Glückstadt (; ) is a town in the
Steinburg district of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It is located on the right bank of the Lower
Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of
Altona. Glückstadt is part of the
Hamburg Metropolitan Region (''Metropolregion Hamburg'').
History
Glückstadt was founded in 1617 on the
marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
lands along the Elbe by the
Duke of Holstein, King
Christian IV of
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, who had
levees and fortifications built as well as a ducal residence. Its name translates to
English literally as "Luck City" or "Fortune City". As Christian IV promised the settlers tax exemption and
freedom of religion, Glückstadt soon became an important trading centre, intended to compete with the
Imperial city of
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, located upstream on the Elbe.
Calvinists,
Remonstrants and
Mennonites
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
(
Anabaptists) from the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
settled here, as well as
Sephardic Jews and
Catholics.
After the king had interfered in the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, the town in 1627/28 was besieged for fifteen weeks by the united
Imperial and
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
troops under the command of
Albrecht von Wallenstein and Count
Tilly, though without success.
In 1649 Christian’s son and successor King
Frederik III of Denmark had the seat of the Holstein administration moved to Glückstadt, whereafter the duchy became known as
Holstein-Glückstadt. In 1773 the town became the capital of all
Holstein lands, when the lands of the
Holstein-Gottorp line were finally incorporated. During the
War of the Sixth Coalition in 1814 Glückstadt was blockaded by the allies and capitulated, whereupon its fortifications were demolished. In 1830 it was made a free port.
Holstein-Glückstadt remained a possession of the
Danish Crown until its defeat in the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...
of 1864. It was occupied by
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, but finally incorporated into the
Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein in the aftermath of the 1866
Austro-Prussian War.
Transport
In 1845, Glückstadt station opened on the
Marsh Railway line from
Elmshorn, which in 1857 was continued to
Itzehoe
Itzehoe (; ) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany.
As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9&nb ...
. Today trains run from
Hamburg-Altona station
Hamburg-Altona (or simply Altona) is a railway station in Hamburg, Germany, situated to the west of the city's main station, in the district which bears its name.
A main line terminal station, most Intercity-Express (ICE) services linking H ...
to
Westerland on
Sylt island. Glückstadt also has a
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
service across the Elbe to
Wischhafen in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
. It is a stop on the
Deutsche Fährstraße theme road and the
Elbe Cycle Route.
File:2016-08-25 Glückstadt Marktplatz.jpg, Glückstadt market square
File:Luftaufnahmen Nordseekueste 2012-05-by-RaBoe-458.jpg, Aerial view of Glückstadt across the Lower Elbe
File:Ehemaliger Salzspeicher Glückstadt.jpg, Former Glückstadt salt storage
File:Schlachterstraße7.JPG, Former church of the Calvinists, Remonstrants and Mennonits (''Dutch Church'' or ''Reformed Church'')
File:Glueckstadt Judenfriedhof 2.jpg, Former Jewish cemetery
Notable people
Chronological list

*
Christoffer Gabel (1617-1673), Danish statesman and merchant, governor of the Faroe Islands and Copenhagen, most powerful adviser of
Frederick III of Denmark.
*
Frederic Louis Norden (1708–1742), a Danish naval captain, cartographer and archaeological explorer.
*
Ludvig Manthey (1769-1842), a Danish
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...
.
*
Adolph Carl Peter Callisen(1786–1866), a German-Danish physician and lexicographer.
*
August Detlev Christian Twesten (1789-1876), Lutheran theologian.
*
Theodor Olshausen (1802-1869), lawyer, politician, 1848 revolutionary.
*
August Friedrich Schenck (1828-1901), a painter, well known for his landscapes and paintings of animals
*
John C. Petersen (1842-1887), butcher, farmer, and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
legislator
*
Rudolf von Willemoes-Suhm (1847-1875), zoologist, and research traveller
*
Theodor Heinrich Engelbrecht (1853–1934), an agronomist, geographer, farmer and politician.
*
Fritz Lau (1872–1966), Low German playwright and author.
[''Ehrenbürger.''](_blank)
In: ''glueckstadt.de.'' Retrieved 15 December 2020.
*
Kurt Benirschke (1924-2018), pathologist, geneticist, inventor of the
Frozen zoo
*
Willi Holdorf (1940 in
Blomesche Wildnis - 2020),
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...
gold medallist in the decathlon
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gluckstadt
Populated places established in 1617
Towns in Schleswig-Holstein
Steinburg
Populated riverside places in Germany
Populated places on the Elbe
1617 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire