

. It is surrounded by the

Elm-Lappwald Nature Park The Elm-Lappwald Nature Park (german: Naturpark Elm-Lappwald) is a nature park in southwest Lower Saxony, east of Brunswick in central Germany. It is dominated by the forested hill ranges of the Elm, Lappwald and Dorm as well as the region know ...

. The town centre is located about east of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, west of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, and east of the state capital

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. The municipal area includes the localities of Barmke and Emmerstedt, both incorporated by a 1974 administrative reform, and

Büddenstedt Büddenstedt is a former municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...

, incorporated in 2017, as well as the

resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...

of Bad Helmstedt, about east of the town centre. Helmstedt currently has about 25,000 inhabitants (2015).

History

The settlement in the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...

was first mentioned as ''Helmonstede'' in a 952 deed issued by the

king

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 ...

. In former times also called ''Helmstädt'', the town developed in the vicinity of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

St. Ludger's Abbey St. Ludger's Abbey (german: Kloster St. Ludgeri) was a former monastery of the Benedictine Order in Helmstedt, Lower Saxony, founded by Saint Ludger around 800. Until it was secularised in 1802 it was an Imperial Abbey, with sovereignty over the ...

that was founded around 800 by

Saint Liudger Ludger ( la, Ludgerus; also Lüdiger or Liudger) (born at Zuilen near Utrecht 742; died 26 March 809 at Billerbeck) was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and the first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia. He has ...

as a mission station. Helmstedt's

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

were documented in 1247. It belonged to the Abbacy of

Werden Werden is a southern borough of the city of Essen in Germany. It belongs to the city district ''IX Werden/Kettwig/Bredeney'' and has 9,998 inhabitants as of June 30, 2006. The borough occupies a space of and is situated at a median height of . _ ...

until 1490, when it was bought by the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. From 1576 to 1810, the

University of Helmstedt The University of Helmstedt (german: Universität Helmstedt; official Latin name: ''Academia Julia'', "Julius University"), was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810. History Founded ...

was located here. From the late 1940s to 1990, the town was the site of a major border crossing between the

Federal Republic of 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 between ...

and the

German Democratic Republic 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 **Ger ...

. The main

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

and

autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

route between

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, across the GDR, began at the

, also known as Checkpoint Alpha. Official military traffic from

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 No ...

countries to

was only allowed to use this route.

Transport

The town lies on the Brunswick-Magdeburg railway. Image:Rathaus Helmstedt.jpg, Mayor's office (built 1904 - 1906) Image:Helmstedt Eulenturm.JPG, The "Owl Tower" of the medieval town wall Image:Hausmannsturm Helmstedt.jpg, The Hausmannsturm of Helmstedt Image:Helmstedt-Grenzdenkmal.jpg, Memorial to the former border between West and East Germany

Notable people

Franz Heinrich Ludolf Ahrens Franz Heinrich Ludolf Ahrens (6 June 1809, Helmstedt – 25 September 1881, Hanover) was a German philologist. He was born in Helmstedt. After studying at the University of Göttingen (1826-1829) under Karl Otfried Müller and Georg Ludolf Dissen, ...

(1809–1881), philologist *

Bibiana Beglau Bibiana Beglau (born 16 July 1971) is a German actress. Life Born in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Bibiana Beglau is the daughter of a border guard and a nurse. After training as an actor at the University of Music and Theatre in Hamburg, she wor ...

(born 1971), actress * Victor von Bruns (1812–1883), physician and plastic surgeon *

Georg Fein Georg Fein (1803–1869) was a German democratic journalist, an early German socialist and a liberal nationalist. He was a prominent publicist during the ''Vormärz'' period that preceded the Revolution of 1848. Early life Georg Fein was born on ...

(1803–1869), journalist and democratic politician of

Vormärz ' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after the ...

, founder and organizer of

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

Peter Feldmann Peter Manuel Feldmann (born 7 October 1958) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). On 25 March 2012, he was elected Mayor of Frankfurt as successor of Petra Roth (CDU). On 6 November 2022, he was recalled, with 95% of th ...

(born 1958), politician, mayor (SPD) of

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

since 2012 *

Johann Andreas Graeffer John Graefer or Johann Andreas Graeffer (1 January 1746 – 7 August 1802) was a German botanist nurseryman born in Helmstedt. Graeffer/Graefer is remembered by garden historians as having introduced a number of exotic plants to British gardens ...

(1746–1802), botanist and nurseryman remembered by garden historians as having introduced a number of exotic plants to British gardens *

Asta Hampe Asta Hampe (24 May 1907 – 22 October 2003) was a German electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, economist and statistician. According to '' The Woman Engineer'', Hampe was the first German member of the Women's Engineering Societ ...

(1907– 2003), engineer, physicist, economist and statistician * Johann Christian Friedrich Heyer (1793–1873), the first missionary who was sent abroad by Lutherans in the US * Hans Krebs (1898–1945), military officer and chief of staff of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

Rudolf Leuckart Karl Georg Friedrich Rudolf Leuckart (7 October 1822 – 22 February 1898) was a German zoologist born in Helmstedt. He was a nephew to naturalist Friedrich Sigismund Leuckart (1794–1843). Academic career He earned his degree from the Uni ...

(1822–1898), biologist and founder of

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...

Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein (25 August 1753, Helmstedt – 17 February 1816, Helmstedt) was a German zoologist. He was the father of Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein (1780-1857). He studied theology, philosophy, natural history and Orien ...

(1753–1816), zoologist and librarian * Johann Heinrich Meibom (1590–1655), physician and professor of medicine at the

Karl Reinhard Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...

(1769–1840), writer and editor of the ''Göttingen Musenalmanach'' * Stefan Rinke (born 1965), historian and specialist in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n history *

Theodor von Schubert Friedrich Theodor von Schubert (30 October 1758 – 21 October 1825) was a German astronomer and geographer. Life and works Born in Helmstedt, his father, Johann Ernst Schubert, was a professor of theology and abbot of Michaelstein Abbey. T ...

(1758–1825), astronomer *

Paul Gottlieb Werlhof Paul Gottlieb Werlhof (24 March 1699 – 26 July 1767) was a German physician and poet who was a native of Helmstedt. He studied medicine at the University of Helmstedt under Lorenz Heister (1683–1758) and Brandanus Meibom (1678–1740) ...

(1699–1767), Royal Hanoverian court physician and poet * Andree Wiedener (born 1970), footballer In addition, see the list of famous students and professors of the

Twin towns – sister cities

Helmstedt is twinned with: *

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, United States *

Chard Chard or Swiss chard (; ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; ...

, England, United Kingdom * Fiuggi, Italy *

Haldensleben Haldensleben (; Eastphalian: ''Halslä'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Börde district. Geography It is situated on the Ohre river, near the confluence with its Beber tributary, and the parallel Mi ...

, Germany * Orăştie, Romania * Svietlahorsk, Belarus * Vitré, France

References

External links

*
District Emmerstedt (in German)Helmstedt-CITYTOUR (photo-gallery)Map of Helmstedt
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050410064839/http://home.att.net/~rails_to_berlin/border.htm Riding with the locomotive engineer (engine driver) across the former intra-German frontier in 2005 {{Authority control Helmstedt (district) Members of the Hanseatic League Duchy of Brunswick