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Wolfsburg

 
Dictionary: Wolfs·burg   (wʊlfs'bûrg', vôlfs'bʊrk') pronunciation


A city of north-central Germany northeast of Brunswick. It grew after the establishment of a Volkswagen automobile factory in the late 1930s. Population: 120,000.

 

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Wolfsburg
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Wolfsburg (vôlfs'bʊrkh), city (1994 pop. 128,032), Lower Saxony, N central Germany, on the Midland Canal. A small village in 1937, Wolfsburg grew and prospered as the headquarters of the Volkswagen automobile company, which opened there in 1938 under the National Socialists, who named the city KdF-Stadt (from the German initials for strength through joy). The majority of the city's working population is employed in Volkswagen's huge factory. An Alvar Aalto-designed cultural center, the Autostadt museum, and the Phaeno Science Center are there.


Wikipedia: Wolfsburg
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Wolfsburg
Coat of arms of Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is located in Germany
Wolfsburg
Coordinates 52°25′23″N 10°47′14″E / 52.42306°N 10.78722°E / 52.42306; 10.78722
Administration
Country Germany
State Lower Saxony
District Urban district
City subdivisions 16 Ortschaften,
40 Stadtteile
Lord Mayor Rolf Schnellecke (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area 204.02 km2 (78.77 sq mi)
Elevation 63 m  (207 ft)
Population 120,493  (31 December 2006)
 - Density 591 /km2 (1,530 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate WOB
Postal codes 38400–38448
Area codes 05361, 05362, 05363, 05365, 05366, 05367, 05308
Website www.Wolfsburg.de
Weser watershed with Wolfsburg (right centre)

Wolfsburg is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig (Brunswick), and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG. Wolfsburg is bordered by the districts of Gifhorn and Helmstedt.

Contents

History

Wolfsburg was founded in 1938 as Stadt des KdF-Wagens (English: City of the KdF Car), a planned town around the village of Hesslingen in the District of Gifhorn in order to house the workers of the Volkswagen factories. During World War II, there were also jeeps, airplanes and other military equipment built, mainly by forced workers and POWs at these factories. The trainstation of Wolfsburg was built by attorney of Adolf Hitler in order to transport or receive prefabricated parts for military equipment.

In 1945, the city was renamed Wolfsburg after the castle of the same name located in the city, which was founded about 1300 on the bank of the Aller river. Today, there is another castle at the place, which was built after 1600. In 1951, Wolfsburg was separated from the District of Gifhorn, and became an urban district. In November 2003, Wolfsburg was renamed "Golfsburg" for one week to celebrate the 5th generation of the Volkswagen Golf.

Main sights

Wolfsburg lacks historical buildings, and the sights include new attractions like the Autostadt (a huge open air museum dedicated to automobiles, owned and operated by Volkswagen), a planetarium, the Phaeno Science Center, the largest hands-on science museum in Germany, and an excellent private art museum (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg) specialised in modern and contemporary art.

With the opening in 2000 of Autostadt and that of Phaeno, as well as restaurants and a Ritz Carlton Hotel, tourism increased.

Sport

The most famous professional sports club in the city is VfL Wolfsburg, a football club that was established in 1945. They are the current German champions, having won the 2009 Fußball-Bundesliga. Hockey team EHC Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams is also based in the city.

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Wolfsburg is twinned with:

Associated cities:

Wolfsburg panorama at dusk, viewed from Schillerteich-Center. The red-lit chimneys left of the center belong to the Volkswagen plant.

See also

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wolfsburg" Read more