Springe 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. It is situated near the

Deister The Deister is a chain of hills in the German state of Lower Saxony, about 15 mi (25 km) southwest of the city of Hanover. It runs in a north-westerly direction from Springe in the south to Rodenberg in the north. The next in the chai ...

hills, southwest 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 ...

Town structure

* Springe (core settlement, seat of the mayor), population 13,184 * Bennigsen, population 4,068 * Völksen, population 3,396 * Eldagsen, population 3,340 * Gestorf, population 1,767 * Altenhagen I, population 1,235 * Lüdersen, population 990 * Alferde, population 527 * Alvesrode, population 511 * Holtensen, population 421 * Mittelrode, population 283 * Boitzum, population 175 Current .

History

Springe was first mentioned in 1013 as ''Hallerspringe''. In a description of the borders of the Diocese of Hildesheim from an undated transcription, but which can be proven to be from the tenth century by its form and content, Springe was mentioned as ''Helereisprig''. The Counts of Hallermund erected a fortress-like building on the land which is now Springe after the loss of Burg Hallermund on the

Kleiner Deister The Kleiner Deister is a ridge of hills (up to ) in the Calenberg Uplands which, together with the Nesselberg and the Osterwald, forms a group of three adjacent hill ranges in the northern part of the Leine Uplands. It lies between Springe and El ...

to the House of Welf in 1282. They ruled their county from this new seat of power, which presumably resulted in the settlement of Springe. The creation of the Count's seat and the solidification of the location lead in the thirteenth century to the need for city laws. During the Middle Ages, Springe was the long-time seat of the Graves of Hallermund and their successors, a side lineage of the Grave of Käfernburg. From their area of rule, the office of Springe resulted and after different renamings and expansions, the Kreis Springe was formed in 1884. By the end of the tenth century the first mentions of the names of the towns that today belong to Springe appear, and by the year 1300 all of the existing villages have been named. The founding and growth of the area is connected with its location at the

Deister Gate The Deister Gate (german: Deisterpforte) is a 550-metre-wide gap between the Deister and Kleiner Deister hill ridges in Springe in Hanover Region, Lower Saxony, Germany. The height of the pass varies between to . The River Haller rises in the ...

, a border between prairie and mountains, which is convenient for transport in the middle of the route between Hanover and Hamelin. Further development resulted from the building of the "causeway" of what is today the B217 Highway in the 18th century and with the completion of the railway line between Hanover and Altenbeken in 1872. There was steady development towards a mid-sized city after the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and even more so after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

ensued (in 1933 the population was 3,912). Up until the geographical reforms of 1974, Springe was the seat of the county of Springe. After that, Springe belonged to the county of Hanover, which became today's Region of Hanover on 1 November 2001. Today 13,000 residents live the core city of Springe. Because of reforms in the 13th century Eldagsen lost its rights as a city and is now a part of the city of Springe. After the inhabitants of Eldagsen protested, the town got its title of "city" back, and now bears the official title "City of Eldagsen, Part of the City of Springe".

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of town, according to a recent interpretation, represents the three sources of the Haller River, which begins close to the town at the foot of the Small Deister. The three corners of the shield each contain a five-petalled rose, which is the shield and seal symbol of the Shire of Hallermund, which existed from the 12th century onwards.

Twin towns – sister cities

Springe is twinned with: *

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the ...

, France * Waren, Germany Springe also has friendly relations with

Milicz Milicz (german: Militsch) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Milicz County and of Gmina Milicz, part of the larger Wrocław metropolitan area. Geography The town is situated in the historic Lower ...

in Poland.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Springe lies on the Bundesstraße 217. Springe railway station is on the Hannover–Altenbeken railway line and is served by line 5 (

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

– Hamelin– Hannover Central Station–

Hannover Airport Hannover Airport is the international airport of Hanover, capital of the German state of Lower Saxony. The ninth largest airport in Germany, it is in Langenhagen, north of the centre of Hanover. The airport has flights to European metropo ...

) of the Hanover S-Bahn. RegioBus Hannover operates bus services in the town and to neighbouring locales.

Public works

Bison Nature Preserve
(''Wisentgehege'') * Klinikum Region Hannover GmbH, Springe Hospital * Seat of the German Red Cross, Springe Chapter * Seat of the German Red Cross, Region of Hanover * Seat of the German Red Cross Emergency Service and both of its daughter companies. * Seat of the German Red Cross Blood Donation, NSTOB. * Indoor Town Pool * Burghof Museum, Springe * Outdoor municipal pools in Altenhagen I, Bennigsen and Eldagsen * Public sport clubs in all divisions of the town * Tennis facilities, mini golf, bowling, beach volleyball and skating facilities

Notable people

Heinrich Göbel Heinrich Göbel, or Henry Goebel (April 20, 1818 – December 4, 1893) was a German-born American precision mechanic and inventor. In 1848 he emigrated to New York City, where he resided until his death. He received American citizenship in 1865. ...

(1818–1893), German-American precision mechanic and inventor *

Hermann Gunkel Hermann Gunkel (23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major in ...

(1862–1932), Protestant theologian * Jakob Goldschmidt (1882–1955), banker *

Herbert Ihering Herbert Ihering (also sometimes Herbert Jhering: 29 February 1888 – 15 January 1977) was a German dramaturge, director and theatre critic. He was seen by many contemporaries as one of the leading theatre critics during and after the Weimar yea ...

(1888–1977), playwright, film director, journalist and theatre critic

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hanover Region