Heiningen () is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, 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 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 part of the ''

Samtgemeinde A (, ; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type of administrative division in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Samtgemeinden'' are local government associations of Municipalities of Germany, municipalities, equivalent to the ''Amt (administrative division) ...

'' ("collective municipality")

Oderwald Oderwald is a ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated along the river Oker, approx. 10 km south of Wolfenbüttel. It is named after the Oderwald, a small chain ...

Geography

Heiningen is located on the southeastern rim of the Oderwald hill range, about south of the district capital

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

. It has access to the BAB 395 motorway at the nearby

Flöthe Flöthe is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, 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 ...

junction.

History

The municipality is the site of medieval Heiningen Abbey, established about 1000 AD by the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

noble House of

Billung The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudol ...

. Promoted by Bishop

Bernward of Hildesheim Bernward (c. 960 – 20 November 1022) was the thirteenth Bishopric of Hildesheim, Bishop of Hildesheim from 993 until his death in 1022. Life Bernward came from a Saxons, Saxon noble family. His grandfather was Athelbero, Count Palatine of S ...

, the

canoness A canoness is a member of a religious community of women, historically a stable community dedicated to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in a particular church. The name corresponds to a canon, the male equivalent, and both roles share a ...

es even received immediacy by Emperor

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

. The Rule of St. Augustine was implemented in 1126, while the building of the Sts Peter and Paul monastery church, a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, began. Heiningen became the seat of an

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

in 1174. In the 15th century, the abbey was affiliated with the

Congregation of Windesheim The Congregation of Windesheim () is a congregation of Augustinian canons that regularly takes its name from its most important monastery, which was located at Windesheim in the Netherlands. The congregation was founded as an offshoot of the Br ...

. After the fierce Hildesheim Stift Feud, Heiningen was occupied by the forces of Duke Henry V of Brunswick and the monastery turned

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

in 1569. Restored to the

Bishopric of Hildesheim The Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the Middle Ages until its dissolution in 1803. The Prince-Bishopric must not be confused with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildes ...

in 1643, the abbey church again was consecrated Catholic, while the population largely retained the Protestant faith. The convent was finally

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

in 1810, though the monastery church remained the centre of a

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 ...

parish up to today. Joseph Müller (1894–1944), a member of the

German Resistance to Nazism The German resistance to Nazism () included unarmed and armed opposition and disobedience to the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime by various movements, groups and individuals by various means, from assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler, attempts to ass ...

, served here as priest from 1937 to 1943.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2011 elections: *

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(SPD): 5 *

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

: 4 *

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

(CDU): 1

References

External links

Municipal site
{{Authority control Wolfenbüttel (district)