Pattensen () is a town in the district of Hanover, 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 ...

. It is situated approximately south of

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 ...

Geography

Pattensen is located in the historic landscape

Calenberg Land The Calenberg Land (german: Calenberger Land) is a historic landscape southwest of Hanover in Germany, roughly formed by the countryside between the Leine and the Deister hills. The name of this region comes from the Principality of Calenberg rul ...

between 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 downriver, ...

and the

Deister The Deister is a chain of hills in the German state of Lower Saxony, about 15 mi (25 km) southwest of the city of Hanover. It runs in a north-westerly direction from Springe in the south to Rodenberg in the north. The next in the chai ...

hills. The area is dominated by agriculture, many residents commute to work in

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 L ...

. The town of Pattensen has the following 8 boroughs (or ''Stadtteile''), some of which were previously independent villages: Hüpede, Jeinsen, Koldingen, Oerie, Pattensen-Mitte, Reden, Schulenburg and Vardegötzen as well as the two hamlets Thiedenwiese und Lauenstadt.

History

Pattensen was first mentioned in a document in 986, nevertheless, the first people probably settled in the old town between the 6th and 8th century.Eckhard Steigerwald: ''Pattensen. Zur Geschichte und Entwicklung einer Calenberger Kleinstadt'', 1986 In the 13th century, Graf Ludolf II. von Hallermund built the Pattensen Castle to monitor the important trade routes that crossed the city in north-south and west-east directions. From the middle of the 13th century, the city belonged to the

Principality of Lüneburg The Principality of Lüneburg (later also referred to as Celle) was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory ...

. The city was of strategic military importance, so that it was heavily fortified and enlarged as a result. In the area of the present town of Pattensen, also the

Calenberg Castle Calenberg Castle (german: Burg Calenberg, later called ''Schloss Calenberg'' and ''Feste Calenberg''; ruins known as ''Alt Calenberg'') was a medieval lowland castle in central Germany, near Schulenburg in the borough of Pattensen, 13 km wes ...

and the Koldingen Castle were built in these times. In 1433, Pattensen became part of the

Principality of Calenberg The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the Welf duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover from 1635 onwards; the princes received the ninth electoral dignity of the Holy Roman ...

. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the city was the seat of an archdeacon under the leadership of the

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

Antonius Corvinus. At that time the city was often the venue for church synods and state parliament meetings. During the centuries, Pattensen was repeatedly destroyed and plundered as a result of armed conflicts like the

War of the Lüneburg Succession The War of the Lüneburg Succession (german: Lüneburger Erbfolgekrieg) was a conflict over the succession to the Principality of Lüneburg that broke out in 1370 in north Germany and lasted, with interruptions, for 18 years. After William II of L ...

(end of 14th century), the

Hildesheim Diocesan Feud The Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (german: Hildesheimer Stiftsfehde) or Great Diocesan Feud, sometimes referred to as a "chapter feud", was a conflict that broke out in 1519 between the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim (''Hochstift Hildesheim'') and the ...

(1519-1523) or the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

(1618-1648). The city was also destroyed multiple times in several devastating fires, the largest ones in 1655 and 1733. From 1806 to 1813 the city was under French rule and belonged to the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

. In 1866, 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 em ...

n army occupied the region. In 1974 the surrounding villages were incorporated and today's town of Pattensen was founded. Image:Pattensen Ortsplan vor 1733 Weidemannnscher Hof ungefähre Lage.jpg, Pattensen castle (on a city map before 1733) Image:Marienburg Castle - panoramio (7).jpg, Marienburg Castle (built 1858-1867) Image:Stadtmauer Pattensen.jpg, Remains of the city wall Image:Pattensen Wieterssches Haus.JPG, Oldest house of Pattensen, built 1614

Economy

The letter processing center for the greater Hanover area is located in Pattensen. The town is home to numerous small and medium-sized companies.

Twin towns

Pattensen is twinned with: : Ahrensfelde, Germany :

Karpniki Karpniki (german: Fischbach) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Mysłakowice, within Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately east of Mysłakowice, south-east of Jeleni ...

, Poland :

Saint-Aubin-lès-Elbeuf Saint-Aubin-lès-Elbeuf (, literally ''Saint-Aubin near Elbeuf'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A light industrial town situated in a meander of the river Seine, some south ...

, France :

Wilkszyn Wilkszyn (german: Wilxen) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Miękinia, within Środa Śląska County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany. It lies approximately north-east of M ...

, Poland

Gallery

Image:Rathaus Pattensen.jpg, Old town hall (built 1849) Image:Pattensen Steinstraße.jpg, Steinstraße Image:Pattensen_Alte_Wache.jpg, Alte Wache (built 1838) Image:St. Lucas (Pattensen).jpg, St. Lucas church (built 1150-1180)

Notable people

* Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (1914-1987) * Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954) *

Annalena Baerbock Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock (; born 15 December 1980) is a German politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens party serving as Germany's minister for foreign affairs since 2021. From 2018 to January 2022, Baerbock served as co-leader of Allia ...

, (born 1980)

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

and co-chair of the Alliance 90/The Greens *

Per Mertesacker Per Mertesacker (; born 29 September 1984) is a German football coach and former professional player who played as a centre back. He is the current manager of the Arsenal Academy. Mertesacker began his senior career after being promoted from th ...

, (born 1984) football coach and retired player, member of the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

-winning squad