Itzehoe
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Itzehoe (; ) is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in
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 ...
in northern
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 ...
. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the
Stör The Stör () is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, right tributary of the Elbe. Its total length is . The Stör rises east of Neumünster, and flows west through Neumünster, Kellinghusen, and Itzehoe. The Stör joins the Elbe near Glücksta ...
, a navigable tributary of the
Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
and 24 km (14.9 mi) north of
Glückstadt Glückstadt (; ) is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona. Glückstadt is part of the Hamburg ...
. The population is about 32,530.


History

Itzehoe is one of the oldest towns in Holstein. As early as 810 AD,
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
built the Esesfeld
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 ...
in the Oldenburgskuhle, 2 kilometres from the later town, as protection against the
Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...
marauding from the north, but this has no direct connection with the development of Itzehoe. Under its protection, Archbishop Ebbo of Reims built a small monastery or prayer house, the ‘Cella Lila’, in the summer of 823 in what is now Münsterdorf as a base for the Christian mission he initiated in Denmark. The larger Echeho Castle, built around 1000 in the nearby meander of the River Stör, became the nucleus of a settlement that developed into a trading town, favoured by the granting of the Lübeck rights (1238), combined with freedom from customs duties, which at that time was only granted to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
in the country, and later the right to stack goods (1260). During this time, Itzehoe was involved in the salt, cloth and grain trade and was at times an important hub in European east-west trade. Further settlements developed on the other side of the river around the monastery courtyard (around 1260) and around the Church of St. Laurentii (first mentioned in 1196). During 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 ...
Itzehoe was twice destroyed by the
Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...
, in 1644 and 1657, but was rebuilt on each occasion. It was under Danish rule until the
Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...
of 1864, when it was occupied by
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. In 1867, it passed 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, ...
, and in 1871 it became part of the newly established
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. Itzehoe was listed as a garrison depot ( Wehrkreis X (
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
)) of the former 225th Infantry Division, which was implicated in the 1940 Vinkt Massacre in Belgium. Following the joint German-Soviet
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, which started
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 ...
in September 1939, it was the location of the Oflag X-A
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
for Polish officers, which was eventually relocated to Sandbostel in 1941. During the war, Itzehoe was not initially a primary target for the Allied strategic bombing campaign, but was hit by an Allied bombing raid very late in the war, when Allied
carpet bombing Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in t ...
on 2 May 1945 (just two days before the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath) caused 22 fatalities in the city. Until it was filled in with around 110,000 m3 of sand in 1974, a bend in the River Stör had a decisive influence on the appearance of Itzehoe town centre. The bend was the original course of the river. The Stör crossing (
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" ...
‘Delf’, from which the names “Delftor” and “Delftorbrücke” of the town exit and the Störbrücke bridge originate) turned Itzehoe's castle complex into an island. There are said to have been sluices in the delta that closed when the water ran out, forcing the water to flow through and clean the bend. After their removal, the river increasingly silted up and developed into an almost stagnant, foul-smelling body of water. The old town centre, the ‘Neustadt’ (new town), could only be reached via bridges. In the course of the redevelopment of the ‘Neustadt’, during which almost all the houses on this former island were demolished and replaced by new buildings and new streets were laid out, this element that characterised the town became extinct. Only a few artificially created water basins between the new theatre and Salzstraße are reminders of the original course of the loop. In order to improve the cityscape again, an initiative was launched in 2011 with the aim of promoting the reopening of the filled-in Störschleife in the centre of Itzehoe. In 2017, the entire city centre was declared a redevelopment area. The restoration of the Störschleife was explicitly named as a goal. On 26 September 2021, the residents of Itzehoe voted by 7707 votes in favour of restoring the Stör bend. Concrete plans for implementation have been underway since August 2022. In February 2023, the winning design was to be presented by one of nine planning teams. In the 1990s, the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT was established on the northern edge of Itzehoe. Many chip research and high-tech companies have since settled around this institute on the InnoQuarter Itzehoe industrial estate. As a result, Itzehoe is increasingly developing into a centre of high technology in northern Germany.


Climate

Itzehoe has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(''Cfb'' in the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
).


Sights

The Church of St. Laurentii and the building in which the Holstein estates formerly met are noteworthy. The town has a
convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
founded in 1256, many
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
s, a
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
and other benevolent institutions. Itzehoe is also the location of the Wenzel Hablik Museum which is dedicated to the work of the utopian and expressionist artist architect Wenzel Hablik, who settled in Itzehoe in 1907, where he pursued architectural and
interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...
projects. Hablik produced designs for furniture, textiles, tapestries, jewellery, cutlery and wallpaper. In 1917, he married the German weaver and textile designer Elisabeth Lindemann (1879-1960). They shared a workshop and a studio in Itzehoe.


Transport

Itzehoe is situated at the Marsh Railway and offers connections to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
and the island of Sylt. During the period up to and including the
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...
festival many festival goers depart for the festival from Itzehoe using the 'Metal Shuttle Bus’, which leaves from near Itzehoe station. During this time the town can become very overcrowded and inundated with traffic.


Twin towns – sister cities

Itzehoe is twinned with: *
Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...
, England, United Kingdom * La Couronne, France * Pasłęk, Poland


Notable people

* Adolf IV of Holstein (before 1205–1261), a Count of Schauenburg (1225–1238) * Johannes Loccenius (1598–1677), a German jurist and historian * Joachim Irgens von Westervick (1611–1675), Dano-Norwegian official and estate owner, important financial magnate and entrepreneur * Bendix Grodtschilling (ca 1620 – 1690), a Danish painter and carpenter. * Werner Fabricius (1633–1679), organist and composer * Bendix Grodtschilling the Younger (1655–1707), a Danish painter. * Ludvig Nicolaus von Scheele (1796–1874), a Danish statesman, Danish Foreign Minister, 1855 to 1857. * Carl Julian (von) Graba (1799–1874), German lawyer and ornithologist who visited and studied the Faroe Islands * Peter Christoph Hagemann (1810–1853), neoclassical Danish architect * Hans Peder Pedersen-Dan (1859–1939), a Danish sculptor. * Elisabeth Lindemann (1879–1960), weaver, textile designer and photographer; lived locally from 1917. * Bruno Adler, (DE Wiki) (1896–1954), Bishop of the German Christians * Erika Thimey (1910–2006), dancer and dance educator, mainly based in Washington, D.C. * Sabine Sinjen (1942–1995), film actress * Jerzy Janeczek (1944–2021), Polish theater and film actor. * Antje Blumenthal (born 1947), politician * Sylvia Convey (born 1948), Latvian-Australian artist * Olaf Berner (born 1949), teacher and handball player * Heiger Ostertag (born 1953), historian and novelist. * Thomas Gerull (born 1962), fencer, team silver medalist at the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
* Sven Butenschön (born 1976), ice hockey player * Lisa Tomaschewsky (born 1988), film and TV actress.


References


External links


Itzehoe Notgeld
(emergency banknotes) depicting the inflation of staple prices in Germany between 1913 and 1921 {{Authority control Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Steinburg Towns in Germany