Dorstadt is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is part of the ''

Samtgemeinde A (, ; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type of administrative division in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Samtgemeinden'' are local government associations of Municipalities of Germany, municipalities, equivalent to the ''Amt (administrative division) ...

'' ("collective municipality")

Oderwald Oderwald is a ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated along the river Oker, approx. 10 km south of Wolfenbüttel. It is named after the Oderwald, a small chain ...

Geography

Dorstadt is located in the northern foothills of the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountain range. The municipal area stretches from the eastern slopes of the Oderwald hills down to the

Oker The Oker () is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller (Germany), Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meanin ...

river, about halfway between

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

and

Schladen Schladen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2013, it is part of the municipality Schladen-Werla. It is situated on the river Oker, approx. 15 km south of Wolfen ...

. Neighbouring municipalities are Ohrum in the north and

Heiningen Heiningen () is a municipality in the Göppingen district in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany at the base of the Swabian Alps. History The town first emerges in an archive of the Abbey of St. Gall on parchment dated 29 March 1228, in whi ...

in the south, as well as Börßum east of the Oker.

History

The settlement was first mentioned in an 1110 deed, when Bishop Udo of

Bishopric of Hildesheim The Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the Middle Ages until its dissolution in 1803. The Prince-Bishopric must not be confused with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildes ...

granted the episcopal fortress at Schladen to the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

noble Eiko of Dorstadt. Kloster Dorstadt Kirchenruine

In 1189 the Lords of Dorstadt, encouraged by their relative Bishop

Adelog of Hildesheim Adelog von Dorstadt (died 20 September 1190) was Bishop of Hildesheim from 1171 until his death. Biography Born into a Saxon noble family, he was a relative of the Lords of Dorstadt. From about 1160 he appeared as a canon at Hildesheim Cathedral ...

, founded an

Augustinian nunnery Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo *Canons Regular of Saint ...

at the site. For several decades the monastery prospered, nevertheless first land sales were documented in the early 14th century, and in 1438 large parts of the premises were devastated by fire. Upon the

Hildesheim Diocesan Feud The Hildesheim Diocesan Feud () or Great Diocesan Feud, sometimes referred to as a "chapter feud", was a conflict that broke out in 1519 between the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim ('' Hochstift Hildesheim'') and the principalities of Brunswick- ...

, Dorstadt passed to the

Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg (), commonly known as the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg or Brunswick-Lüneburg, was an imperial principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the territory of present day Lower Saxony. In 1235, Otto I, Duke of ...

. In the course of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, the nuns turned

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

under the rule of Duke

Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Julius may refer to: People * Julius (name), a masculine given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) * Julius (nomen), the name of a Roman family (includes a list of Ancient Romans with the name) ** Julius Caesar (100– ...

in 1568. Dorstadt was restored to Hildesheim in 1643, however, the premises decayed and had to be resettled with Catholic nuns after the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

prince-bishop

Maximilian Henry of Bavaria Maximilian Henry of Bavaria (: 8 October 1621 – 3 June 1688) was the third son and fourth child of Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria, and his wife, Mechthilde von Leuchtenberg. In 1650, he was named Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Bishop of Hildes ...

initiated the reconstruction of the monastery in a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style from 1680 onwards. After the Hildesheim prince-bishopric was mediatised to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in 1803, Dorstadt was secularised and the convent dissolved. The manor is a private property up to today.

Politics

Seats in the municipal council (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2011 local elections: *

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(SPD): 5 *

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

(CDU): 4

References

{{Authority control Wolfenbüttel (district)