Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city 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 ...

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 betwe ...

. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

() which bears its name. It is located roughly to the west of

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

and belongs to that city's wider metropolitan region. Within the area of the city are the urban districts of Bützfleth, Hagen, Haddorf and Wiepenkathen, each of which have a council () of their own with some autonomous decision-making rights. Stade is located in the lower regions of the river

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) 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 Re ...

. It is also on the

German Timber-Frame Road The German Timber-Frame Road (German: ''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'') is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to the Black Forest and Lake Constance in the south. Numerous cities and towns each with examples of the vernacu ...

History

The first human settlers came to the Stade area in 30,000 BC. Since 1180 Stade belonged to the

Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (german: Fürsterzbistum Bremen) — not to be confused with the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic ...

. In early 1208 King

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

and his troops conquered Stade. In August Valdemar II's cousin being in enmity with the king, the then Prince-Archbishop Valdemar reconquered the city only to lose it soon after again to Valdemar II. In 1209 Emperor

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 119 ...

persuaded his ally Valdemar II to withdraw into the north of the Elbe, and the deposed Prince-Archbishop Valdemar took Stade. On 2 May 1209 Otto IV granted important

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 traditio ...

() to Stade. Otto IV confirmed the

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

s to be personally free and recognised them constituting a political entity of their own law, the ''burgenses and optimi cives'' of Stade. Property within the municipal boundaries could not be subjected to feudal overlordship and was to be freely inherited without feudal claims to reversion. Fair juridical procedures were constituted and maximal fines fixed. Otto IV obliged himself to prevent burghers from being taken as hostages and to liberate captured burghers. After Otto IV had changed his mind and reinvested Prince-Archbishop Valdemar with the See in 1211, Valdemar II recaptured Stade. In 1213 Otto's elder brother Count Palatine

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, reconquered Stade for the Prince-Archbishop. In 1215 Henry repelled another Danish attack on Stade. In the winter of 1216 Valdemar II and his Danish troops, unable to take the city of Stade, ravaged the

County of Stade The Counts of Stade were members of the Saxony nobility beginning in the 10th century. Stade had developed since the 8th century as a principal center of trade and communications. The Counts of Stade created their domain between the lower Elbe and ...

. From then on Stade remained a part of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. Braun Stade UBHD

In medieval times (from the 13th century to the late 17th century), Stade was a prominent member of the Hanseatic League, but was later eclipsed by

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

. In 1611 the city signed a contract with Sephardic Jews, allowing the foundation of a community. In 1613, Johan Friedrich, Administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric, followed by settling

Ashkenazic Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Jews in the city, but during the turmoil of Catholic conquest and Lutheran reconquest the last archival traces of Jews date from 1630. In 1648, by the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

, the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen underwent a constitutional transformation from a prince-bishopric into a monarchy, the ''

Duchy of Bremen ), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...

''. The duchy and the neighboured ''

Principality of Verden ), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...

'', colloquially referred to as

Bremen-Verden ), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...

, were granted by the ''Treaty of Westphalia'' as an appanage to the Swedish crown. Stade, already under Swedish occupation since 1645, was a part of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

province of Bremen-Verden-Wildeshausen from 1645 to 1712, and some of the buildings built by the Swedes are still in use today.

Swedish fortress

Stade's heyday lasted until the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

. In 1628

Tilly Tilly may refer to: Places France * Tilly, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Tilly, Indre, in the Indre ''département'' * Tilly, Yvelines, in the Yvelines ''département'' Elsewhere * Tilly, Belgium, a village in the municipality of Viller ...

conquered the town; shortly thereafter, Sweden took possession of it until 1636. After a period of Danish occupation, Sweden finally recaptured it in 1643 and was also officially granted possession of it, together with the Archbishopric of Bremen, in the Peace of Westphalia. Two-thirds of the town were razed in the great town fire on 26 May 1659. The town was rebuilt again to the same plan. From 1675 to 1676, in the Swedish-Brandenburg War, Swedish Stade was conquered during a

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

by Denmark and several states of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

and remained in allied hands until the end of that war in 1679. Stade, as the headquarters of the Swedish Stadhalter, was besieged from early April 1676 to 13 Aug 1676. In the wake of the Treaty of Saint Germain in 1679, Stade was once again awarded to Sweden. The Elbe customs station near Stade, in Brunshausen at the mouth of the Schwinge, played special role in trading on the River Elbe from the period of the archbishopric. In 1663, the Swedes stationed an Elbe customs frigate as a permanent patrol ship. This arrangement continued to exist under various rulers until 1850 and the customs station on the Schwinge fieldworks itself existed until 1865.Richard Graewe: ''Die zweihundertjährige Geschichte der Elb-Zoll-Fregatte zu Brunshausen und ihrer Kommandanten 1650–1850.'' Selbstverlag des Stader Geschichts- und Heimatvereins, Stade 1963 Swedish sovereignty ended in 1712. Danish troops besieged the town in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

and shelled it from 29 August to 7 September 1712 that destroyed 152 houses, a quarter of the built-up area. During the Swedish times Stade was the capital of the province.

Danish rule

In 1712 Denmark conquered Stade and the whole of Bremen-Verden. Stade remained Bremen-Verden's capital also after the Danes ceded it to the Electorate of Hanover in 1715. When in 1823 Bremen-Verden was replaced by new administrative forms, Stade continued to be the capital of the Stade region. In 1355 and in 1712, Stade suffered from the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

epidemic, which killed at least 30–40% of the city's population. On 26 May 1659 a huge fire destroyed 60% of the city.

Early modern and modern period

In 1757 following the French Invasion of Hanover, the

Army of Observation An army of observation is a military body whose purpose is to monitor a given area or enemy body in preparation for possible hostilities. Some of the more notable armies of observation include: * Third Reserve Army of Observation, a Russian army ta ...

under Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, and the

Privy Council of Hanover The Privy Council of the Electorate of Hanover, formally known as Brunswick-Lüneburg, was the administrative branch of the electoral (and later royal) government of Hanover. Its members were known as ''ministers'' and often controlled indirectly t ...

(government) took shelter in Stade. Cumberland prepared to defend the town before agreeing the

Convention of Klosterzeven The Convention of Klosterzeven (or the Convention of Kloster-Zeven, german: Konvention von Kloster Zeven) was a convention signed on 10 September 1757 at Klosterzeven between France and the Electorate of Hanover during the Seven Years' War that ...

which brought about a temporary

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

. By the end of the 17th century Ashkenazi Jews reappeared in Stade. In 1842 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 Ha ...

granted equal rights to Jews and promoted to build up Jewish congregations and a regional superstructure (

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

nate) within a nationwide scope. The Jews in Stade regarded this a progress and a burden alike, because prior they hadn't employed any rabbi and religion teacher due to the implied financial burden. In 1845 – according to the new law – a land-rabbinate, under Land-Rabbi

Joseph Heilbut Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, was established in the city, serving 16 Jewish congregations, which were founded over the years in the whole Stade Region, with altogether 1,250 Jews in 1864 (highest number ever reached). The local authorities now requested, that the Jewish congregations establish synagogues and Jewish education for the pupils. Stade Synagogue 1

In 1849 Stade's synagogue opened, but had to close due to financial restrictions in 1908. And a teacher for

Jewish religion Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...

and Hebrew was employed (after 1890 Stade's community couldn't afford a teacher any more). From 1903 on the Jewish community of Stade was granted public subsidies to continue functioning. The Stade Region stayed a Jewish diaspora, and from 1860 on Stade's land-rabbinate was never staffed again, but served alternately by one of the other three Hanoverian land-rabbinates. Labour migration and emigration to urban centres outside the Stade Region and Jewish demography rather lead to a reduction of the number of Jews in the ''Stade Region'' (786 in 1913, 716 in 1928). However, most of the remaining Jews were deported during the Nazi reign. During World War II, Stade remained completely untouched by allied bombings. Südostansicht AKW Stade 1

In past decades, Stade has economically benefited significantly from the presence of chemical and aerospace industry at the

river, most notably Dow Chemical and

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

. Also by the Elbe at Stade is the decommissioned Stade Nuclear Power Plant, which was connected to the power grid from 1972 to 2003. By the time the plant was brought offline, it was Germany's second oldest reactor. Following Germany's 2002 decision to phase out nuclear power generation, Stade was the first German plant to be affected; it was closed down permanently on 14 November 2003. Close to the former nuclear plant there is an inactive oil-fired power station, the

Schilling Power Station Schilling Power Station was an oil-fired power station in the proximity of the nuclear power station at Stade. It went into operation in 1960, was extended in 1962 and 1964, and was shut down in the 1980s. Since it principally served Hamburg nor ...

Sights

The Old Town of Stade is home to a variety of notable historic buildings; among the most notable are the St. Cosmae et Damiani Lutheran Church, the Wilhadi Lutheran Church, the city hall, the and the . Located near to Stade are the gigantic pylons of Elbe Crossing 1 and Elbe Crossing 2; the Elbe Crossing 2 pylons are the tallest in Europe and the sixth-tallest in the world.

Transport

In late 2007, line S3 of the S-Bahn Hamburg was extended to Stade. Trains depart

Stade station Stade (German: ''Bahnhof'' or ''Haltestelle Stade'') is a railway station which opened in 1881 Dagmar Müller-Staats, "Zeitsprünge Neu Wulmstorf", p. 16. and is located in the town of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. Stade station is the terminus ...

every 20 minutes (at peak times), arriving at

Hamburg central station Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (abbrev. ''Hamburg Hbf'') is the main railway station of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Opened in 1906 to replace four separate terminal stations, today Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is operated by DB Station&Service AG. With an avera ...

in roughly one hour.

Local industry

Firms with notable locations in the area include: * Dow Chemical, chemicals * Airbus Deutschland GmbH,

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

* E.ON, power plant *

Air Liquide Air Liquide S.A. (; ; literally "liquid air"), is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...

, industrial gases *

Air Products & Chemicals Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is an American international corporation whose principal business is selling gases and chemicals for industrial uses. Air Products' headquarters is in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pen ...

, industrial gases * Aluminium Oxid Stade GmbH, aluminium oxide

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

* Stähler Agrochemie,

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

and

biocides A biocide is defined in the European legislation as a chemical substance or microorganism intended to destroy, deter, render harmless, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a sli ...

* PROKON Nord Energiesysteme GmbH,

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...

s and biofuel * Lindemann (Bauunternehmen), construction

Twin towns – sister cities

Stade is twinned with: *

Giv'at Shmuel Giv'at Shmuel ( he, גִּבְעַת שְׁמוּאֵל, , Samuel's Hill) is a city in the Center District of Israel. It is located in the eastern part of the Gush Dan Metropolitan Area and bordered by Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak to the West, Kiryat ...

, Israel *

Gołdap Gołdap ( or variant ''Goldapp''; lt, Geldupė, Geldapė, Galdapė) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the region of Masuria, seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located on the Gołdapa River, between the Szeskie ...

, Poland *

Karlshamn Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality. Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles ...

, Sweden

Notable people

Maria Aurora von Königsmarck Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmarck (sv: ''Aurora Königsmarck'') (28 August 166216 February 1728) was a Swedish and German noblewoman of Brandenburg extraction and mistress of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Life A ...

(1662–1728), countess, mistress of Augustus the Strong *

Amalia von Königsmarck Countess Amalia "Emilie" Wilhelmina Lewenhaupt (née von Königsmarck) (20 August 1663 – 30 January 1740) was a Sweden, Swedish noblewoman of German descent who became known as a Amateur, dilettante painter, actor, and poet. Life Amalia Wi ...

(1663–1740), Swedish noble, dilettante painter, actor and poet * Peter von Sivers (1674–1740), Russian naval officer *

August Karl von Goeben August Karl Friedrich Christian von Goeben (10 December 181613 November 1880), was a Prussian infantry general, who won the Iron Cross for his service in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Early career Born at Stade 30 km west of Hamb ...

(1816–1880), Prussian general *

Max von Bahrfeldt Max Ferdinand Bahrfeldt (), ennobled as von Bahrfeldt in 1913 (6 February 1856, Willmine, District of Templin, Uckermark – 11 April 1936, Halle an der Saale) was a royal Prussian General of the Infantry, a local historian, and a numismatist of ...

(1856–1936), Prussian general of the infantry * Ernst Hans Ludwig Krause (1859–1942), physician, botanist and mycologist *

Jost Fitschen Jost Fitschen (1 January 1869, in Brest (Lower Saxony) – 26 January 1947, in Hamburg-Altona) was a German botanist known for his work in the field of dendrology. Beginning in 1889, he worked as a schoolteacher in the town of Geversdorf, afterwa ...

(1869–1947), botanist known for his work in the field of

dendrology Dendrology ( grc, δένδρον, ''dendron'', "tree"; and grc, -λογία, ''-logia'', ''science of'' or ''study of'') or xylology ( grc, ξύλον, ''ksulon'', "wood") is the science and study of woody plants (trees, shrubs, and lianas), ...

* Ernst-Eberhard Hell (1887–1973), general in

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

during World War II *

Ulrich de Maizière Karl Ernst Ulrich de Maizière (; 24 February 1912 – 26 August 2006) was a German general. He served in the army of three German states: the ''Reichswehr'' of the Weimar Republic, the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany, and the German Army of We ...

(1912–2006), general, created the ''"Innere Führung"'' in the Bundeswehr * Eberhard von Koerber (1938–2017), manager and on the Board of BMW *

Stefan Aust Stefan Aust (; born 1 July 1946) is a German journalist. He was the editor-in-chief of the weekly news magazine ''Der Spiegel'' from 1994 to February 2008 and has been the publisher of the conservative leading ''Die Welt'' newspaper since 2014 ...

(born 1946), journalist, chief editor of Der Spiegel in 1994–2008 * Carsten Eggers (born 1957), sculptor and painter *

Angela Denoke Angela Denoke (born 27 November 1961) is a German opera singer ( soprano). Born in Stade, she studied at the University of Music and Drama of Hamburg. Her first contract was at the Theater Ulm (1992–1996), where she sang Fiordiligi ('' Co ...

(born 1961), opera singer * Dirk Dammann (born 1967), footballer *

Andrasch Starke Andrasch Starke (born 4 January 1974, in Germany) is a jockey in international Thoroughbred horse racing. Starke began racing at age fifteen as an amateur and since turning professional has won the German riding championship six times. He has com ...

(born 1974), jockey * Peter Ording (born 1976), rower *

Juliette Schoppmann Juliette Schoppmann (born 18 March 1980) is a German singer, songwriter and vocal coach who came to fame as the runner-up of the debut season of the television series ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German ''Idol'' series adaptation. ...

(born 1980), singer

Gallery

Stade Cosmae Orgel.JPG, Schnitger organ at St. Cosmae St. Wilhadi, facade.jpg, St. Wilhadi Stade-AltesRathaus 1.jpg,

Old town hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

StadeSchwedenspeichermuseum.JPG, (Swedish warehouse) StadeZeughaus.JPG, (Swedish armoury) Stade 2006, Hansehafen 2.jpg, Old Hanse harbor Flugplatz Stade EDHS Osten.jpg, Stade airfield (EDHS) Grauerort facade.jpg, 19th-century Grauerort fortress ItDozent Altländerhaus 1.jpg, House at museum Exterior of the Athenaeum Stade.jpg, Gymnasium Athenaeum Stade

References

External links

Official website

Official tourism organisation
Ge/En/Swe
Culture and convention center in Stade

{{Authority control 994 establishments Members of the Hanseatic League Landmarks in Germany Holocaust locations in Germany 10th-century establishments in Germany Populated riverside places in Germany Populated places on the Elbe