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.''
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