Lüneburg

Lüneburg
Town hall
Lüneburg
Coordinates	53°15′9″N 10°24′52″E / 53.2525°N 10.41444°E / 53.2525; 10.41444
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Lüneburg
Town subdivisions	14 districts
Lord Mayor	Ulrich Mädge (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	70.34 km2 (27.16 sq mi)
Elevation	17 m  (56 ft)
Population	72,057  (31 December 2006)
- Density	1,024 /km2 (2,653 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	LG
Postal codes	21335–21337–21339
Area code	04131
Website	www.lueneburg.de

Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about 45 km (30 miles) — a thirty-minute train ride — southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs. The capital of the district of Lüneburg, it has a population of around 72 000. The urban area, which includes the surrounding communities like Adendorf, Bardowick, and Reppenstedt, has a population of around 103 000. Lüneburg has been allowed to use the title "Hansestadt" (Hanseatic Town) in its name since 2007, in recognition of its membership in the former Hanseatic League. The official name of the town is thus Hansestadt Lüneburg (Hanseatic Town of Lüneburg); the town is also a Universitätsstadt (university town). As of December 2007, the town was the 120th largest in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Location 1.2 Neighbouring towns and cities 1.3 Town layout 1.3.1 Historical districts 1.3.2 Town districts 1.4 Subsidence 2 History 2.1 Prehistory 2.2 From village to commercial town 2.3 Hanseatic period 2.4 Modern period to the end of the Second World War 2.5 Post-war period 2.6 Incorporated villages and districts 2.7 Population growth 3 Politics 3.1 Council 3.2 Mayor 3.3 Twinned towns 4 Culture and Places of interest 4.1 Theatre 4.2 Museums 5 Infrastructure 6 Education 7 Sports 8 Personalities 8.1 Honorary citizens of the town 8.2 Sons and daughters of the town 8.3 Other notable personalities 9 Miscellaneous facts 10 Gallery 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

Geography

Location

Lüneburg lies on the river Ilmenau, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from its confluence with the Elbe. The river flows through the town and features in the its song; it was formerly traversed by cogs taking salt from the town to the other, larger ports of the Hanseatic League nearby.

To the south of the town stretches the 7,400 km² Lüneburg Heath which emerged as a result of widespread tree-felling, forest fires and grazing. The tradition that the heath arose from centuries of logging undertaken to meet the constant need of the Lüneburg salt works for wood, is not historically confirmed. More likely is that the heath was originally formed by clearances during the Bronze Age. The old town (Altstadt) of Lüneburg lies above a salt dome which is the town's original source of prosperity. But constant mining of the salt deposits over which the town exists has also resulted in the sometimes gradual, sometimes dramatically pronounced sinking of various areas of the town. On the western edge of the town is the Kalkberg, a small hill and former gypsum quarry.

Neighbouring towns and cities

There are several towns, cities, and urban areas around Lüneburg in all directions:

Winsen (Luhe), Hamburg-Harburg 18 km, 36 km	Hamburg-Bergedorf, Schwarzenbek, Lübeck 32 km, 43 km, 87 km	Adendorf, Lauenburg 5 km, 22 km
Jesteburg 48 km		Amt Neuhaus, Lübtheen 42 km, 57 km
Soltau 51 km	Ebstorf, Uelzen 26 km, 37 km	Lüchow (Wendland) 68 km

Town layout

Historical districts

The motto Mons, Pons, Fons ("Hill, bridge, spring") characterised the development of the town from the 8th century as it coalesced from, initially three, and, later, four areas of settlement. These areas were the refuge castle on the – then considerably higher – Kalkberg together with its adjoining settlement (the Marktviertel or "Market Quarter"), the village of Modestorpe between the bridge over the river Ilmenau and the large square, Am Sande (the Sandviertel or "Sand Quarter") and the saline with its walled settlement for the work force (the Sülzviertel or "Salt Quarter"). Not until the 13th century was the river port settlement (the Wasserviertel or "Waterside Quarter") built between the market place and the Ilmenau. The resulting shape of the town thus formed did not change until its expansion in the late 19th century and it is still clearly visible today. Lüneburg's six historic town gates were the Altenbrücker Tor, the Bardowicker Tor, the Rote Tor, the Sülztor, the Lüner Tor and the Neue Tor.

Town districts

Districts: Altstadt, Bockelsberg, Ebensberg, Goseburg-Zeltberg, Häcklingen, Kaltenmoor (largest district with around 8,000 inhabitants), Kreideberg, Lüne-Moorfeld, Mittelfeld, Neu Hagen, Ochtmissen, Oedeme, Rettmer, Rotes Feld, Schützenplatz, Weststadt and Wilschenbruch. Jüttkenmoor, Klosterkamp, Bülows Kamp, In den Kämpen, Krähornsberg, Schäferfeld, Volgershall and Zeltberg are the names of individual blocks within a single district.

Subsidence

The houses in the historic quarter between the Lüneburg Saltworks (today the German Salt Museum) and the Kalkberg were built above a salt dome that was excavated by the saltworks and which extended to just below the surface of the ground. As a result of the increase in the quantities of salt mined due to improved technical equipment about 1830, the ground began to sink by several metres. This resulted in the so-called Senkungsgebiet or "subsidence area". The houses there and the local church (St.Lambert's) lost their stability and had to be demolished. The hollow and the unprofitability of salt mining were the reasons the saltworks finally closed in 1980. Today only small amounts of brine are extracted for the health spa in the Lüneburg Thermal Salt Baths (Salztherme Lüneburg or SaLü). Today the saltworks houses a supermarket and the German Salt Museum.

The subsidence has been monitored at about 240 stations since 1946 on a two-yearly cycle. The land has not quite stopped subsiding yet, however it has been built on again and several historic buildings, that could be saved, have meanwhile been restored. The subsidence can still be clearly seen even today. Visitors who walk from Sande to the end of Grapengießerstraße can clearly sense the degree of subsidence for themselves. The hollow in front of them was formerly at the same level as Grapengießerstraße. This depression extends as far as the Lambertiplatz square.

In Frommestraße another sign of earth movements caused by salt mining may be seen: the Tor zur Unterwelt ("Door to the Underworld"), where two cast iron doors have been pushed on top of one another.

By St. Michael's Church (Michaeliskirche) other consequences of the subsidence can be seen in its sloping columns and the west wing of the nave. Current subsidence movements can be seen in the road known as Ochtmisser Kirchsteig.

History

Prehistory

The first signs of human presence in the area of Lüneburg date back to the time of Neanderthal Man: 56 axes, estimated at 150,000 years old, were uncovered during the construction in the 1990s of the autobahn between Ochtmissen and Bardowick.

The site of the discovery at Ochtmissen was probably a Neanderthal hunting location where huntsmen skinned and cut up the animals they had caught.

The area was almost certainly not continuously inhabited at that time, however, due to the various glaciations that lasted for millennia. The first indication of a permanent, settled farming culture in the area was found not far from the site of the Neanderthal discovery in the river Ilmenau between Lüne and Bardowick. This was an axe that is described as a Schuhleistenkeil or "shoe last wedge" due to its shape. It dates to the 6th century BC and is now in the collection of the Lüneburg Museum.

Since the Bronze Age the Lüneburg hill known as the Zeltberg has concealed a wholerange of prehistoric and early historic graves, which were laid out by people living in the area of the present-day town of Lüneburg. One of the oldest finds from this site is a so-called Unetice flanged axe (Aunjetitzer Randleistenbeil) which dates to 1900 BC.

The land within the town itself has also yielded a number of ice age urns that were already being reported in the 18th century. These discoveries are, however, like those from the Lüneburger Kalkberg – went into the private collection of several 18th century scholars and - with a few exceptions - perished with them.

Fully worth mentioning in this regard are the Lombard Urnfield graves on the Lüneburg Zeltberg and Oedeme from the first few centuries AD. In the Middle Ages, too, there was a series of discoveries on the site of the subsequent town, form example on the site of the old village of Modestorpe not far from St. John's Church (Johanniskirche), the Lambertiplatz near the saltworks and in the old Waterside Quarter.

The ancient town may be that identified as Leufana or Leuphana (Greek: Λευφάνα), a town listed in Ptolemy (2.10) in the north of Germany on the west of the Elbe.

From village to commercial town

Lüneburg was first mentioned in medieval records in a deed signed on 13 August, 956 AD, in which Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor granted "the tax from Lüneburg to the monastery built there in honour of Saint Michael" (German den Zoll zu Lüneburg an das zu Ehren des heiligen Michaels errichtete Kloster, Latin: teloneum ad Luniburc ad monasterium sancti Michahelis sub honore constructum)^[1] . An older reference to the place in the Frankish imperial annals dated 795 states:...ad fluvium Albim pervenit ad locum, qui dicitur Hliuni i.e. on the river Elbe, at the location, which is called "Hliuni") and refers to one of the three core settlements of Lüneburg; probably the castle on the Kalkburg which was the seat of the Billunger nobles from 951. The Elbe-Germanic name Hliuni corresponds to the Lombard word for "refuge site".

From archaeological finds it is clear that the area around Lüneburg had already been settled (in the museum of the Principality of Lüneburg, for example, there is a whole range of high-quality exhibits that were found here) and the saltworks had already started production.

According to tradition, the salt was first discovered by a hunter who observed a wild boar bathing in a pool of water, shot and killed it, and hung the coat up to dry. When it was dry, he discovered white crystals in the bristles — salt. Later he returned to the site of the kill and located the salt pool, the first production of salt on the site took place. In the town hall is a bone preserved in a glass case; legend has it that this is the preserved leg-bone of the boar. It was here that the Lüneburg Saltworks was subsequently established for many centuries.

In spite of its lucrative saltworks Lüneburg was originally subordinated to the town of Bardowick only a few miles to the north. Bardowick was older and was an important trading post for the Slavs. Bardowick's prosperity – it had seven churches – was based purely on the fact that no other trading centres were tolerated. Only when Bardowick refused to pay allegiance to Henry the Lion was it destroyed by him in 1189, whereupon Lüneburg was given town privileges (Stadtrechte) and developed into the central trading post in the region in place of Bardowick.

The Polabian name for Lüneburg is Glain (written as Chlein or Glein in older German sources), probably derived from glaino (Slavonic: glina) which means "clay". In the Latin texts Lüneburg surfaces not only as the Latinised Lunaburgum, but also as Selenopolis. In Plattdeutsch, the town is known as Lümborg.

Hanseatic period

As a consequence of the monopoly that Lüneburg had for many years as a supplier of salt within the North German region, a monopoly not challenged until much later by French imports, it very quickly became a member of the Hanseatic League. The League was formed in 1158 in Lübeck, initially as a union of individual merchants, but in 1356 it met as a federation of trading towns at the first general meeting of the Hansetag. Lüneburg's salt was needed in order to pickle the herring caught in the Baltic Sea and the waters around Norway so that it could be preserved for food inland during periods of fasting when fish (not meat) was permitted.

The Scania Market at Scania in Sweden was a major fish market for herring and became one of the most important trade events in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages. Lüneburg's salt was in great demand and the town quickly became one of the wealthiest and most important towns in the Hanseatic League, together with Bergen and Visby (the fish suppliers) and Lübeck (the central trading post between the Baltic and the interior). In the Middle Ages salt was initially conveyed overland up the Old Salt Road to Lübeck. With the opening of the Stecknitz Canal in 1398 salt could be transported by cog from the Lübeck salt warehouses, the Salzspeicher.

Around the year 1235, the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg emerged, ruled by a family whose aristocratic lines repeatedly divided and re-united. The smaller states that kept re-appearing as a result and which ranked as principalities, were usually named after the location of the ducal seat. Thus between 1267 and 1269 a Principality of Lüneburg was created for the first time, with Lüneburg as the seat of the royal Residenz. In 1371, in the wake of the Lüneburg War of Succession, rebel citizens threw the princes out of the town and destroyed their royal castle on the Kalkberg along with the nearby monastery. The state peace treaty in 1392 granted their demand to become a free imperial town, a status they were able to defend until 1637. The money now stayed in the town, enabling fine houses and churches were built.

In 1392 Lüneburg was accorded the staple right. This forced travelling merchants, with their carts to frequent Lüneburg, unload their wares and offer them for sale for a certain period. So that the merchants could not bypass Lüneburg, in 1397 an impassable defensive barrier was built west of the town. This was followed in 1479 by a similar barrier east of Lüneburg.

The Lüneburg Prelates' War caused a crisis from 1446 to 1462. This not a war in the proper sense, but rather a bitter dispute between the town council and those members of the clergy who were also part-owners of the town's saltworks. It was not resolved until the intervention of the Danish King Christian I, the Bishop of Schwerin and the Lübeck Bishop, Arnold Westphal.

In 1454 the citizens demanded even more influence over public life.

Since the end of 2007 Lüneburg has once again held the title of a Hanseatic city.

See also: List of the rulers of Lüneburg.

Modern period to the end of the Second World War

With the demise of the Hanseatic League – and the absence of herrings around 1560 around Falsterbo in Scania – the biggest customers of Lüneburg's salt broke away and the town rapidly became impoverished. Hardly any new houses were built which is why the historical appearance of the town has remained almost unchanged until the present day.

The town became part of the Electorate of Hanover in 1708, the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814, and the Prussian Province of Hanover in 1866.

In the centuries after the collapse of the League, it was as if Lüneburg had fallen into a Sleeping Beauty slumber. Heinrich Heine, whose parents lived in Lüneburg from 1822 to 1826, called it his "residence of boredom" (Residenz der Langeweile). Near the end of the 19th century Lüneburg evolved into a garrison town, and it remained so until the 1990s.

In 1945 Lüneburg surfaced once again in the history books when, south of the town on the hill known as the Timeloberg (near the village of Wendisch Evern) the German Instrument of Surrender was signed that brought the Second World War in Europe to an end. The location is presently inaccessible to the general public as it lies within a military out-of-bounds area. Only a small monument on a nearby track alludes to the event. On 23 May 1945 Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler took his own life in Lüneburg whilst in British Army custody by biting into a potassium cyanide capsule embedded in his teeth before he could be properly interrogated. His body was found in his cell and was subsequently buried in an unmarked location in a nearby forest.

Post-war period

Even before the Nuremberg Trials took place, the first war crimes trial, the so-called Belsen Trial (Bergen-Belsen-Prozess), began in Lüneburg on 17 September 1945 conducted against 45 former SS men, women and kapos (prisoner functionaries) from the Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz concentration camps.

After World War II, Lüneburg became part of the new state of Lower Saxony. But the dilapidated state of its buildings led to various plans to try and improve living conditions. One proposition that was seriously discussed was to tear down the entire Altstadt and replace it with modern buildings. The ensuing public protest resulted in Lüneburg becoming the focal point for a new concept: cultural heritage conservation. Since the early 1970s the town has been systematically restored. A leading figure in this initiative since the late 1960s has been Curt Pomp: against much opposition from politicians and councillors he founded and championed the Lüneburg Altstadt Working Group (Arbeitskreis Lüneburger Altstadt) for the preservation of historic buildings. His engagement was rewarded with the German Prize for Cultural Heritage Conservation and the German Order of Merit. Today Lüneburg is a tourist attraction as a result of the restoration and important sectors of the town's economy also depend on tourism.

The salt mine was closed in 1980, ending the thousand-year tradition of salt mining, although small amounts are still mined for ceremonial purposes. Small bags of salt may be purchased in the town hall, and bags are given as a gift from the town to all couples married in the town. After the closing of the salt mines, the town gained new relevance from its university, which was founded in 1989.

As part of the restructuring of Defence in 1990 two of the three Bundeswehr barracks in the town were closed and the remaining one reduced in size. The Bundesgrenzschutz barracks was also closed. Lüneburg University moved to the site of the old Scharnhorst barracks. The university grew out of the new economics and cultural studies departments set up in the 1980s and their amalgamation with the College of Education (Pädagogischen Hochschule or PH) that took place in 1989. Since its move to the former barracks site the university has enrolled increasing numbers of students. The expansion of the university is an important contribution to the restructuring of the town into a service centre.

Today an industrial estate, the Lünepark, has been built on the terrain of the old Bundesgrenzschutz barracks with its new industrial premises for entrepreneurs. The promotion of trade and industry has resulted in many firms from the ICT area locating themselves there. In May 2006 the nearby Johannes Westphal Bridge was opened to traffic. This links the newly created Lünepark with the suburb of Goseburg on the far side of the Ilmenau. Since 5 October 2007 Lüneburg has been able to call itself a Hanseatic Town; together with Stade it is one of only two towns in Lower Saxony to bear the title.

Lüneburg is also a popular tourist destination within Germany because of the Lüneburg Heath.

Incorporated villages and districts

• 1943: Hagen and Lüne
• 1974: Häcklingen, Ochtmissen, Oedeme and Rettmer as well as the districts of Alt-Hagen, Ebensberg and Pflegerdorf/Gut Wienebüttel

Population growth

Lüneburg already had about 14,000 inhabitants in the Late Middle Ages and beginning of the Modern Period and was one of the largest 'cities' of its time, but its population shrank with the economic downturn to just 9,400 in 1757; then rose again to 10,400 in 1813. With the onset of industrialisation in the 19th century, population growth accelerated. If 13,000 were living in the town in 1855, by 1939 there were as many as 35,000. Shortly after the Second World War, refugees and displaced persons from Germany’s eastern territories brought an increase in population within just a few months of around 18,000 people so that the total number in December 1945 was 53,000. In 2003 the 70,000 level was exceeded for the first time.

The town of Lüneburg, its eponymous district and the neighbouring district of Harburg belong to the few regions in Germany that have experienced such a massive growth. The reasons for this include the growth of areas around the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and the consequent shift of people to those areas. The Lower Saxon State Office for Statistics has forecast that the town of Lüneburg will have a population of 89,484 by the year 2021. More realistic estimates, however, put the future size Lüneburg at between 75,000 to 79,000 in that time frame.

On 31 December 2008, according to the Statistics Office, the official census for Lüneburg recorded 72,492 people (those who had their main residence in the town and after adjustments with other states offices) – the highest number in its history. In addition Lüneburg has particularly close relations with its adjacent municipalities which are also growing and with which it is forming an agglomeration. The town, together with the nearby villages of Adendorf, Bardowick, Deutsch Evern, Reppenstedt, Vögelsen and Wendisch Evern has a total population of about 103,000 and would be on the way to being a city in the modern sense (i.e. in Germany cities or Großstädte are defined as settlements with a population of over 100,000). Currently Lüneburg is the eleventh largest centre of population in Lower Saxony.

The following overview shows the population figures based on the situation at the time. Up to 1813 they were mostly estimates; thereafter based on censuses (*) or official projections by the State Office of Statistics. From 1871 the figures were based on those 'present in the town', from 1925 on those 'living in the town' and since 1987 on the 'population who have their main residence in the town'. Before 1871 the numbers were based on inconsistent survey methods.

Year Population 1530 14,000 1699 11,000 1757 9,426 1813 10,400 3 December 1855* 13,352 3 December 1861* 14,400 3 December 1864* 15,700 3 December 1867* 15,900 1 December 1871* 16,284 1 December 1875* 17,500 1 December 1880* 19,100 1 December 1885* 19,336 1 December 1890* 20,665

Year Population 2 December 1895* 22,309 1 December 1900* 24,693 1 December 1905* 26,571 1 December 1910* 27,790 1 December 1916* 23,799 5 December 1917* 23,282 8 October 1919* 27,579 16 June 1925* 28,923 16 June 1933* 31,171 17 May 1939* 35,239 31 December 1945 53,095 29 October 1946* 49,169 13 September 1950* 58,139

Year Population 25 September 1956* 56,845 6 June 1961* 59,563 31 December 1965 60,269 27 May 1970* 59,516 31 December 1975 64,586 31 December 1980 62,225 31 December 1985 59,645 25 May 1987* 59,543 31 December 1990 61,870 31 December 1995 64,558 31 December 2000 67,398 31 December 2005 71,842 31 December 2008 72,492

*Census results

Politics

The town of Lüneburg is part of 'State Constituency 49 Lüneburg' and 'Federal Constituency No. 38 Lüchow-Dannenberg – Lüneburg'.^[2][3]

Council

Local election results in 2006 for the town council of Lüneburg:

• SPD 40,7 % (17 seats)
• CDU 28,4 % (12 seats)
• Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 18,1 % (8 seats)
• FDP 7,0 % (3 seats)
• Die Linke 4,4 % (2 seats).

Mayor

Before the Second World War the lord mayor (Oberbürgermeister) was the full-time head of the town's administration. On the introduction of the North German council constitution by the British occupation forces power was separated: the voluntary lord mayor and chairman of the town body was the political representative of the town who, like all the members of the town council was elected by the people, whilst the administration was headed up by a full-time chief municipal director, who was elected by the town council. Since 1996, as a result of the reform of the local constitution, both functions (again) have been combined in the post of a full-time lord mayor, who is now directly elected by the townsfolk. In addition to the lord mayor there are two other mayors (elected by the council) who support and represent the lord mayor in his civic duties.

• 1945–1946: Werner Bockelmann, SPD
• 1946–1949: Ernst Braune, SPD
• 1949–1951: Paul Müller, DP
• 1951–1952: Erich Dieckmann, DP
• 1952–1954: Peter Gravenhorst, DP
• 1954–1955: Reinhold Kreitmeyer, FDP
• 1955–1958: Peter Gravenhorst, DP
• 1958–1961: Wilhelm Hilmer, SPD
• 1961–1964: Erich Drenckhahn, CDU
• 1964–1978: Alfred Trebchen, SPD
• 1978–1981: Heinz Schlawatzky, SPD
• 1981–1987: Horst Nickel, CDU
• 1987–1991: Jens Schreiber, CDU
• seit 1991: Ulrich Mädge, SPD

The current mayors are: Eduard Kolle (SPD) and Dr. Gerhard Scharf (CDU).

Twinned towns

Despite its moderate size Lüneburg has many partnerships with other towns. In June 2000 delegates of all its twinned towns met in Lüneburg and the surrounding area and celebrated the biggest partnership gathering in the region since the Second World War.

• Scunthorpe in the United Kingdom, seit 1960
• Naruto in Japan, since 1974
• Clamart in France, since 1975
• Ivrea in Italy, since 1988
• Viborg, Denmark, since 1992
• Tartu in Estonia, since 1993

In addition there are various partnerships with other German towns such as Kulmbach and Köthen.

Culture and Places of interest

Theatre

The Lüneburg Theatre (Theater Lüneburg) is one of the smallest, three-stage theatres in Germany. Not only are plays of all styles put on, but also operas, operettas, musicals and ballets. Although the financial means of the Lüneburg Theatre are comparatively limited, it is no 'provincial stage' and can hold its ground successfully against the many theatres in nearby Hamburg. In addition Lüneburg has a large number of amateur theatres, that also produce regular performances. Such a variety in amateur drama is otherwise only found in large cities like Hamburg or Hannover. Examples include (arranged in order of year founded):

• Niederdeutsche Bühne Sülfmeister
• Kleines Keller Theater e. V.
• Amateurtheater Rampenlicht e. V.
• Theater Spotlight
• theater im e.novum where ten amateur dramatic groups perform (children, youths and adults)

In addition there are amateur theatres in the many surrounding districts such as the Puschentheater in Melbeck, the Plattsnack Widsbold in Marxen am Berge and the Kleine Salzhäuser Theater (KleiST) in Salzhausen.

Museums

The historic town is itself a kind of open air museum (a "Rothenburg of the North"), but this is further enlivened by numerous museums and old churches (St. Michael's, St. John's, St. Nicholas'). The most important museums are the German Salt Museum in the premises of the old Lüneburg Saltworks, in which the significance of salt in the Middle Ages and the extraction of salt is vividly portrayed, and the Museum of the Principality of Lüneburg, in which the town's history and the history of the surrounding area is captured. Also worthy of mention are the East Prussian State Museum, the nearby North Germany Brewery Museum with a gallery of valuable drinking vessels (over 1200 years), the 1485 Kronen Brewery of Lüneburg and the Lüneburg Nature Museum on the edge of the subsidence zone.

Infrastructure

• Hospitals: Stätisches Krankenhaus Lüneburg, Landeskrankenhaus Lüneburg
• Theatres: Theater Lüneburg
• Cinemas: Cinestar, Scala Kino
• Hotels: 8
• Museums: 8
• Transport: Lüneburg is part of the transportation company Hamburger Verkehrsverbund. There are 11 bus lines in the urban area of Lüneburg. The town has a main railway station and a smaller one located in Bardowick. The nearest cities within easy reach by rail are Hamburg, Hannover, Lübeck, Lauenburg, Uelzen and Winsen.

Education

The town has one university, the Leuphana Universität Lüneburg (previously known only as the Universität Lüneburg). There are 14 high schools in the town: 5 Gymnasien, 4 Realschulen, and 5 Hauptschulen; there are no Gesamtschulen. There are 6 vocational schools, 3 special schools, 3 private schools, and 12 elementary schools.

Sports

Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Lüneburg, as in Germany in general; ice-hockey and basketball are also popular. The most teams compete in the Regionalliga, which is highly ranked within Germany.

• Football: FC Hansa Lüneburg(former Lüneburger SK), Oberliga
• Basketball: MTV Treubund Lüneburg, 2.Regionalliga (Women) Stadtliga (Men)
• Ice-hockey: Adendorfer EC, Regionalliga
• Handball: HSG Lüneburg, Regionalliga
• Volleyball: SVG Lüneburg, 2. Bundesliga
• Baseball: Lüneburg Woodlarks, Regionalliga
• American Football: Lüneburg Jayhawks, Oberliga

Personalities

Honorary citizens of the town

The town archives list the admission of honorary citizens of the town from 1800.^[4]

• 1832: Georg Theodor Meyer (1797–1870) lawyer, liberal member of parliament and minister, senator
• 1832: Rudolf Christiani (1761–1841), dean and founder of the first elementary school (Volksschule) in Lüneburg (1816)
• 1832: Ernst Langrehr (1802–63) jurist and poet (Isidor Bürger)
• 1900: King's Council Karl Gravenhorst (1837–1913; for 25 years worked in a voluntary capacity at the Bürgervorsteherkollegium)
• 1906: Senator Johannes Reichenbach (1836–1921; for volutary service at the Bürgervorsteherkollegium and as senator)
• 1918/1921: Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934; for his services in the First World War)
• 1937: Gauleiter Otto Telschow (honorary citizenship withdrawn by the Lüneburg town council on 19 April 2007)^[5]
• 1956: Mr. William A. Watt, Thomasville/USA (for support to Lüneburg after the Second World War)
• 1984: Johannes Eisenbeiss/Hamburg (for promoting the economy of Lüneburg and patronage)
• 1984: Lord Mayor Mitsuji Tani, Naruto/Japan (for understanding among nations)
• 1986: Mayor Jean Fonteneau, Clamart/France (for understanding among nations)
• 1998: Business couple Lucia (1919–2008) and Johannes (1918–2004) Pfohe, Lüneburg (for patronage)
• 1998: Helga Schuchardt (* 1939) engineer, ex-minister (for her efforts in the founding of the university)

Sons and daughters of the town

• Johann Bacmeister the Younger (1624–1686) professor of medicine and mathematics, and private physician
• Lucas Bacmeister the Elder (1530–1608), theologian and composer of hymns
• Ina Barfuss (* 1949), artist
• Nikolaus Bardewik (1506-1560), Mayor of Lübeck
• Rudolf von Bennigsen (1824–1902), Knight of St John, politician, co-founder of the Deutscher Nationalverein, leader of the National Liberal party in the Reichstag
• Marco Börries (* 1968), Founder of Star Division and inventor of Star Office
• Jan Böttcher (* 1973), writer and musician
• Heinrich Brömse (1440-1502), Mayor of Lübeck
• Franz Joachim Burmeister (1633–1672), theologian and poet
• Henning J. Claassen (* 1944), founder and CEO of Impreglon AG
• Andreas Crappius (1542–1623), hymn composer
• Lutke von Dassel (1474-1537), Mayor of Lüneburg
• Johann Georg Ebeling (1637–1676), , hymn composer (Die güldne Sonne voll Freud and Wonne, text by Paul Gerhardt)
• Ulrich Fischer (* 1949), theologian and state bishop in the Evangelical State Church in Baden
• Detlev Ganten (* 1941), physician, member of the Nationaler Ethikrat, CEO of the Charité Berlin since 2004
• Hans Görges (1859–1946), electrical engineer, college lecturer in Dresden
• Karl Gravenhorst (1837–1913), King's Council and lawyer, born in Carrenzien/Krs. Bleckede – Amt Neuhaus, Knight of St. John, honorary citizen of Lüneburg in 1900; served the Bürgervorsteherkollegium for 46 years, 38 as its spokesman (Wortführer)
• Dirk Hansen (* 1942), former Bundestag MP with the FDP and vice-president of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
• Manfred Harder (* 1947), DFB Bundesliga football referee, 54 Bundesliga and 44 second division games
• Ingeborg Harms (* 1956), journalist, literary scholar and writer
• Fritz Heinemann (1889–1970) Knight of St John, philosopher (Frankfurt), after emigration in 1937 to Oxford
• Christian Hoburg (1607–1675), theologian and mystic
• Gustav von Hoppenstedt (1847–1918), German General (field artillery)
• Hermann Jacobsohn (1879–1933), Knight of St John, linguist (University of Marburg)
• Matthias Leja (* 1962), actor
• Niklas Luhmann (1927–1998), Knight of St John, sociologist (University of Bielefeld), inventor of sociological system theory ('Theorie der Gesellschaft etc.)
• G. Theodor Meyer (1797–1870), Knight of St John, jurist, MP in St. Paul's Church in 1848, in 1850/51 cultural minister in the Kingdom of Hanover
• Jan-Philipp Müller (* 1975), journalist and television presenter
• Oliver Neumann (* 1974), journalist, theologian and historian
• Patricia Pantel (* 1971), radio : FRITZ, YOU FM formerly with hr-XXL (HR); television: Loveparade, Kanzlerbungalow (WDR), Channel 4 (GB) etc.
• Bahne Rabe (1963–2001), rower and gold medal winner at the 1988 Olympic Games
• Mirko Reisser (DAIM) (* 1971), graffiti artist
• Georg Dietrich August Ritter (1826–1908), mathematician and astrophysicist
• Tex Rubinowitz (* 1961), cartoonist, travel journalist, publisher
• Johann Abraham Peter Schulz (1747–1800), Knight of St John, composer and conductor (Der Mond ist aufgegangen, Alle Jahre wieder etc.)
• Tanja Schumann (* 1962), actress
• Annegret Soltau (* 1946), artist
• Johanna Stegen (1793–1842), German patriot: "The Heroine of Lüneburg" (Heldenmädchen von Lüneburg)
• Johann Caspar von Völcker (1655–1730), engineer, architect, chief engineer for the Brunswick fortifications and major general
• Otto Volger (1822–1897), geologist, mineralogist
• Wilhelm Volger (1794–1879), rector of the Johanneum, archivist, librarian and historian
• Heinrich Schlange-Schöningen (* 1960), German ancient historian, professor in Saarbrücken (Saarland)
• Ziggy X German techno DJ

Other notable personalities

• Georg Böhm (1661–1733), chanter at St John's
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1700–1702), schoolboy at St. Michael's. Bach attended the Lüneburg school and sang in its choir^[6][7]
• Willer Crowell († 1401), head of the Lüneburg chancery
• Heinrich Heine - visited his parents in the town several times and is believed to have composed his poem Die Lore-Ley here
• Johann Christopher Jauch (1669–1725), dean of Lüneburg, author
• Mike Mareen - successful Disco artist who grew up in Lüneburg.
• Bernhard Riemann (1826–1866), mathematician (Riemann integral) - studied for his Abitur at the Johanneum Lüneburg
• Ralf Sievers (* 1961), footballer, 232 Bundesliga games
• Joachim Vogelsänger, church music director
• Katarina Waters, also known as Katie Lea Burchill in WWE - a professional wrestler

Miscellaneous facts

• Lüneburg has the second most bars per mile and per resident in Europe after Madrid, Spain; it has the most bars per resident in Germany.
• The buildings in downtown Lüneburg survived from the 16th century on, escaping destruction even during the Second World War. As a result, the downtown district looks very old, and its rare state of preservation, along with the beauty of the surrounding Heath, attracts many tourists to the town.
• The most populous district (8000 inhabitants) is Kaltenmoor, which is known for a high percentage of immigrants and much violence, crime and unemployment.
• The town has a very famous and active (legal) Graffiti scene and is home to many Graffiti Halls of Fame.

Gallery

Am Sande

The nearby Lüneburg Heath is an anthropogenic heath

See also

• Brunswick-Lüneburg
• Lüneburg-Celle
• Lüneburg Heath

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1856).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lüneburg

• Official website (German)
• Official website (English)
• Leuphana University (German)

v • d • e Members of the Hanseatic League by circle Chief cities shown in bold · Free Imperial Cities of the Holy Roman Empire shown in italics Wendish and Pomeranian Greifswald · Hamburg · Kiel · Lübeck · Lüneburg · Rostock · Stade · Stargard · Stettin · Stralsund · Wismar Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg Berlin · Brandenburg · Bremen · Brunswick · Erfurt · Frankfurt · Goslar · Halle · Magdeburg Bohemia, Poland, Prussia, Livonia, Sweden Breslau (Wrocław) · Danzig (Gdańsk) · Dorpat (Tartu) · Fellin (Viljandi) · Elbing (Elbląg) · Königsberg (Kaliningrad) · Krakow · Pernau (Pärnu) · Reval (Tallinn) · Riga · Stockholm · Thorn (Toruń) · Visby Rhine, Westphalia, Netherlands Bochum · Breckerfeld · Cologne · Deventer · Dortmund · Duisburg · Groningen · Haltern · Hamm · Harderwijk · Hattem · Hasselt · Kampen · Münster · Nijmegen · Oldenzaal · Osnabrück · Recklinghausen · Roermond · Soest · Tiel · Unna · Werl · Zutphen · Zwolle Principal Kontore Bryggen (Bergen) · Hanzekantoor (Brugg (Bruges)) · Steelyard (London) · Peterhof (Novgorod) Subsidiary Kontore Antwerp · Berwick · Boston · Damme · Leith · Hull · Ipswich · King's Lynn · Kaunas · Newcastle · Polotsk · Pskov · Yarmouth · York

v • d • e Towns and municipalities in Lüneburg (district) Adendorf | Amelinghausen | Amt Neuhaus | Artlenburg | Bardowick | Barendorf | Barnstedt | Barum | Betzendorf | Bleckede | Boitze | Brietlingen | Dahlem | Dahlenburg | Deutsch Evern | Echem | Embsen | Handorf | Hittbergen | Hohnstorf | Kirchgellersen | Lüdersburg | Lüneburg | Mechtersen | Melbeck | Nahrendorf | Neetze | Oldendorf | Radbruch | Rehlingen | Reinstorf | Reppenstedt | Rullstorf | Scharnebeck | Soderstorf | Südergellersen | Thomasburg | Tosterglope | Vastorf | Vögelsen | Wendisch Evern | Westergellersen | Wittorf