(nicknamed ''Kaki''; or ''Kolenkarken'') is a town located 35 km north 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 ...

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

Segeberg Segeberg (; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Ostholstein and St ...

district, 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 ...

. It has about 20,000 inhabitants.

History

First mentioned in the 14th century, it flourished during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

to accommodate the large number of workers in Hamburg. During

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 ...

, a temporary airfield protected the northern towns from

bombing raid Strategic bombing is a systematically organized and executed military attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers, long- or medium-range missiles, or nuclear-armed fighter-bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy' ...

s, but during the raids on Hamburg the airfield was destroyed and never rebuilt. Only open fields now remain where it was. A concentration camp was established here from August 1944 to April 1945 as a subcamp to the

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and List of subcamps of Neuengamme, more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme, Hamburg, N ...

. About 700 prisoners died here. There was talk of moving the

Hamburg Airport Hamburg Airport () , is a major international airport in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany. Since November 2016 the airport has been named after the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. It is located north of the city centre in t ...

to Kaltenkirchen in the 1970s, but this did not materialise.

Attractions

Kaltenkirchen station is well known in northern Germany as being the central node of the AKN railway company ( Altona - Kaltenkirchen - Neumünster) trains which link many of the smaller south

towns with the Hamburg underground network. This makes Kaltenkirchen an attractive home for current or potential commuters. Like many towns in Germany, Kaltenkirchen is constantly being rebuilt by creating new living areas in and around the town. The new railway station has been built to accommodate Kaltenkirchen's ever growing community of workers and tourists. Kaltenkirchen is largely a bedroom community for

commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

s to Hamburg. The southern parts of Kaltenkirchen include an industrial area where boiled sweets are produced. Kaltenkirchen has ten schools and is planning a shopping centre around the new railway station.

Twin towns – sister cities

Kaltenkirchen is twinned with: *

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; South Jutlandic: ''Affenråe'', also known as Åbenrå) is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It ...

, Denmark *

Kalisz Pomorski Kalisz Pomorski (; ) is a small town in Drawsko County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland with about 4,500 inhabitants. History In the 8th century a Slavic gród existed in present-day Kalisz Pomorski. In the Middle Ages it w ...

, Poland *

Putlitz Putlitz () is a town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 15 km northwest of Pritzwalk, and 35 km northeast of Wittenberge. History From 1815 to 1945, Putlitz was part of the Prussia, Prussian Province of ...

, Germany

Notable people

*Bernd Kortmann (born 1960), linguist and director of the FRIAS *Aaron Ziercke (born 1972), handball player and handball coach *Jan Hartmann (born 1980), actor

References

External links

Memorial concentration camp
Neuengamme concentration camp Segeberg {{Segeberg-geo-stub