Buxtehude

For the German-Danish Baroque composer, see Dieterich Buxtehude.

Buxtehude
Coat of arms
Buxtehude
Location of Buxtehude within Stade district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Stade
Government
• Mayor	Jürgen Badur (Ind.)
Area
• Total	76.49 km2 (29.53 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	39,777
• Density	520/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	21614
Dialling codes	04161, auch 04163, 04168
Vehicle registration	STD
Website	www.stadt.buxtehude.de

Buxtehude (German pronunciation: [bʊkstəˈhuːdə]) is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany in the district of Stade and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (Metropolregion Hamburg). Buxtehude is a steadily growing medium-sized town and the second largest in the district of Stade. It lies on the southern borders of the Altes Land within easy reach of the city-state of Hamburg. West of it are the towns of Horneburg and Stade and to the south there are incorporated villages offering mostly upscale housing, e.g. Ottensen and Apensen.

History

Reconstruction of the Daensen folding chair

The Ovelgönne bread roll (top) with reconstruction (below)

Early signs of settlements are the Daensen folding chair from a Bronze Age tumulus near Daensen and the Ovelgönne bread roll from the Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe, which was found in a loam mine in Ovelgönne.

• In 959 a settlement by the Este river is first recorded. The farmer colony called "Buochstadon" is given to the cloister of Magdeburg. Soon a wharf, "Hude", is established.
• In 1135 the settlement is called "Buchstadihude" referring to the successful quay.
• In 1180 the Duchy of Saxony, to which "Buchstadihude" belonged, is conquered and dissolved. Buxtehude becomes part of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, newly upgraded to imperial immediacy it became one of the many successor states of the Duchy of Saxony. Nevertheless, in religious respect, Buxtehude remained a part of the Diocese of Verden until Catholic affinity faded in the Reformation with that diocese remaining vacant since 1644.
• In 1197 two royal settlers found a Benedictine cloister in the near surrounding of the village. Due to the fertile soil and a partial participation in the saline of Lüneburg the wealth and population increase.
• In 1280 the prince-archbishop Giselbert of Bremen orders the place to be protected by defensive walls and fortifications including 5 Zwingers, 7 peels and 3 town gates.
• In 1328 the town hall is mentioned for the first time and the settlement is granted full town privileges, modelled according to those of Hamburg. By now "Buxtehude" is self-governing advancing to a trading town.
• In 1485 the immensely wealthy "Master Halepaghen" as the cousin tutor of the burgomaster of Hamburg dies and donates his assets to the town for scholarships and charitable purposes.
• In 1542 the town council of Buxtehude adopted Lutheranism for its municipality.
• In 1600s the Hanseatic trade declines and cattle trade becomes majorly important. Besides Stade, Buxtehude is the only crossover over the Elbe river.
• In 1645 Buxtehude surrendered to the Swedish army and loses its independence. Trade and population recede dramatically.
• In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish and from 1715 on by the Hanoveran Crown.
• 1769 the cloister is torn down due to the secularization.
• In 1823 the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region.
• In 1837 the link road through the town reanimates business and trade.
• 1845 is dominated by industrial boom with a paperfactory being installed on the former cloister ground.
• In 1945 the population grows to 14,000. Much living space in Hamburg was bombed out and people flee to the suburbs and exurbs such as Buxtehude.
• In 1958 Buxtehude is decided to be in charge of reconstructing much of Hamburg after the war and thus is heavily funded with government money.
• Lower Saxony incorporates 9 neighboring villages into the town in 1972 changing the structure of Buxtehude and creating a cluster of more than 30,000 inhabitants.
• In 1983 the old part of town is pedestrianized.
• In 1985 town twinning with Blagnac (France) is undertaken.
• In 1990 Ribnitz-Damgarten in the former German Democratic Republic becomes the second twin town.

Economy

Since 1881 Buxtehude has had its own railroad station on the R50 line between Hamburg and Cuxhaven. In late 2007 this line was added to the rapid transit system of the Hamburg S-Bahn by the HVV.

Since 1928 there has also been a second railroad line crossing Buxtehude, the EVB, (Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser, Zeven) between Hamburg's outermost district and Bremerhaven on the coast of the North Sea. The Este river connects the town to the important Elbe river 6 miles north. Earlier in history this connection was used to ship goods into the small harbour, which still exists but has become less accessible due to town developments and aggradation.

A major highway, scheduled for completion in 2012, is to connect the town to Hamburg.

Companies

Airbus site at Buxtehude

Several major companies are located in Buxtehude:

• Airbus S.A.S, the commercial aircraft manufacturer
• Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company in the personal care and food sector.
• KID-Systeme GmbH, a Buxtehude-based supplier for aeroplane cabin electronics
• INTERPANE, a German manufacturer of insulation glass
• Harros Krämerladen, a large German supermarket corporation
• Pioneer Hi-Bred, a subdivision of the US-based chemical producer DuPont, developer and exporter of seeds
• Nord Kalksandsteinwerke, a German producer of lime sand bricks and other building material
• Niederelbe Schifffahrtsgesselleschaft (NSB), German container shipping companies
• Implantcast GmbH, German manufacturer of orthopaedic implants, such as artificial hips and knees

Culture

Buxtehude is sometimes referred to as the "The Fairytale Capital" of the world, an epithet that it shares with e.g. Kassel. The tale of "The Hare and the Hedgehog" by the Brothers Grimm is set in this town. Furthermore, the name is used in numerous German tales. And thus some people claim that the town of Buxtehude does not actually exist. The German saying "...nach Buxtehude jagen" (literally: "to hunt somebody to Buxtehude") means to exile someone to a far-away place.

Museums

• Museum of Regional History and Art

Local dialects

German and Low Saxon, which is rarely spoken now but can be still heard spoken by older people. Also one of the local high schools Halepaghen-Schule holds a Low German reading contest each school year.

Tourism

Buxtehude enjoys a good reputation as a warm, visitor-friendly town preserving its cultural and regional heritage without denying the future. Besides the beautiful old part of town, the main church of Sankt Petri (St. Peter) and the Zwinger are great places to pay a visit to. The Altes Land adjacent to Buxtehude and the close Elbe river serve as great get-aways for a bicycle tour or a long hike. Buxtehude can as well be used as a hub for tours to the nearby cities of Hamburg and Bremen.

For the interested visitor, some events held every year:

Buxtehuder Pistennacht

The Pistennacht is an event where bars, restaurants and clubs in the old part of town are open all night long. A stage downtown and some individual places offer live music.

Pfingstmarkt Neukloster

The Pfingstmarkt is a fair in northern Germany along the national highway B73. It is always held on the Christian holiday of Pentecost (German: Pfingsten) exactly 50 days after Easter close to Buxtehude. It features 135 exhibitors with many rides including a Ferris wheel and bumper cars as well as lottery booths, snack booths and sit-down food locations. In 2004 140,000 visitors flocked to the fair compared to 10,000 in 1904 and 100,000 in the 1970s.

Altstadtfest

Like the Pistennacht, the Altstadtfest (literally: Old town festival) is held downtown. Every year on the first weekend of June the whole old part of town turns into a party with several stages with live music. Sunday morning the town's biggest flea market is held around the Fleth. For the occasion of Altstadtfest the town is decorated in its municipal colours of blue and yellow.

Weinfest

Vinum is the motto for the annual celebration of wine in old town Buxtehude. For one weekend the town dedicates itself to culture of wine and many booths for wine testing and entertainment open.

Christmas market

Christmas market is held in the month of December in the Altstadt area with the highlight being mulled wine and bratwurst stalls. Various music concerts are also held at the St. Peter's square on the weekend before Christmas.

Education

• de, a private college with a renowned architecture program.
• Halepaghen Grammar School, local highschool. Former member in the "Quality Network for Schools" in Lower Saxony, Humanitarian School and rating highest in the county.
• de local highschool
• Volkshochschule Buxtehude, community college.
• Malerschule, private art school.
• Berufsbildende Schulen Buxtehude, public secondary schools for the sectors of economics, informatics and electrotechnics.

Transport

Buxtehude is served by the Hamburg S-Bahn with the stations Buxtehude and Neukloster; and by the Bundesstraße 73, a national highway.

Sister cities

• Blagnac, France, since 1985
• Ribnitz-Damgarten, Germany, since 1990

External links

• Official site (German)