Winsen an der Aller () or Winsen (Aller) is a town in the district of

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

in the German state of

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 ...

Geography

Winsen has around 12,900 inhabitants and lies on the southern perimeter of the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...

, on the banks of the

Aller Aller may refer to: Places Rivers *Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany * Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain * River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England * Aller Brook, a small river in Devon, England Inh ...

, somewhat to the west of its tributary, the

Örtze Örtze () is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. The Örtze rises north of Munster in the ''Große Heide'' (in the ''Raubkammer'' federal forest) and, after , joins the Aller southeast of Winsen. Source and course The Örtze valley is an old ...

and about 15 km northwest of

. As well as the town itself, the borough of Winsen also includes the villages of Bannetze,

Meißendorf Meißendorf is a village and ''Ortschaft'' (municipal division) of the municipality of Winsen an der Aller in the Lower Saxon district of Celle in northern Germany.Stedden, Südwinsen, Thören,

Walle Walle is a surname of Norwegian and German origin, which is a variant of the surname Wall. Wall in turn is a topographic name, which meant a person who lived by a defensive or stone-built wall.''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Wall Family Hi ...

and Wolthausen.

History

The name of the town is derived from ''Wynhausen'' (''Wyn'' = ''Weideland'' or meadow). Winsen's church is dedicated to John the Baptist. Because all villages with churches named after this patron saint appeared around 800 it is suspected that this was also when Winsen was founded. Today Winsen is a favourite local recreation and holiday area and, since 1975, has been recognised officially as a climatic health resort (''Luftkurort'').

Politics

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the town depicts the Stechinelli Gate, one of the town’s monuments and, in between the two gateposts, the coat of arms of

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

, a gold shield with red hearts surrounding a blue

lion rampant The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christi ...

Culture and places of interest

* The nature and bird reserve of

Meißendorf Lakes and Bannetzer Moor Meißendorf is a village and ''Ortschaft'' (municipal division) of the municipality of Winsen an der Aller in the Lower Saxony, Lower Saxon district of Celle district, Celle in northern Germany.Winsen Museum Farm The Winsen Museum Farm () is an open-air museum in Winsen (Aller) in the north German state of Lower Saxony. It was started in 1982 and comprises a typical farmyard from the southern Lüneburg Heath around which other buildings, characteristic of ...

(''Museumshof Winsen'') portrays a rural farmstead from the '' Südheide'' heath with buildings from the 17th – 19th century as well as ', a 1795

Low German house The Low German house or ''Fachhallenhaus'' is a type of timber-framed farmhouse found in northern Germany and the easternmost Netherlands, which combines living quarters, byre and barn under one roof. It is built as a large hall with bays on th ...

or ''Fachhallenhaus'', today the cultural centrepiece of the community. * The earliest record of the Winsen mills is from 1589. The present-day

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These ar ...

(''Bockwindmühle'') was built in 1732 and worked until it closed in 1929. It came into the possession of the town in 1938. * The church, like the town itself, is presumed to have emerged during the missionary period in Saxony during the 9th century. The Church of St. John the Baptist was built in the 14th century as a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

long house A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from lumber, timber and ...

, that was extended on its north side in 1597. In 1822 a major expansion of the church building began, which effectively became a new building. * The ''Junker Gate'' (''Junkerntor'') is one of the oldest still preserved historic buildings in Winsen. It used to be the entrance to the manor house (''Rittergut''). From 1691 to 1729 the Stechinelli family was enfeoffed with the estate, which is why it is also called the Stechinelli Gate and why the family coat of arms appears on the left hand gate column. The gate itself forms part of Winsen’s coat of arms. * The Prince’s Stones (''Prinzensteine'') lie by a track between Winsen and Oldau and recall a decisive battle on 28 May 1388 during the

Lüneburg War of Succession Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic city, Hamburg, and belongs to that city's wider met ...

(''Lüneburger Erbfolgekrieg''). According to legend two princes wounded each other mortally at this spot before they realised they were brothers. * The present-day town hall (''Rathaus'') was initially built in 1727 as a district office (''Amtshaus'') but had to be torn down again as the underlying ground was not sufficiently secure. It was then rebuilt in the

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. On 4 May 1972 the former district office, which meanwhile had been used as a pub, was given its new purpose as a town hall. File:Bockwindmühle Winsen (Aller) IMG 5969.jpg, The post mill File:St. Johannes der Täufer-Kirche in Winsen IMG 5911.jpg, Church of Saint John the Baptist File:Junkerntor in Winsen (Aller) IMG 5916.jpg, The Junker Gate

Sons and daughters of the town

Theodor Lohmann Theodor Christian Lohmann (October 18, 1831 – August 31, 1905) was a 19th-century German administrative lawyer, civil servant and social reformer, second in importance only to Otto von Bismarck in the formation of the German social insurance syst ...

(1831–1905), administrative lawyer, civil servant and social reformer, was born in Winsen.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winsen An Der Aller Lüneburg Heath Celle (district)