Eutin () is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. As of December 2022, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants.

History

The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its meaning is not quite clear; it is probably derived from the personal name "Uta". The Slavic

Obotrites The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian Slavs). For ...

tribe settled eastern Holstein in the 7th/8th centuries A.D. and built a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Pheasant Island Pheasant Island (, , , , ) is an uninhabited river island located in the Bidasoa river, located between France and Spain, whose administration alternates between the two nations every six months. Etymology There are no pheasants on the isla ...

in the lake now called the

Großer Eutiner See The Großer Eutiner See is a lake in Holstein Switzerland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It lies northeast of the town of Eutin. It has an area of , is up to 17 metres deep and lies at a height of about . It northern side borders directly on ...

. The originally Slavonic settlement of ''Utin'' was populated in the twelfth century by Dutch settlers. In 1156 Eutin became a market town. Town rights were granted in the year 1257. It later became the seat of the

Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck The Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, () was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire until 1803. Originally ruled by Roman-Catholic bishops, after 1586 it was ruled by lay administrators and bishops who were members of the Protestant ...

, as

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

itself was an imperial free city. When the bishopric was secularized in 1803, Eutin became part of the

Duchy of Oldenburg The Duchy of Oldenburg (), named for its capital, the town of Oldenburg, was a state in the north-west of present-day Germany. The counts of Oldenburg died out in 1667, after which it became a duchy until 1810, when it was annexed by the First ...

. As a result of the

Greater Hamburg Act The Greater Hamburg Act (), in full the Law Regarding Greater Hamburg and Other Territorial Readjustments (), was passed by the government of Nazi Germany on 26 January 1937, and mandated the exchange of territories between Hamburg and the Free S ...

of 1937, Eutin passed from the

Free State of Oldenburg The Free State of Oldenburg () was a federated state that existed during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. It was established in 1918 following the abdication of the Grand Duke Frederick Augustus II of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg after th ...

to the

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, ...

Province of Schleswig-Holstein The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ( ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (from 1868 to 1918) and the Free State of Prussia (from 1918 to 1946). History It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquere ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it became part of the modern Bundesland of Schleswig-Holstein.

Culture

Eutin is birthplace of composer

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

. To honor him, an open-air theater (') was built in the park of

Eutin Castle Eutin Castle () in Eutin in the north German district of Ostholstein is the cultural centre and nucleus of the town. Taken together, this castle, Gottorf Castle and Glücksburg Castle, form the most important group of courtly secular buildings ...

in 1951, and operas are performed there in July and August during the

Eutin Opera Summer Festival Eutin () is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of December 2022, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its ...

('). The seating capacity of this open-air venue is about 2000. The festival includes music students in Eutin as well as students from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, Kansas, US, which is the twin city of Eutin. Eutin hosts an annual Blues Festival ( Bluesfest Eutin) at the beginning of summer. Local musicians, as well as up and coming blues artists from around the world, come to play at this three-day outdoor blues festival, which takes place in the market place in the center of town. As the costs are covered by sponsoring, public funding and volunteer helpers, admission is free. File:Eutin Marktplatz.jpg, Eutin central market place 'Marktplatz' File:Eutin All Time Stars.jpg, Eutin All Time Stars, BluesBaltica/Bluesfest 2014

Geography and economy

Eutin is surrounded by a number of lakes of the

Holsteinische Schweiz Holstein Switzerland () is a hilly area with a patchwork of lakes and forest in Schleswig Holstein, Germany, reminiscent of Little Switzerland (landscape), Swiss landscape. Its highest point is the Bungsberg (168 metres above sea level).Carl ...

, including the

, Kleiner Eutiner See,

Kellersee The Kellersee () is a lake in the Holstein Switzerland region of North Germany. It lies east of the village of Malente on the River Schwentine, has an area of , is up to 27 metres deep and lies at a height of . Southeast of the lake is the v ...

and Ukleisee. Many of the lakes are surrounded by forests. Popular activities on these lakes include boating, canoeing, rowing, swimming, and fishing. Schleswig-Holstein, particularly Eutin, is known for its numerous

rapeseed Rapeseed (''Brassica napus'' subsp. ''napus''), also known as rape and oilseed rape and canola, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturall ...

fields, which are used for biofuel production. Wind turbines are also a common sight in this rural region.

Historic buildings

Originally constructed as a fully functioning windmill in 1850 by Carl Friedrich Trahn, ''Die alte Mühle'' (the old mill) now serves as a bar and restaurant.

Notable People from Eutin

Caroline Bardua - Bildnis des Komponisten Carl Maria von Weber

Nicholas Mercator Nicholas (Nikolaus) Mercator (c. 1620, Holstein – 1687, Versailles), also known by his German name Kauffmann, was a 17th-century mathematician. He was born in Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and educated at Rostock and Leyden after which ...

, (1620–1697), mathematician, born in Eutin or near Cismar. *

Wilhelm, Duke of Oldenburg Peter Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Oldenburg (3 January 1754 in Eutin Castle, Eutin – 2 July 1823 in Schloss Plön, Plön.) was a ruling Duke of Oldenburg from 1784 to his death. Life Wilhelm was the son of Frederick Augustus I, Duke of Oldenb ...

(1754 in

– 1823), a ruling Duke of Oldenburg from 1784 *

Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (; 22 March 1759 – 20 June 1818) was the queen consort of Charles XIII of Sweden and II of Norway. She was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is known as ''Hedwig Elisabeth Charlo ...

(1759 – 1818), Queen of Sweden and Norway *

Friedrich August Ukert Friedrich August Ukert (28 October 1780 – 18 May 1851) was a German history scholar, teacher and humanitarian. He was born in Eutin, Bishopric of Lübeck. From 1800 he studied philology at the University of Halle as a student of Friedrich Augus ...

(1780–1851), historian, geographer, librarian *

(1786–1826), composer. *

Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg (; ; 30 November 1802 – 24 January 1872) was a German philosopher and philologist. Life He was born at Eutin, near Lübeck. He was placed in a gymnasium in Eutin, which was under the direction of , a philologist ...

(1802–1872), philosopher. *

Peter Friedrich Ludwig Tischbein Peter Friedrich Ludwig Tischbein (6 December 1813 in Eutin – 5 October 1883 in Eutin) was a German forester, paleontologist and entomologist. His father was the painter Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein. Prior to 1841, he worked as a superviso ...

(1813–1883), German chief forester, entomologist and paleontologist *

Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt (25 October 1825 in Eutin, German Confederation, Germany – 7 February 1884 in Athens, Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece) was a German astronomer and geophysicist. He was the director of the National Observa ...

(1825–1884),

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

. *

Heinrich Limpricht Heinrich Limpricht (21 April 1827 – 13 May 1909) was a German chemist. Limpricht was a pupil of Friedrich Wöhler; he worked on the chemistry of furans and pyrroles, discovering furan in 1870. In 1852 he became lecturer and in 1855 extraordi ...

(1827–1909), chemist *

Adolf Pansch Adolf Pansch (2 March 1841, in Eutin – 14 August 1887) was a German anatomist and naturalist. Since 1860 he studied medicine and natural sciences in Berlin and Heidelberg, and from 1862 to 1864 he studied medicine in Berlin and Halle. After gr ...

(1841–1887), anatomist, anthropologist and polar explorer *

Wilhelm Dittmann Wilhelm Friedrick Karl Dittmann (1 November 1874 – 7 August 1954), was a German Social Democratic politician who was a founding member of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) and on its Central Committee from 1917 to 1922, ...

(1874–1954), politician (USPD / SPD) *

Friedrich Kühn General Friedrich Kühn (7 August 1889 – 15 February 1944) was a General der Panzertruppe in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. World War II At the start of World War ...

(1889–1944), officer, most recently General of the Panzertruppe *

Peter Thoms Peter Thoms is an English musician and composer best known for playing keyboards and trombone for the synthpop band Landscape. Biography Landscape was formed in 1974 with Richard James Burgess (vocals, drums), Christopher Heaton (keyboards), A ...

(born 1940), actor and jazz musician *

Vadim Glowna Vadim Glowna (; 26 September 1941 – 24 January 2012) was a German actor and film director. Since 1964, he appeared in more than 150 films and television shows. He directed the 1983 film '' Dies rigorose Leben'', which won an Honourable Mentio ...

(1941–2012), actor and film director. *

Axel Prahl Axel Prahl (born 26 March 1960) is a German actor, voice actor and musician. Biography Prahl, born in Eutin, grew up in nearby Neustadt in Holstein. After his A-levels, he started studying music and mathematics, but then went on to acting scho ...

(born 1960), film actor and musician. * Daniel Richter (born 1962), artist of large-scale oil paintings. * Ralph Schumacher (born 1964), philosopher and behavioral scientist *

Tom Buk-Swienty Tom Buk-Swienty (born 19 July 1966 in Eutin) is a Danish historian, journalist and author, known for his work on the Second Schleswig War. Buk-Swienty was raised in Sønderborg, Denmark. He holds degrees in history and American Studies from the ...

(born 1966) historian, journalist, writer and author, * Ulf Kämpfer (born 1972), politician (SPD), Lord Mayor in Kiel * Jonathan Stock (born 1983), journalist and staff writer for

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

magazine *

Wincent Weiss Wincent Weiss (; born 21 January 1993) is a German singer, and was first known for taking part in in 2013. Career 2013–2017: ''Irgendwas gegen die Stille'' In 2013, Weiss participated in the tenth season of the German talent show ''Deuts ...

(born 1993), singer

Sport

Christian Klees Christian Klees (born 24 June 1968 in Eutin) is a German former sport shooter, the first shooter since the 1989 target change to have achieved the maximum score (600) in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the Olympic Games, which was later rep ...

(born 1968),

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

gold medallist in sport shooting *

Dirk von Zitzewitz Dirk von Zitzewitz (born 14 October 1968, in Eutin) is a German professional racing driver and motorcyclist, most notable for being on the winning team of the 2009 Dakar Rally alongside Giniel de Villiers. Career Von Zitzewitz started his caree ...

(born 1968), racing driver *

Lars Unger Lars Unger (born 30 September 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Werder Bremen, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Southend United, SC Bregenz, and Brinkumer SV. He also represented the Germany U21 national team. ...

(born 1972), former footballer, played 252 pro games

Other people who worked in Eutin

Matthias Claudius Matthias Claudius (15 August 1740 – 21 January 1815) was a German poet and journalist, otherwise known by the pen name of "Asmus". Life Claudius was born at Reinfeld, near Lübeck, and studied at Jena. He spent the greater part of his life i ...

(1740–1815), poet *

Emanuel Geibel Emanuel von Geibel (17 October 18156 April 1884) was a German poet and playwright. Life Geibel was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor. He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interests ...

(1815–1884), lyricist * Lotte Herrlich (1883–1956), (nude) photographer *

Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (; ; 25 January 1743 – 10 March 1819) was a German philosopher, writer and socialite. He is best known for popularizing the concept of nihilism. He promoted the idea that it is the necessary result of Enlightenment th ...

(1743–1819), philosopher and writer *

Johann Heinrich Voss Johann Heinrich Voss (German: Voß, ; 20 February 1751 – 29 March 1826) was a German classicist and poet, known mostly for his translation of Homer's ''Odyssey'' (1781) and ''Iliad'' (1793) into German. Life Voss was born at Sommersdorf in Mec ...

(1751–1826), classicist and poet. *

Johann Wilhelm Petersen Johann Wilhelm Petersen (1 July 1649 in Osnabrück – 31 January 1727 in Zerbst) was a German theologian, mystic, and Millennialist. Johann Wilhelm Petersen grew up in Lübeck and studied theology at the Katharineum in Lübeck, as well as ...

(1649–1727), theologian *

Hans-Heinrich Sievert Hans Heinrich Sievert (1 December 1909 – 6 April 1963) was a German Olympic decathlete. He was born in Grittern near Hückelhoven. He competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1934 he became the last deca ...

(1909–1963), athlete and Olympic athlete *

Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, known as the ''Goethe Tischbein'' (15 February 1751 in Haina – 26 June 1829 in Eutin), was a German painter from the Tischbein family of artists. Biography Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein was born on 15 Febr ...

(1751–1829), painter *

Ferdinand Tönnies Ferdinand Tönnies (; 26 July 1855 – 8 April 1936) was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social gro ...

(1855–1936), sociologist, lived from 1901 to 1921 in the Auguststraße 8 (now Albert-Mahlstedt-Straße) * Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935), high school professor and oral researcher

Twin towns – sister cities

Eutin is twinned with: *

Guldborgsund Guldborgsund is the strait between the Danish islands of Lolland and Falster. It connects Smålandsfarvandet in the north with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the south. The strait is about 30 kilometers long; its breadth varies from 150 meters a ...

, Denmark *

, United States *

Putbus Putbus () is a town on the southeastern coast of the island of Rügen, in the county of Vorpommern-Rügen in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, close to the Baltic Sea. The town has 4,741 inhabitants and is a significant tourist destinat ...

, Germany Each summer, Lawrence and Eutin take part in an exchange program, where high-school students from Lawrence and college students from the University of Kansas have some weeks in Eutin, while German students from Eutin come to Lawrence to study. The

also has established an internship exchange program with Eutin.

Language

In addition to

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

(''Hochdeutsch''),

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

(''Plattdeutsch'') is very commonly used in Eutin. A common greeting among the citizens is "

moin ''Moin'', ''moi'' or ''mojn'' is a Low German, Frisian, High German ( or ), Danish () () greeting from East Frisia, Northern Germany, the eastern and northern Netherlands, Southern Jutland in Denmark and parts of Kashubia in northern Poland. ...

", to which one replies with "moin moin".

References

External links

Official websiteWebsite of the Eutin Opera Summer Festival
from a live webcam on top of the Water Tower. {{Authority control Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Ostholstein 1250s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1257 establishments in Europe