Aumühle () is a municipality in

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 ...

in northern

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 betwee ...

, about 21 km (14 mi) east of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. Its

Friedrichsruh Friedrichsruh () is a district in the municipality of Aumühle, Herzogtum Lauenburg district, Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. Friedrichsruh manor is known as a residence of the princely House of Bismarck, mainly of Chancellor Otto von Bi ...

district is home to the family estate and mausoleum of

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

Geography

Aumühle lies on the river Bille in the Sachsenwald, the largest forest in Schleswig-Holstein.

History

In 1350 Aumühle was first mentioned in writing as ''Au-Mühle'' (mill on the river Au). In 1846, a station on the newly-constructed Hamburg-Berlin railway line was opened at Friedrichsruh.

Aumühle station Aumühle is a station on the Berlin-Hamburg railway line, just outside the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Aumühle is served by the rapid transit trains of Hamburg S-Bahn line S21, for which it is also the eastern terminus station. The station ...

itself was added in 1884. BismarckMausoleum

In 1871 Kaiser

Wilhelm I of Germany William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

gifted the

Sachsenwald The Sachsenwald () is a forest near Hamburg, Germany. It is an unincorporated area in the amt Hohe Elbgeest. It derives its name (which means 'Saxon woods' in English) from being located in the former Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, earlier also calle ...

forest, adjacent to the Au, to

in recognition of his services to the newly unified German nation. Bismarck had a manor house built there, opting to retain the historic name of Friedrichsruh. Bismarck now lies buried in the Bismarck Mausoleum situated there.

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government fo ...

, the last head of state of Nazi Germany, moved to Aumühle after his release from

Spandau Prison Spandau Prison was located in the borough of Spandau in West Berlin. It was originally a military prison, built in 1876, but became a proto-concentration camp under the Nazis. After the war, it held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nurem ...

in 1956. He lived there until his death in 1980, and was buried in its Waldfriedhof cemetery. In Aumühle lived German journalist and politician Olaf von Wrangel.

Transport

Aumühle is the eastern terminus of

Hamburg S-Bahn The Hamburg S-Bahn is a suburban commuter railway network in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Together, the S-Bahn, the Hamburg U-Bahn, the AKN railway and the regional railway form the backbone of railway public transport in the city and the s ...

line S21.

Twin towns

Aumühle is twinned with: * Mortagne-sur-Sèvre

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Sleen Sleen is a village in Drenthe, Netherlands of about 2,500 people. Sleen has been inhabited for centuries. Much ancient history can be found in the area, particularly in the forests (which are planted, though). At birth and during the Republiek de ...

, today a part of

Coevorden Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

References

External links

Aumühle official website
Municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein Bismarck family Herzogtum Lauenburg {{HerzogtumLauenburg-geo-stub