Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the

Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the Germany, German states of Germany, state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, ...

in the central part 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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of

Rendsburg-Eckernförde Rendsburg-Eckernförde (; da, Rendsborg-Egernførde) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Kiel, the district of Plön, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Segeberg, Steinbu ...

. , it had a population of 28,476.

History

Rendsburg's foundation date is unknown though some form of

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s was established by

Bjørn Svendsen Bjørn Svendsen (c. 1062 – 1100 Rendsburg) was one of the many illegitimate sons of King Sweyn II of Denmark. Unfortunately for him he was one of the younger ones of these sons which put him far down the list of inheriting the throne of Denmark. B ...

1099–1100. Rendsburg was first mentioned in 1199. An old form of its name was Reinoldesburch. It became a part of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label= Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germ ...

in the 13th century, but was transferred to Schleswig in 1460. Many times the town passed from Danish to German control and vice versa. In the German-Danish War in 1864 Rendsburg was finally seized by

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. After 1866 the town was annexed by the

. Since that time it has remained part of Germany. Although the Eider is navigable for small craft from its mouth on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

to Rendsburg, the town's importance rose in 1895, when the

was finished. The much larger ships that could navigate the Kiel Canal meant that, although situated inland, Rendsburg became a seaport and a dockyard.

Sights

The most prominent structure in town, the Rendsburg High Bridge, a railway bridge made of steel, in length and in height, was constructed in 1913 to take the Neumünster–Flensburg railway over the

from the relatively flat land on either side. It is the longest railway bridge in Europe (highway/rail bridge

Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...

is longer): on the northern side, the bridge connects to the Rendsburg Loop to gain height and to allow trains to continue to serve the Rendsburg station. Suspended from the railway bridge, a transporter bridge – one of only twenty ever built – traverses the canal. The German Army's Air Defence School and the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz are both located in Rendsburg. Other sights include: * Town hall, 16th century * Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church), 1286 * Kiel Canal Pedestrian Tunnel, longest pedestrian tunnel in the world * The longest bench in the world (501 m), on the banks of the Kiel Canal * Jewish Museum Rendsburg * Museums in the Cultural Centre (Historical Museum Rendsburg / Printing Museum)

Notable people

Maria Davids - Portrait of Fräulein von Sydow

* Michael Maier (1568–1622), physician, counsellor to Rudolf II Habsburg *

Christian Scriver Christian Scriver (2 January 1629 – 5 April 1693) was a German Lutheran minister and devotional writer. Biography Christian Scriver was born at Rendsburg in the Duchy of Schleswig, Germany. He entered the University of Rostock in 1647 ...

(1629–1693), Lutheran minister and devotional writer * Marquard Gude (1635–1689), archaeologist and classical scholar * Calmer Hambro (1747–1806), Danish merchant and banker *

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classics, classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19 ...

(1817–1903), classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist; Germany's first

Nobel Prize winner for literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

, lived in Rendsburg for many years *Heinrich Adolph Leschen (1836–1916), father of gymnastics and pioneer of medical massage (physiotherapy) in South Australia *

Marie Davids Marie Davids (1847–1905) was a German painter. Life Davids was born in Rendsburg and became a pupil of Alexander Struys. She was active in Berlin and created mainly portraits. In 1896 and 1904 she exhibited at the International Exhibition. ...

(1847–1905), painter *

Ludwig Fahrenkrog Ludwig Fahrenkrog (20 October 1867 – 27 October 1952) was a German painter, illustrator, sculptor and writer. He was born in Rendsburg, Prussia, in 1867. He started his career as an artist in his youth, and attended the Berlin Royal Art ...

(1867–1952), writer, playwright and artist * Dagmar Hjort (1860–1902), Danish schoolteacher, writer and women's rights activist * Gustav Kieseritzky (1893–1943), admiral during WWII *

Hans Friedemann Götze Hans Friedemann Goetze (3 November 1897 – 27 May 1940) was a Nazi Standartenführer (Colonel) of the German Waffen-SS and commander of SS Heimwehr Danzig (Danzig Home Defence). He was a son of SS-Brigadeführer Friedemann Goetze. He was sho ...

(1897–1940), SS-Standartenführer in the German Waffen-SS *

Hans Egon Holthusen Hans Egon Holthusen (15 April 1913 – 21 January 1997) was a German Nazi, lyric poet, essayist, and literary scholar. Holthusen was born in Rendsburg the Province of Schleswig-Holstein, the son of a Protestant clergyman. He studied German ...

(1913–1997), lyric poet, essayist, and literary scholar * Hans Blohm (born 1927), photographer and author, in Canada * Otto Bernhardt (born 1942), CDU politician *

Hans-Ulrich Buchholz Hans-Ulrich Buchholz (1 November 1944 – 9 August 2011) was a German rower. He competed in the men's eight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly ...

(born 1944), rower *

Hartmut Lutz Hartmut Lutz (born April 26, 1945) is professor emeritus and former chair of American and Canadian studies: Anglophone literatures and cultures of North America at the University of Greifswald, Germany. He is the founder of the Institut für Anglis ...

(born 1945), professor of American and Canadian studies * Hanne Haller (1950–2005), pop singer, composer, writer, producer and sound engineer * Gerhard Delling (born 1959), journalist and author *

Jost de Jager Jost de Jager (born March 7, 1965) is a German business consultant, politician and former Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Science, Economic Affairs and Transport. Personal Life and Education De Jager lives with his family in Eckernförde. Betw ...

(born 1965) CDU politician * Philip Kraft (born 1969), fragrance chemist *

Noah Wunsch Noah Wunsch (born 1970 in Rendsburg) is a German painter, photographer, and designer. Life The artist Noah Wunsch studied design at the well-known, Hamburg based artist Ursula Unbehaun. He attended the University for Music and Art in Vienna, A ...

(born 1970), painter, photographer and designer. * Alexander Kühl (born 1973), basketball player *

Patrik Borger Patrik Borger (born 19 January 1979) is a German football coach and former player. who works as goalkeeper coach at Holstein Kiel. Career Borger was born in Rendsburg. He made his debut on the professional league level in the 2. Bundesliga for ...

(born 1979), football player and manager *

Lauritz Schoof Lauritz Schoof (born 7 October 1990 in Rendsburg) is a German rower. He was part of the German crew that won the gold medal in the men's quadruple sculls at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He also successfully defended the quadruple scul ...

(born 1990), rower, Olympic winner

Twin towns – sister cities

Rendsburg is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of ...

, Denmark (1976) *

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprises ...

, Netherlands (2014) *

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. Description Haapsalu has been well known for centuries for its ...

, Estonia (1989) *

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish ''Christianstad'') is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a developed ...

, Sweden (1992) * Lancaster, England (1968) * Racibórz County, Poland (2004) * Rathenow, Germany (1990) *

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

, Norway (1995) * Vierzon, France (1975)

References

{{Authority control Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Rendsburg-Eckernförde