Uelzen (; officially the ''Hanseatic Town of Uelzen'', German: ''Hansestadt Uelzen'', ,

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

''Ülz’n'') is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in northeast

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 ...

, and capital of the district of Uelzen. It is part of the

Hamburg Metropolitan Region The Hamburg Metropolitan Region (German: Metropolregion Hamburg) is a metropolitan area centred around the city of Hamburg in northern Germany, consisting of eight districts (''Landkreise'') in the federal state of Lower Saxony, six districts ('' ...

, a

Hanseatic town The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German tow ...

and an independent municipality. Uelzen is characterised by timber-framed architecture and also has some striking examples of North German

brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

. The town earned pan-regional fame when

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...

was selected to redesign the station: the final work of the celebrated Viennese artist and architect was ceremonially opened in 2000 as the Hundertwasser Station, Uelzen, and has since been a popular tourist magnet. The Polabian name for Uelzen is (spelled ''Wiltzaus'' in older German reference material), possibly derived from or (< Slavic *) 'alder'.

Geography

Location

Uelzen lies on the eastern edge of the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

. The town is a transport hub on the north–south axis from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

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 ...

as well as the east–west axis from

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

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 ...

. Also of economic importance is its location on the

Elbe Lateral Canal The Elbe Lateral Canal (german: Elbe-Seitenkanal; ), is a long canal in Lower Saxony, Germany. It runs from the Mittelland Canal near Gifhorn to the Elbe in Artlenburg. It forms an important transport connection between southern and northern Ge ...

. The town has a charming setting, situated as it is on the heath river, the

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

, with its grassy river banks, small parks, and water meadows. Large areas in the vicinity of Uelzen have been set aside as

nature parks A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes ...

with moors, woods, lakes, and heathland: the

Elbhöhen-Wendland Nature Park The Elbhöhen-Wendland Nature Park (german: Naturpark Elbhöhen-Wendland), formerly known as the Elbufer-Drawehn Nature Park (''Naturpark Elbufer-Drawehn'') is a German nature park east of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony. Geography Location The nature ...

Lüneburg Heath Nature Park Lüneburg Heath Nature Park (German: ''Naturpark Lüneburger Heide'') is a nature park, a form of protected environment, located in the Lüneburg Heath in northern Germany. It has an area of . The centre of the nature park is the Lüneburg Heath ...

and Lower Saxon Elbe Valley Water Meadows Biosphere Reserve.

Divisions

The following parishes belong to the borough of Uelzen: Groß Liedern, Halligdorf, Hambrock, Hansen, Hanstedt II,

Holdenstedt Holdenstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Allstedt,Kirchweyhe, Klein Süstedt, Masendorf, Mehre, Molzen, Oldenstadt, Riestedt, Ripdorf, Tatern, Veerßen, Westerweyhe, and Woltersburg. Furthermore, there are four other places that have the status of "special parishes" (''Sonstige Ortsteile''): Borne, Kl. Liedern, Pieperhöfen, and Oldenstadt-West.

History

The town was founded in 1250. In 1270 Duke John of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a

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 ...

who ruled the Principality of Lüneburg from 1252 to 1277, granted Uelzen its

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 ...

(''Stadtrechte''). In the Middle Ages it became an active member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

. The town

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'' ...

, built in the 14th century, originally had 3

gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadde ...

, a

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

, and a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

. Parts of the wall are still standing. While Uelzen only played a small role in the Hanseatic League, there is evidence that it traded with

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. "At the ''Schnellenmarket'', a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

trading office purchased Uelzener

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

, earthenware pitchers were offered for sale and

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

business flourished. On 21 October 1470, Uelzen was the venue for a Hanseatic League Convention. A special honour as these resolutions of the association of cities only took place annually - primarily in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

." The town became part of the

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

in 1708, 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 1807, the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

in 1814, and 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 ...

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, ...

in 1866. Uelzen was the site of a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

that was established in Uelzen until 17 April 1945. The camp was a subcamp of the

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

. Uelzen was hit by five air raids on 18 April 1944, 10 November 1944, 27 November 1944, 22 February 1945 and 7 April 1945 and 1362 buildings were destroyed or damaged. The heaviest raid was on 22 February 1945 when 149 people lost their lives and 95 houses were completely destroyed. On 7 April 1944, three civilians were killed and 153 houses were destroyed or damaged The town as a whole was destroyed by 27 per cent.

Governance

Uelzen belongs to the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

constituency of

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

-Uelzen. In 2009 Henning Otte (CDU) was directly elected, having been on the state list (place 19) since 2005. Kirsten Lühmann (SPD) was elected in 2009 via the state list. In the years 1998, 2002 and 2005 Peter Struck (SPD), former defence minister and chairman of the SPD party in the German Bundestag, was directly elected.

Mayor

The mayor of Uelzen since 2014 has been Jens Markwardt (independent). In the 2014 election he was confirmed in office with 64.4% of the vote. The deputy mayors are Karsten Jäkel (CDU) und Ariane Schmäschke (The Greens). * 1913–1946: Johann Maria Farina. * 1946: Dr. Heinz Lücke (CDU). * 1946–1948: Adolf Hochgraefe (SPD). * 1948–1950: Dr. Heinz Lücke. * 1950–1952: Adolf Hochgraefe. * 1952–1961: Dr. Heinz Lücke. * 1961–1963: Adolf Hochgraefe. * 1963–1964: Dr. Heinz Lücke. * 1964–1972: Alfred Krüger (CDU). * 1972–1979: Rudi Schrödter (SPD). * 1979–1981: Hans-Alexander Drechsler (SPD). * 1981–1991: Rudolf Froin (CDU). * 1991–1997: Günter Leifert (SPD). * 1997–2001: Günter Leifert (hauptamtlich). * 2001–2014: Otto Lukat (SPD). * 2014: Jürgen Markwardt (independent).

Twin towns – sister cities

Uelzen is twinned with: *

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Bois-Guillaume Bois-Guillaume () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography The town is a wealthy, residential hilltop suburb of Rouen, semi-rural, semi-suburban with a little farming and some light indust ...

, France *

Kobryn Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...

, Belarus * Tikaré, Burkina Faso

Arts and culture

Uelzen_-_Holdenstedt_-_Schloßstraße_-_Schloss_03_ies2

Theatre

The number of cultural offerings is large and varied given the size of the city. The multitude of cinemas, the theatre on the Ilmenau (''Theater an der Ilmenau''), the Jabelmann Events Hall and the fringe theatre on the Rosenmauer are some of Uelzens attractions.

Museums

Worthy of mention is the Holdenstedt Castle Museum (''Museum Schloss Holdenstedt'') which is the town's local history museum. Permanent exhibitions include furniture from the Middle Ages to art nouveau, a glass collection, works by the animal painter, Georg Wolf, and archaeological finds from the local area.

Economy

The largest sugarbeet refinery in the

Nordzucker Nordzucker AG, headquartered in Braunschweig, Germany, is Europe’s second largest sugar manufacturer. The production of sugar, liquid sugars and other specialities for the application in the nutrition, beverage and sweets industry as well as ...

group is in Uelzen. It processes approximately 20,000 tons of

sugarbeet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wit ...

per day. Further big employers in the town are Nestlé Schöller or the dairy ''Uelzena''. Bituminous roofing felts and insulation material is being manufactured b
C. Hasse & Sohn
a leading producer with experience since 1872.

Infrastructure

Railway station

The Hundertwasserbahnhof is a railway station in Uelzen at the eastern edge of the

in northeastern

. The cities within easy reach by rail are

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...

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 ...

and

. The original station was renovated for

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially some 40 million people were expe ...

following plans by the Austrian artist and architect

. An "environmentally, culturally oriented" station, Uelzen station was renamed as 'Hundertwasser Station, Uelzen' (''Hundertwasser-Bahnhof Uelzen''). Today it is one of the town's popular tourist attractions.

Courts

Uelzen has at its disposal an Amtsgericht (roughly, a district court), which belongs to the state court region of

and the Oberlandesgericht (High State Court) region of

Education

Schools in Uelzen include the Herzog-Ernst-Gymnasium, Lessing-Gymnasium, Oberschule-Uelzen, Lucas-Backmeister-Schule, Sternschule, Berufsbildene Schulen I and II and 6 elementary schools.

Health and medicine

Uelzen has one hospital (''HELIOS Klinikum''), two clinics that specialises in different areas (''Klinik Veerßen'' and ''Psychiatrische Klinik Uelzen'') and some pharmacies and dentists.

Notable people

Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg (german: Ernst der Bekenner; 27 June 1497 – 11 January 1546), also frequently called Ernest the Confessor, was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a champion of the Protestant cause during the early years of the Prote ...

(1497–1546),

Prince of Lüneburg A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, ruled the Lüneburg-Celle subdivision of the

family's Brunswick-Lüneburg duchy from 1520 until his death *

Francis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1508–1549) was the youngest son of Henry the Middle. Following a thirty-year joint reign of Brunswick-Lüneburg with his brother Ernest the Confessor, he ruled the newly founded Duchy of Gifhorn from Gifhorn Cast ...

(1508–1549), ruled the newly founded

Duchy of Gifhorn The Duchy of Gifhorn (german: Herzogtum Gifhorn) with its residence at Gifhorn Castle was founded in 1539 and lasted only 10 years until the death of its ruler, Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1549. It consisted of the '' Ämter'' of Gifhorn ...

from

Gifhorn Castle Gifhorn Castle (german: Schloss Gifhorn) is a castle in Gifhorn, Germany, built between 1525 and 1581 in the Weser Renaissance style. The castle was fortified until 1790 with moats, ramparts and bastions and was never captured. In the 16th century ...

Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann Eberhardt August Wilhelm von Zimmermann (August 17, 1743, Uelzen – July 4, 1815, Braunschweig) was a German geographer and zoologist. He studied natural philosophy and mathematics in Leiden, Halle an der Saale, Halle, Berlin, and Göttin ...

(1743–1815), geographer and biologist *

Friedrich Kuhlau Friedrich Daniel Rudolf Kuhlau ( German; Danish sometimes ''Frederick Kulav'') (11 September 1786 – 12 March 1832) was a Danish pianist and composer during the late Classical and early Romantic periods. He was a central figure of the Dani ...

(1786–1832), court composer to the Danish royal court *Georg Wilding (1790–1841), royal-Neapolitan envoy in St. Petersburg *

Theodore Kaufmann Theodore Kaufmann (December 18, 1814 – 1896) was an artist who worked mostly in the United States. Biography He was born in Uelzen, Germany. He served for several years as a mercantile apprentice. He studied painting in Düsseldorf with Peter ...

(1814–1896), American painter *

Walter Wallmann Walter Wallmann (24 September 1932 – 21 September 2013) was a German lawyer politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the Mayor of Frankfurt between 1977 and 1986, and as Minister-president of Hesse from 1987 to 1991. ...

(1932–2013), politician (CDU) * Angelika Volquartz (born 1946), politician (CDU), 2003–2009 Mayor of Kiel *

Rebecca Harms Rebecca Harms (born 7 December 1956) is a German politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 until 2019. She is a member of the Alliance '90/The Greens, part of the European Green Party. From 2010 until 2016 she serv ...

(born 1956), politician (The Greens) * Mola Adebisi (born 1973), TV presenter (VIVA) *

André Doehring André Doehring (born in 1973) is a German musicologist, who is active in pop music and jazz research. Work Born in Uelzen, Doehring studied musicology and sociology. Since 2005 he worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Musicology a ...

(born 1973), musicologist

Notes

References

*Official German list of concentration camp
Verzeichnis der Konzentrationslager und ihrer Außenkommandos
*

Johann Parum Schultze Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

; Reinhold Olesch (Hrsg.): ''Fontes linguae Dravaenopolabicae minores et Chronica Venedica J. P. Schultzii''. (= Slavistische Forschungen; Band 7). Böhlau, Köln und Graz 1967 * Christian Hennig von Jessen: ''Vocabularium Venedicum (oder Wendisches Wörter-Buch)'' (1705). Nachdruck besorgt von Reinhold Olesch. - Köln .a. Böhlau 1959 (Gewährsmann des Pastors C. Hennig von Jessen war der polabisch sprechende Bauer Johann Janieschge aus Klennow)

External links

Official site

Uelzen website translated to English with google translation
* {{Authority control Towns in Lower Saxony Neuengamme concentration camp Uelzen (district)