Hann. Münden (short for Hannoversch Münden) is a town 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 ...

, Germany. Münden lies in the district of

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

at the confluence of the

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

and

Werra The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the to ...

rivers, which join to form the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

. It has about 24,000 inhabitants (2013). It is famous for its

half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

houses, some of them more than 600 years old. There are 10 million cobblestones around the town.

History

The place is first mentioned in the deeds of donation of ''Gimundi'' to the

abbey of Fulda The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey and Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day Ger ...

, in 802. The town's name means "confluence" in old German; the prefix ''Hannoversch'', or "

Hanoverian The adjective Hanoverian is used to describe: * British monarchs or supporters of the House of Hanover, the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901 * things relating to; ** Electorate of Hanover ** Kingdom of Hanover ** Province of ...

", was added in the 19th century to help distinguish the town from its similarly-named Prussian neighbour,

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

. City rights might have been granted during the latter half of the 12th century. The French inventor Denis Papin built a steam-pump-powered paddlewheel boat, probably pedal-driven in 1704, and as a demonstration used it to navigate down the Fulda River from Kassel to Münden in 1707. Hann. Münden was the site of the

Royal Prussian Academy of Forestry Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

: the city's botanical gardens with many different trees were primarily established for this academy. Later the academy was merged into the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, moving to a new building on the main campus in 1970.

Main sights

Many tourists visit the city to see some 700 of its well-preserved half-timbered medieval houses. The large Lutheran church of St Blasius (14th–15th centuries), in Gothic style, contains the sarcophagus of Duke Eric I of Brunswick-Calenberg (d. 1540). Other sights include: * Renaissance Town Hall, built in the 14th century (now the central Gothic hall remains) with a façade renewed between 1603 and 1618. * Old Werrabrücke, the bridge over the Werra river: one of the oldest stone bridges in the country * Forstbotanischer Garten in Hannoversch Münden, an

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

* Remains of the medieval 12th century city walls (renewed in the 15th century) * ''Tillyschanze'', an observation tower built from 1881 to 1885 by citizens of the town in memory of the siege of the town by Count Tilly in 1626. * Welfenschloss, originally built by

Duke Eric I Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

in the

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

in 1501, as both a residence and administrative center. After its destruction by a fire in 1560, Duke Eric II had it rebuilt in

Weser Renaissance Weser Renaissance is a form of Northern Renaissance architectural style that is found in the area around the River Weser in central Germany and which has been well preserved in the towns and cities of the region. Background Between the star ...

style. The southern wing was again destroyed by a fire in 1849, but not rebuilt.

Notable people

* Anna Maria of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen (1532–1568), duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Ludolph Büsinck (1600–1669), wood-engraver, local customs administrator *

Hermann Friedrich Teichmeyer Hermann Friedrich Teichmeyer (30 April 1685 – 5 February 1746) was a German physician and botanist born in Hannoversch Münden. He was father-in-law to Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777). The botanical genus ''Teichmeyeria'' ( Scop., 1777) is l ...

(1685–1746), forensics physician and botanist *

Georg Friedrich Grotefend Georg Friedrich Grotefend (9 June 1775 – 15 December 1853) was a German epigraphist and philologist. He is known mostly for his contributions toward the decipherment of cuneiform. Georg Friedrich Grotefend had a son, named Carl Ludwig Gr ...

(1775–1853), epigraphist and philologist; he deciphered

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

. *

Christian Kalkbrenner Christian Kalkbrenner ( Hann. Münden, September 22, 1755 – Paris, August 10, 1806) was a German Kapellmeister, violinist, organ and keyboard player, and composer. Almost an exact contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he was a prolific compose ...

(1755–1806),

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

, violinist, organ and keyboard player and composer. *

Eduard Huschke Georg Philipp Eduard Huschke (26 June 18017 February 1886) was a German jurist and authority on church government. He was born at Hannoversch Münden, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 1817 Huschke went to Göttingen to study law. He was enco ...

(1801–1886), jurist and authority on church government. *

Ferdinand Wüstenfeld Heinrich Ferdinand Wüstenfeld (31 July 1808 – 8 February 1899) was a German orientalist, known as a literary historian of Arabic literature, born at Münden, Hanover. He studied theology and oriental languages at Göttingen and Berlin. He ...

(1808–1899), orientalist and literary historian of Arabic literature * Heinrich Christian Burckhardt (1811–1879), forest scientist and teacher of the local forest school * Emma Jacobina Christiana Marwedel (1818–1893), a German-American educator, used the ideas of

Friedrich Fröbel Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique nee ...

Ernst Wollweber Ernst Friedrich Wollweber (29 October 1898 – 3 May 1967) was a German politician who was State Secretary of State Security from 1953 to 1955 and Minister of State Security of East Germany from 1955 to 1957. Biography Born in Hannovers ...

(1898–1967), politician SED, Minister for State Security of the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

* Gustav Eberlein (1847–1926), sculptor, lived and worked here * Anne-Marie von Schutzbar genannt Milchling (1903–1991), second wife of

Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg (; 10 August 18973 April 1970) was the eldest son of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, who was the last Rulers of Oldenburg, ruling Grand Duke of Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Oldenburg. In 1 ...

Christa Schroeder Emilie Christine Schroeder, also known as Christa Schroeder (19 March 1908 – 28 June 1984), was one of Adolf Hitler's personal secretaries before and during World War II. Early life She was born in the small town of Hannoversch Münden a ...

(1908–1984), one of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's personal secretaries before and during World War II *

Adam von Trott zu Solz Friedrich Adam von Trott zu Solz (9 August 1909 – 26 August 1944) was a German lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative resistance to Nazism. A declared opponent of the Nazi regime from the beginning, he actively participated in ...

(1909–1944), diplomat, resistance fighter during the Nazi period, studied here 1922–1927 *

Hanne Wieder Hanne Wieder (May 8, 1925 – May 11, 1990) was a German television and film actress. Selected filmography * ''Rosemary'' (1958) * '' Heiße Ware'' (1959) * ''Labyrinth'' (1959) * '' Marili'' (1959) * '' The Haunted Castle'' (1960) * ' (1961) * ...

(1925–1990), cabaret artist, singer, TV and film actress. * Alexander Strehmel (born 1968), football manager and a former player, played 414 games *

Niclas Huschenbeth Niclas Huschenbeth (born 29 February 1992) is a German chess grandmaster and a two-time German Chess Champion (2010, 2019). He played in the Chess Olympiads of 2008 and 2010. Chess career Huschenbeth won the German championship in 2010. He cam ...

(born 1992), chess grandmaster *

Felicitas Rauch Felicitas Rauch (born 30 April 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defender for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Germany national team. She previously played for Frauen-Bundesl ...

(born 1996), footballer; played 36 games for the

Germany women's national football team The Germany women's national football team () represents Germany in international Women's association football, women's football. The team is governed by the German Football Association (DFB). The Germany national team is one of the most succ ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Hann. Münden is twinned with: *

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, France (1959) *

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

, Israel (1988) *

Chełmno Chełmno (; older ; , formerly also ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional importance ...

, Poland (1992)

References

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External links