Ringelheim with 1,994 inhabitants is the sixth biggest quarter of

Salzgitter Salzgitter (; Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven ''Oberzentren'' of Lower ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, located on the

Innerste The Innerste is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Leine river and in length. Origin of the name The river name is not related to the German word ''innerste'' meaning innermost. ''Innerste'', in earlier times c ...

River at the very far south-western end of the urban area. The Salzgitter-Ringelheim train station is the most important station of the city, as the

Brunswick Southern Railway The Brunswick Southern Railway (german: Braunschweigische Südbahn) was built by the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway as a link from its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway to the Hanoverian Southern Railway. It ran through the northwestern Harz For ...

and the line from

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

cross here.

History

The settlement arose in the

Eastphalia Eastphalia (german: Ostfalen; Eastphalian: ''Oostfalen'') is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern '' Gaue'' (shires) of the historic stem duchy of Saxony, roughly confined by the River Leine in the west and the Elbe ...

n ''Salzgau'' region of the medieval

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...

; the

Immedinger The Immedingians (German: ''Immedinger'') were a noble family of medieval Saxony, descended from the Saxon leader Widukind. The most notable member was Saint Matilda (d. 968), queen consort of King Henry I of Germany. History They were importan ...

relatives of duchess consort

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

, wife of Henry the Fowler, founded a nunnery here as a proprietary monastery about 940. The convent was re-established as a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

friary subordinate to the Bishopric of Hildesheim in 1152. Upon the

Hildesheim Diocesan Feud The Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (german: Hildesheimer Stiftsfehde) or Great Diocesan Feud, sometimes referred to as a "chapter feud", was a conflict that broke out in 1519 between the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim (''Hochstift Hildesheim'') and the ...

, Prince-bishop

John of Saxe-Lauenburg John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

had to cede Ringelheim to the neighbouring Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1523. With the accession of Duke

Julius The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

it turned

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in 1568. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, Imperial and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

troops tried to reconquer the former Hildesheim estates and defeated a

army under King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

at the nearby

Battle of Lutter The Battle of Lutter (German: '' Lutter am Barenberge'') took place on 27 August 1626 during the Thirty Years' War, south of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony. A combined Danish-German force led by Christian IV of Denmark was defeated by Johan Tzercl ...

in 1626. Duke Augustus the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel finally restored Ringelheim to Hildesheim in 1641. In 1803 the prince-bishopric was securalised to the Electorate of Hanover and ''

Feldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...

'' Count

Friedrich von der Decken Graf Johann Friedrich von der Decken (25 May 1769 – 22 May 1840) was a Hanoverian general and diplomat during the Napoleonic Wars. Life The von der Deckens are an old noble family in Lower Saxony which produced several officers for the forc ...

acquired the former monastery as his residence in 1817. Ringelheim was incorporated into the City of Salzgitter in 1942.

Sights

The most important attraction is Schloss Ringelheim, the former abbey founded in the tenth century and secularised in 1803. The large park (''Schlosspark'') with a serpentine lake in the

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

manner was laid out in 1847 for Count Adolf von der Decken. Close to it there are the sport grounds and the River Innerste. The Baroque church of St. Abdon und Sennen built in 1694 is known for its precious organ and the crucifix from the workshop of Prince-bishop

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

. Ringelheim has some shopping facilities (supermarket, drug-store, retail), restaurants, banks, doctor, dentist, pharmacy, an alcohol detox clinic and an institution for handicapped persons.

Bibliography

* Jörg Leuschner, Reinhard Försterling, Renate Vanis, Christine Kellner-Depner, Walter Wimmer, Dirk Schaper. ''Ringelheim.'', Ed: Archiv der Stadt Salzgitter (= Beiträge zur Stadtgeschichte. Band 29). Salzgitter 2015. {{Authority control

Ringelheim Ringelheim with 1,994 inhabitants is the sixth biggest quarter of Salzgitter in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Innerste River at the very far south-western end of the urban area. The Salzgitter-Ringelheim train station is the most important ...

Urban quarters in Germany