Pattensen () is a town in the district of Hanover, in

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 betwee ...

. It is situated approximately south of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Geography

Pattensen is located in the historic landscape Calenberg Land between the

Leine The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriv ...

and the Deister hills. The area is dominated by agriculture, many residents commute to work in

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 ...

. The town of Pattensen has the following 8 boroughs (or ''Stadtteile''), some of which were previously independent villages: Hüpede, Jeinsen, Koldingen, Oerie, Pattensen-Mitte, Reden, Schulenburg and Vardegötzen as well as the two hamlets Thiedenwiese und Lauenstadt.

History

Pattensen was first mentioned in a document in 986, nevertheless, the first people probably settled in the old town between the 6th and 8th century.Eckhard Steigerwald: ''Pattensen. Zur Geschichte und Entwicklung einer Calenberger Kleinstadt'', 1986 In the 13th century, Graf Ludolf II. von Hallermund built the Pattensen Castle to monitor the important trade routes that crossed the city in north-south and west-east directions. From the middle of the 13th century, the city belonged to the Principality of Lüneburg. The city was of strategic military importance, so that it was heavily fortified and enlarged as a result. In the area of the present town of Pattensen, also the Calenberg Castle and the Koldingen Castle were built in these times. In 1433, Pattensen became part of the Principality of Calenberg. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the city was the seat of an archdeacon under the leadership of the superintendent Antonius Corvinus. At that time the city was often the venue for church synods and state parliament meetings. During the centuries, Pattensen was repeatedly destroyed and plundered as a result of armed conflicts like the

War of the Lüneburg Succession The War of the Lüneburg Succession (german: Lüneburger Erbfolgekrieg) was a conflict over the succession to the Principality of Lüneburg that broke out in 1370 in north Germany and lasted, with interruptions, for 18 years. After William II of L ...

(end of 14th century), the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (1519-1523) or 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 batt ...

(1618-1648). The city was also destroyed multiple times in several devastating fires, the largest ones in 1655 and 1733. From 1806 to 1813 the city was under French rule and belonged to the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1866, the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n army occupied the region. In 1974 the surrounding villages were incorporated and today's town of Pattensen was founded. Image:Pattensen Ortsplan vor 1733 Weidemannnscher Hof ungefähre Lage.jpg, Pattensen castle (on a city map before 1733) Image:Marienburg Castle - panoramio (7).jpg, Marienburg Castle (built 1858-1867) Image:Stadtmauer Pattensen.jpg, Remains of the city wall Image:Pattensen Wieterssches Haus.JPG, Oldest house of Pattensen, built 1614

Economy

The letter processing center for the greater Hanover area is located in Pattensen. The town is home to numerous small and medium-sized companies.

Twin towns

Pattensen is twinned with: :

Ahrensfelde Ahrensfelde is a municipality in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the Barnim Plateau at the city limits of Berlin, about northeast of the city centre. The municipal area comprises the villages of Ahrensfelde, Bl ...

, Germany :

Karpniki Karpniki (german: Fischbach) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Mysłakowice, within Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately east of Mysłakowice, south-east of Jeleni ...

, Poland : Saint-Aubin-lès-Elbeuf, France : Wilkszyn, Poland

Gallery

Image:Rathaus Pattensen.jpg, Old town hall (built 1849) Image:Pattensen Steinstraße.jpg, Steinstraße Image:Pattensen_Alte_Wache.jpg, Alte Wache (built 1838) Image:St. Lucas (Pattensen).jpg, St. Lucas church (built 1150-1180)

Notable people

* Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover (1914-1987) * Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954) * Annalena Baerbock, (born 1980)

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

and co-chair of the

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

* Per Mertesacker, (born 1984) football coach and retired player, member of the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...

-winning squad