Lauenburg
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Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe (; ), is a town in the 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 ...
,
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 situated on the northern bank of the river
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 ...
, east 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 ...
. It is overall the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein and belongs to the district () of Herzogtum Lauenburg.


History

The town was founded in 1182 by Bernard of Ascania, the ancestor of the Dukes of Lauenburg. It took its name from that of the castle of ''Lowenborch'' (erected here between 1181 and 1182), deriving from ''Lave'', the Polabian-language name of the Elbe (compare modern Czech ''Labe''). Following the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, Lauenburg was ceded by Prussia to
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
in exchange for the region of Pomerania. Saxe-Lauenburg was a
duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...
until 1 July 1876, when it was incorporated into the Royal Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein. Lauenburg served as the ducal capital until 1616, when the castle burnt down. In 1619 the capital was moved to
Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by Ratzeburger See, four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the distri ...
. The area of the duchy was roughly identical with that of today's district. In medieval times Lauenburg was a waypoint on the Old Salt Route, while today it is the southern terminus of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. Between 1945 and 1982, Lauenburg served as West German inner German border crossing for cars travelling along Bundesstraße 5 between the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany (till 1949), thereafter the East
German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
, or
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
and the British zone of occupation (till 1949) and thereafter the West German Federal Republic of Germany. The traffic was subject to the Interzonal traffic regulations that between West Germany and West Berlin followed the special regulations of the
Transit Agreement (1972) The Transit Agreement (German language, German: ''Transitabkommen''), signed 17 December 1971, arranged access to and from West Berlin from West Germany, secured the right of West Berliners to visit East Berlin and East Germany, and secured the r ...
.


Culture and sights

Lauenburg has many historic buildings from the 17th century and earlier. These include houses, which were mostly the homes of sailors, and the Maria-Magdalenen Church, which was built in the 13th century. The town is nestled at the bottom of 50 meter high bluffs. Narrow streets up the hill lead to the "upper town" where Lauenburg Castle is located. Lauenburg Castle, the former residence of the Dukes of Lauenburg and the political centre of their Dukedom, the majority of which has since been destroyed, with only the old castle tower remaining. Currently, the castle serves as city and municipal administration. To the south of the city lies the Elbe and Lower-Saxony, which used to belong to the duchy until it was ceded to the then neighbouring
Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...
in 1814. Lauenburg also has the "Palmschleuse", a historic river lock, originally built in 1398 and renewed in the 17th century. It is the oldest of its kind in Europe.


Notable residents


Rulers

* Bernard II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1385/1392–1463), ruler * Clara of Saxe-Lauenburg (1518–1576), a Princess of Saxe-Lauenburg * Eric I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg-Ratzeburg (c. 1280–1360), ruler * Eric II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg-Ratzeburg (1318/20–1368), ruler * Eric IV, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1354–1411), ruler * Eric V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (died 1436), ruler * John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1439–1507), ruler, reconstructed Lauenburg Castle


Others (in date order)

*
Karl Ludwig Harding Karl Ludwig Harding (29 September 1765 – 31 August 1834) was a German astronomer, who discovered 3 Juno, Juno, the third asteroid of the main-belt in 1804. Life and career Harding was born in Lauenburg. From 1786–1789, he was educated a ...
(1765–1834), astronomer * Samuel Peter Schilling (1773-1852), entomologist. * Mathilde Block (1850–1932), painter, embroiderer * Otto von Moltke (1851–1881), a German-Danish military officer * Jürgen Plagemann (born 1936), rower, won Olympic silver in 1964 * Norbert Brackmann (born 1954), a German CDU politician, member of the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
from 2009 to 2021


International relations

Lauenburg is twinned with: * Boizenburg (Germany) * Dudelange (
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
) * Lębork (
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
) (formerly ''Lauenburg in Pommern'') * Manom (France)


References


External links

*
Altstadt-Lauenburg
{{Authority control Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Inner German border Herzogtum Lauenburg Populated riverside places in Germany Populated places on the Elbe