Meldorf (

Holsatian Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

: ''Meldörp'' or ''Möldörp'') is a town in western

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 ...

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 ...

, that straddles the river

Miele Miele ( ; ) is a German manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances and commercial equipment, headquartered in Gütersloh, Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The company was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann, and has always been a family-o ...

in the district of

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, Low Saxon: ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; da, Ditmarsken; la, label=Medieval Latin, Tedmarsgo) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Sch ...

Overview

Meldorf was first mentioned in writing before 1250 AD. In 1265 it received its municipal rights and served as the capital of Dithmarschen, a peasant republic with Allies in 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 ...

dating from 1468. The city was sacked in 1500 AD when King John of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union ( Danish, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under a single monarch the three kingdo ...

attempted to conquer the republic. His forces were routed by a force with poor arms and inferior numbers in the Battle of Hemmingstedt. In 1559, the republic was conquered. The city lost its municipal rights again in 1598 and would not regain them until 1870. It was county town until 1970 of the district Süderdithmarschen. After a district reform Süderdithmarschen and Norderdithmarschen merged to Dithmarschen and Meldorf lost the capitalship to the town of

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...

. The St. John's Church (St.-Johannis-Kirche), also called Meldorfer Dom, is the largest church in Dithmarschen, the most important medieval church building at the North Sea coast in Schleswig-Holstein and has a neogothic style. Meldorf is the birthplace of mathematician

Olaus Henrici Olaus Magnus Friedrich Erdmann Henrici, FRS (9 March 1840, Meldorf, Duchy of Holstein – 10 August 1918, Chandler's Ford, Hampshire, England) was a German mathematician who became a professor in London. After three years as an apprentice ...

, and the seat of the collective municipality ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' Mitteldithmarschen.

References

External links

www.meldorf.de

www.dithmarsche-wiki.de/Meldorf#Geschichte
(visited 20 November 2005)

(visited 21 November 2005) Dithmarschen {{Dithmarschen-geo-stub