Lüneburg is a district 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 bounded by (from the southeast and clockwise) the districts of
Lüchow-Dannenberg,
Uelzen
Uelzen (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Uelzen (), is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the district of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality.
Uelz ...
,
Heidekreis
Heidekreis ("Heath district") is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Celle, Hanover, Nienburg, Verden and Rotenburg.
History
Hist ...
and
Harburg, and the states 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 ...
(district of
Lauenburg
Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe (; ), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is overall the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein and belongs to ...
) and
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in population; it covers an are ...
(district of
Ludwigslust-Parchim
Ludwigslust-Parchim is a district in the west of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The district seat is Parchim, a branch office of the administration is located in Ludwigslust.
After Mecklenburgische Seenplatte, it is the second-biggest distri ...
).
History
The ''
Amt'' of Lüneburg appeared in 1862. At that time the ''Amt'' of Lüne moved its seat from
Lüne Abbey into the Lüneburg
Riding Academy
An equestrian facility is created and maintained for the purpose of accommodating, training or competing equids, especially horses. Based on their use, they may be known as a barn, stables, or riding hall and may include commercial operations de ...
and its name was changed. The district was established after the
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...
was annexed by
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
in 1866. From 1867 the ''Ämter'' of Lüneburg,
Bleckede and the town of Lüneburg became parts of the district of Lüneburg, which was exclusively responsible for taxes and the military.
The history of the region has always been influenced by the town of
Lüneburg
Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...
: see there for more details.
In 1993 the municipality of
Amt Neuhaus joined Lower Saxony and the District of Lüneburg. This region had always been ruled by Lüneburg before the division of Germany made it a part of
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
after 1945. It is hence one of the very few municipalities of the former East Germany that are now in a state that was formerly in
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
.
The district is one of the core areas for monuments and archaeological discoveries from prehistory. Ernst Sprockhoff noted 17 sites west of the Ilmenau and 32 east of it. The most outstanding are the sites of the
Soderstorf Necropolis and the
Oldendorfer Totenstatt.
Geography
The district is characterised by the
Lüneburg Heath
Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...
(''Lüneburger Heide'') in the south and the riverside woodlands along the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
. Though most of the district is located south of the river, there is a small portion around the municipality of Amt Neuhaus on the opposite side.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* the heraldic lion of the Duchy of
Brunswick-Lüneburg
* the hearts of the
Danish national arms (since Duke Wilhelm of Lüneburg was married to a Danish princess in the 14th century)
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official Website
Directory with links related to Lüneburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luneburg (District)
Districts of Lower Saxony
Lüneburg Heath