Schöppenstedt is a small town in the district of Wolfenbüttel, 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 the administrative seat of the ''

Samtgemeinde A ''Samtgemeinde'' (; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type of administrative division in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Samtgemeinden'' are local government associations of municipalities, equivalent to the '' Ämter'' in Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenb ...

'' ("collective municipality") of Elm-Asse.

Geography

It is situated southwest of 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 Asse hill ranges, about east of

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

, and southeast 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 ...

. Since 2007, Schöppenstedt station is the eastern terminus on the Wolfenbüttel–Helmstedt railway line.

History

The settlement of ''Sciphinstete'' in the

Derlingau The Derlingau was an early medieval county ('' Gau'') of the Duchy of Saxony. Geography The Derlingau approximately consisted of the area between the river Oker in the west and the Lappwald forest in the east. It was bordered by (from the north, ...

region of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, located on the trade route from Brunswick to the ''

Königspfalz The term ''Kaiserpfalz'' (, "imperial palace") or ''Königspfalz'' (, "royal palace", from Middle High German ''phal ne'' to Old High German ''phalanza'' from Middle Latin ''palatia'' luralto Latin ''palatium'' "palace") refers to a number of ...

'' at

Schöningen Schöningen is a town of about 11,000 inhabitants in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The town is located on the southeastern rim of the Elm hill range, near the border with the state of Saxony-Anhalt. In its curren ...

, was first mentioned in a 1051 deed. A church at the site probably existed in the days of the missionary bishop

Hildegrim of Châlons Hildegrim ( – 19 June 827) was Bishop of Châlons from 804 to 810 and the second abbot of Werden Abbey, after his elder brother Ludger, from 809 until his death. Life Like his brother Ludger, Hildegrim was of Christian Frisian noble descent. He ...

before 827 AD; Schöppenstedt later became the seat of a

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

archdeacon. From 1267 to 1269, the surrounding estates were held by the

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 1542, the citizens turned

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. A main landmark is the St. Stephen's Church with its famous leaning tower of the 12th century. The interior contains remarkable stone pillars with depictions of animal figures and human heads, including

Wotan (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelun ...

and his ravens, the

Fenrir Fenrir (Old Norse: ; "fen-dweller")Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (O.N.: ; "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (O.N.: ; "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (O.N.: ; " ...

Wolf, the

Midgard Serpent In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term , "inhab ...

and the Ash

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...

(black and white illustration). These ornate pillars have been constructed with the introduction of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

as a monument to the ancient gods of faith - the ornaments could date from the first documented mention of Schöppenstedt.

Sights

Schöppenstedt has a museum dedicated to the medieval trickster

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore. Eulenspiegel is a ...

who was born in neighbouring

Kneitlingen Kneitlingen is a municipality in the Wolfenbüttel district in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is part of the ''Samtgemeinde'' Elm-Asse. The most recent German census counted a population of just 853 people. Geography Kneitlingen is situ ...

about 1300. There are various sightworthy half-timbered houses in the town centre, especially in Braunschweiger Straße and around the church. One of the most famous houses is ''Sitz der Archidiakone'' dating from 1612, a colourful house opposite the church. The nave of St. Stephen's Protestant Church was built from 1730 to 1740 in a barock style, but the clock tower dates from the 12th century. In front of the Parish House three bells form a War Memorial.

Notable people

* Ludwig Strümpell (1812–1899), philosopher and pedagogue

References

External links

Official site of the Samtgemeinde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoppenstedt Wolfenbüttel (district) Duchy of Brunswick