Schwarzenbek is a town in the district of Lauenburg, 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 ...

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 ...

. It is situated approximately 10 km northeast of

Geesthacht Geesthacht () is the largest city in the District of the Duchy of Lauenburg (Herzogtum Lauenburg) in Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany, south-east of Hamburg on the right bank of the River Elbe. History A church was built in what is today ...

, and 35 km 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 ...

. Schwarzenbeks' coat of arms shows a black wolf on a yellow field, beneath the wolf, the water symbolizes the river Schwarze Beke (meaning Black Creek).

Schwarze Beke

The creek is eponymous for the city in the north of

. The "Schwarze Beke" springs southeast of Schwarzenbek at Gut Melusinenthal, goes through the Rülauer forest, a fruit plantation area, and some grassland before the creek ends up in a pipe following the train tracks and

anastomoses An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection may be norm ...

with the "Schwarze Au" which empties out in Aumühle in the "Bille" which anastomoses with a German main river the "Elbe".

History

The first known reference to a population around the "Schwarze Beke" was in the year 1291. The municipal law followed in 1953 given by the government of the state

. The location made Schwarzenbek attractive for many people after that not only that but also the transport connection the

with the "Deutsche Bahn" the most successful public transportation company in Germany. Connection to

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 state ...

and Hamburg, main cities in the north of Germany, have been there early in Schwarzenbek's history. Schwarzenbek fraternized with cities all over Europe what gave it its name as "Europastadt" (European city).

Aubenas Aubenas (; oc, Aubenàs) is a commune in the southern part of the Ardèche department in Southern France. It is the seat of several government offices. The mountainous and rugged countryside is popular for vacation homes. The river Ardèche fl ...

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 ...

, Sierre in Switzerland and Zelzate in Belgium fraternized with Schwarzenbek in the year of 1955. Two more cities in Europe followed in 1960 including

Cesenatico Cesenatico ( rgn, Ziznàtic) is a port town with about 26,000 inhabitants on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is located in the province of Forlì-Cesena in the region of Emilia-Romagna, about south of Ravenna. Cesenatico's port canal was surv ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf and the Ems, which became fortified settlement in ...

in the

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 ...

. To show the inhabitants their fraternization to those cities the city named a district of Schwarzenbek Verbrüderungsring (Connection ring) and named streets in that quarter after those cities in Europe. Schwarzenbek was the second city in Germany which was awarded the Europapreis (European prize). Schwarzenbek's size grew tremendously the past years and didn't stop growing ever since.

Inhabitants

Schwarzenbek is the third largest city in district of Lauenburg and one of the parishes in the state "Schleswig-Holstein" after Geesthacht and Mölln. Most of the inhabitants are young families and commuters. Historical inhabitants are:

Town twinning

, Italy *

, Netherlands * Sierre, Switzerland *

Zelzate Zelzate () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the town of Zelzate proper. In 2021, Zelzate had a total population of 13,124. The total area is 13.71 km2. Zelzate is divided in ...

, Belgium *

, France

Other personalities associated with the town

* Francis Erdmann, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1629-1666), Duke of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

, died in Schwarzenbek

References

External links

Official siteInformation about Schwarzenbek
{{Authority control Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Herzogtum Lauenburg