Uelzen Ülz'n (Low German) | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Uelzen within Uelzen district  | |
 Location of Uelzen | |
  Uelzen  Uelzen | |
| Coordinates:52°57′53″N10°33′57″E / 52.96472°N 10.56583°E /52.96472; 10.56583 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Uelzen |
| Subdivisions | 16 districts |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2021–26) | Jürgen Markwardt[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 136.84 km2 (52.83 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 43 m (141 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 33,991 |
| • Density | 248.40/km2 (643.35/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 29525 |
| Dialling codes | 0581 |
| Vehicle registration | UE |
| Website | www.uelzen.de |
Uelzen (German:[ˈʏltsn̩]ⓘ;Low German:Ülz'n[3]), officially theHanseatic City of Uelzen (German:Hansestadt Uelzen), is atown in northeastLower Saxony,Germany, and capital of thedistrict of Uelzen. It is part of theHamburg Metropolitan Region, aHanseatic town and an independent municipality.
Uelzen is characterised by timber-framed architecture and also has some striking examples of North Germanbrick Gothic. The town earned pan-regional fame whenFriedensreich Hundertwasser was selected to redesign the railway station: the final work of the celebrated Viennese artist and architect was ceremonially opened in 2000 as theHundertwasser Station, Uelzen, and remains a popular tourism destination.
ThePolabian name for Uelzen isWilcaus (spelledWiltzaus in older German reference material), possibly derived fromwilca orwilsa (<Slavic *olăša) 'alder'.
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The town was founded in 1250. In 1270 DukeJohn of Brunswick-Lüneburg, aWelf who ruled the Principality of Lüneburg from 1252 to 1277, granted Uelzen itstown privileges (Stadtrechte).[4] In the Middle Ages it became an active member of theHanseatic League.[5] The townfortification, built in the 14th century, originally had threegates, awall, and amoat. Parts of the wall are still standing.
While Uelzen only played a small role in the Hanseatic League, there is evidence that it traded withLivonia andSpain.[citation needed] At theSchnellenmarket, aLondon trading office purchased Uelzenerlinen, earthenware pitchers were offered for sale andbrewery business flourished.[citation needed] On 21 October 1470, Uelzen was the venue for a Hanseatic League Convention. This was a special honor, as these annual resolutions of the association of cities usually took place inLübeck.[6]
The town became part of theElectorate of Hanover in 1708, theKingdom of Westphalia in 1807, theKingdom of Hanover in 1814, and thePrussianProvince of Hanover in 1866.
Uelzen was the site of aNaziconcentration camp that operated in Uelzen until 17 April 1945. The camp was a subcamp of theNeuengamme concentration camp.[7]
Uelzen was hit by five air raids duringWorld War II, on 18 April 1944, 10 November 1944, 27 November 1944, 22 February 1945 and 7 April 1945. Across these raids, 1362 buildings were destroyed or damaged.[8] The heaviest raid was on 22 February 1945 when 149 people lost their lives and 95 houses were completely destroyed. On 7 April 1944, three civilians were killed and 153 houses were destroyed or damaged.[9] Estimates indicate up to 27% of the town was destroyed at some point during the war.[citation needed]
Uelzen lies on the eastern edge of theLüneburg Heath. The town is a transport hub on the north–south axis fromHamburg toHanover as well as the east–west axis fromBremen toBerlin. Also of economic importance is its location on theElbe Lateral Canal. The town is situated on theIlmenau, and the banks in Uelzen are dotted with small parks wetland areas. Large areas in the vicinity of Uelzen have been set aside asnature parks with moors, woods, lakes, and heathland: theElbhöhen-Wendland Nature Park,Lüneburg Heath Nature Park and Lower Saxon Elbe Valley Water Meadows Biosphere Reserve.
The following parishes belong to the borough of Uelzen: Groß Liedern, Halligdorf, Hambrock, Hansen, Hanstedt II,Holdenstedt,Kirchweyhe, Klein Süstedt, Masendorf, Mehre, Molzen, Oldenstadt, Riestedt, Ripdorf, Tatern, Veerßen, Westerweyhe, and Woltersburg.
Furthermore, there are four other places that have the status of "special parishes" (Sonstige Ortsteile): Borne, Kl. Liedern, Pieperhöfen, and Oldenstadt-West.
Uelzen has a typicaloceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb;Trewartha:Dobk). The average temperature ranges from 1 °C (34 °F) in winter to 18 °C (64 °F) in summer, with precipitation concentrated from May to August. On average, there are 11 days with a maximum temperature of over 30 °C (86 °F) per year, and high temperatures of over 35 °C (95 °F) occur every four years on average.
The Uelzen weather station has recorded the following extreme values:[10]
| Climate data for Uelzen, 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1951-present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.4 (61.5) | 19.1 (66.4) | 24.5 (76.1) | 29.3 (84.7) | 32.7 (90.9) | 36.3 (97.3) | 39.8 (103.6) | 38.0 (100.4) | 32.0 (89.6) | 27.5 (81.5) | 20.1 (68.2) | 16.4 (61.5) | 39.8 (103.6) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) | 11.7 (53.1) | 16.8 (62.2) | 23.7 (74.7) | 27.4 (81.3) | 30.2 (86.4) | 31.9 (89.4) | 32.0 (89.6) | 26.5 (79.7) | 21.0 (69.8) | 15.0 (59.0) | 11.6 (52.9) | 33.9 (93.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.8 (38.8) | 4.5 (40.1) | 8.8 (47.8) | 14.9 (58.8) | 18.5 (65.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 24.3 (75.7) | 23.5 (74.3) | 19.4 (66.9) | 13.9 (57.0) | 8.0 (46.4) | 5.0 (41.0) | 13.9 (57.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.5 (34.7) | 1.5 (34.7) | 4.6 (40.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 12.9 (55.2) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.4 (65.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 9.6 (49.3) | 5.3 (41.5) | 2.8 (37.0) | 9.4 (48.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.1 (30.0) | −1.6 (29.1) | 0.4 (32.7) | 3.4 (38.1) | 6.9 (44.4) | 10.1 (50.2) | 12.3 (54.1) | 11.9 (53.4) | 8.8 (47.8) | 5.5 (41.9) | 2.5 (36.5) | 0.4 (32.7) | 5.0 (41.0) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −9.8 (14.4) | −9.2 (15.4) | −6.1 (21.0) | −2.9 (26.8) | −0.5 (31.1) | 4.7 (40.5) | 7.3 (45.1) | 6.3 (43.3) | 2.6 (36.7) | −1.5 (29.3) | −3.8 (25.2) | −7.4 (18.7) | −12.5 (9.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.1 (−13.2) | −26.4 (−15.5) | −20.0 (−4.0) | −9.4 (15.1) | −3.0 (26.6) | 1.1 (34.0) | 2.7 (36.9) | 2.4 (36.3) | −0.8 (30.6) | −5.3 (22.5) | −19.5 (−3.1) | −19.5 (−3.1) | −26.4 (−15.5) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 60.4 (2.38) | 41.1 (1.62) | 45.7 (1.80) | 34.6 (1.36) | 55.3 (2.18) | 62.8 (2.47) | 73.3 (2.89) | 61.1 (2.41) | 47.9 (1.89) | 53.9 (2.12) | 50.1 (1.97) | 57.3 (2.26) | 643.6 (25.34) |
| Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) | 4.0 (1.6) | 5.0 (2.0) | 3.2 (1.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.2 (0.5) | 3.2 (1.3) | 9.0 (3.5) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 18.5 | 16.1 | 15.0 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 13.7 | 15.0 | 16.2 | 13.9 | 15.5 | 16.9 | 18.7 | 185.0 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 88.0 | 85.0 | 79.4 | 72.1 | 72.5 | 74.2 | 74.5 | 77.2 | 81.7 | 86.6 | 90.3 | 90.1 | 81.0 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 41.7 | 71.6 | 130.2 | 195.5 | 202.4 | 212.1 | 210.3 | 190.9 | 163.6 | 107.0 | 51.0 | 32.7 | 1,609.1 |
| Source: DWD Open Data[11][10] | |||||||||||||
Uelzen belongs to theBundestag constituency ofCelle-Uelzen. In 2009Henning Otte (CDU) was directly elected, having been on the state list (place 19) since 2005.Kirsten Lühmann (SPD) was elected in 2009 via the state list. In the years 1998, 2002 and 2005Peter Struck (SPD), former defense minister and chairman of the SPD party in the German Bundestag, was directly elected.
Jürgen Markwardt (independent) has been the mayor of Uelzen since 2014, when he was elected with 64.4% of the vote. The deputy mayors are Karsten Jäkel (CDU) and Ariane Schmäschke (The Greens).
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Uelzen contains a number of theaters, including the theatre on the Ilmenau, the Jabelmann Events Hall, and the fringe theatre on the Rosenmauer.
Worthy of mention is the Holdenstedt Castle Museum which is the town's local history museum. Permanent exhibitions include furniture from the Middle Ages, a glass collection, artwork by painter Georg Wolf, and archaeological finds from the local area.
The largestsugar beet refinery in theNordzucker group is in Uelzen. It processes approximately 20,000 tons of sugar beet per day. Other large employers in the town areNestlé Schöller or the dairy manufacturerUelzena. Bituminous roofing felts and insulation material has been manufactured in Uelzen byC. Hasse & SohnArchived 2022-07-11 at theWayback Machine since 1872.
TheHundertwasserbahnhof is a railway station in Uelzen at the eastern edge of theLüneburg Heath Nature Park in northeasternLower Saxony. Cities directly reachable by rail from this hub areHamburg,Hannover,Lüneburg,Celle,Braunschweig,Bremen andBerlin.
The original station was renovated forExpo 2000 following plans by the Austrian artist and architectFriedensreich Hundertwasser. An "environmentally, culturally oriented" station, the station was renamed after the architect as 'Hundertwasser Station, Uelzen'. Today it is one of the town's popular tourist attractions.
Uelzen has a district court (Amtsgericht), which belongs to the state court region ofLüneburg and the Oberlandesgericht (High State Court) region ofCelle.
Schools in Uelzen include the Herzog-Ernst-Gymnasium, Lessing-Gymnasium, Oberschule-Uelzen, Lucas-Backmeister-Schule, Sternschule, Berufsbildene Schulen I and II and 6 elementary schools.
Uelzen has one hospital (HELIOS Klinikum), two clinics that specialise in different areas (Klinik Veerßen andPsychiatrische Klinik Uelzen) and some pharmacies and dentists.
Neighbouring towns | |
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Towns and municipalities inUelzen (district) | ||
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