Steinkirchen (; ,

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

: ''Steenkark'') is a municipality in the

district of Stade Stade is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has its seat in Stade and is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. History The district of Stade was established in 1932 by merging three smaller precursor districts. Geogra ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

The municipality is located in the

Altes Land Altes Land () is an area of reclaimed marshland straddling parts of Lower Saxony and Hamburg. The region is situated downstream from Hamburg on the southwestern riverside of the Elbe around the towns of Stade, Buxtehude, Jork and the ''Samtg ...

, the largest continuous

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

and fruit harvesting region in Europe. It is situated by the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

and Lühe rivers and is bordered by the municipalities (in clockwise order)

Grünendeich Grünendeich is a municipality in the district of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. It belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union b ...

Jork Jork () is a municipality in the district of Stade, in Lower Saxony, in northern Germany, situated on the left bank of the Elbe, near Hamburg. The town is the capital of the Altes Land, one of the biggest fruit growing areas in Europe, and is ...

, Mittelnkirchen, Guderhandviertel, Agathenburg and Hollern-Twielenfleth. The southeasterly third of the Elbe island Lühesand forms part of the municipal area.

History

It belonged to the

Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church that after its definitive secularization in 1648 became the hereditary Bremen-Verden, Duchy of ...

. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the

Duchy of Bremen Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden (; ), were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of th ...

, which was first ruled in

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

by the Swedish and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown. In 1823 the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region.

Politics

Municipality council

As of February 2020, the council is composed of: *

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

(CDU): 5 seats *

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(SPD): 4 seats *

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

(Grüne): 1 seat * Independent: 1 seat

Mayor/Mayoress

The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

ess of Steinkirchen is Sonja Zinke (CDU, elected as Independent) since 2014. Deputy mayor is Jürgen Michaelis (SPD).

Notable buildings

* St. Martini et Nicolai church with the world famous organ of St. Martini et Nicolai e/small> * Hogendiekbrücke, a pedestrian

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

over the Lühe river *

Transmission tower A transmission tower (also electricity pylon, hydro tower, or pylon) is a tall structure, usually a lattice tower made of steel that is used to support an overhead power line. In electrical grids, transmission towers carry high-voltage transmis ...

of the Elbe Crossing 2, the tallest transmission towers in Europe

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Three bus lines run by the KVG Stade stop in Steinkirchen. These are: * 2050 Stade - Hollern-Twielenfleth - Steinkirchen - Jork - Hamburg-Cranz * 2030 Buxtehude - Dammhausen - Jork - Borstel - Steinkirchen * 2053 Grünendeich - Steinkirchen - Horneburg These are part of the HVV and thus can be made use of with a regular ticket. Additionally, some school bus and company bus lines operate in Steinkirchen.

Education

Steinkirchen is home to the Schulzentrum Lühe, a school complex with an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

and an

Oberschule Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German states (), with the federal government only playing a minor role. While kindergarten (nursery school) is optional, formal education is compulsory for all children from th ...

Notable people

Dörte Hansen Dörte Hansen (also known as Dörte Hansen-Jaax, born 1964 in Husum, West Germany) is a German linguist, journalist and writer. Life Hansen grew up in Högel in Nordfriesland; her family spoke Low German at home. She learned her "first foreig ...

, linguist and writer, lived there for over 10 years

References

Municipalities in Lower Saxony Stade (district) {{Stade-geo-stub