Bremervörde
Encyclopedia
Bremervörde is a town in the north of the district Rotenburg
, in Lower Saxony
, Germany
. It is situated at the Oste
river near the mid of the triangle, which is formed of the rivers Weser and Elbe
respectively the cities of Hamburg
, Bremen and Cuxhaven.
Duke Lothair of Supplinburg, later king of the Holy Roman Empire
, erected castrum vorde, the Vörde Castle at a Oste
ford
, important for the Oxen Way
, an ancient trackway
connecting Jutland
with Westphalia
.
Because of the strategically advantageous location between the rivers Elbe and Weser it was a matter of conflicts in the following centuries. Later it came under the control of Henry the Lion
and then, in 1219, it fell under the control of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, providing functions as capital with the prince-archiepiscopal residence and seat of government. The parliament, the Bremian Estates
, convened at other places (usually in Basdahl
), the Bremian cathedral chapter
had its seat in the city of Bremen.
Maurice of Oldenburg (d. 1368), serving as Diocesan Administrator of Bremen since 1345, ruled the prince-archbishopric from Vörde. When the new Prince-Archbishop Albert II
, invested
in 1360, tried to depose him Maurice entrenched in Vörde Castle. Only after Albert's brothers Magnus II Torquatus, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg
, Prince of Wolfenbüttel, and Louis, and the latter's father-in-law William II, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg (Celle line)
and their Wolfenbüttelian and Cellean troops had beleaguered the Vörde in January 1362, Maurice signed his resignation.
The prince-archbishops added up for the development of Vörde. Prince-Archbishop
John III
(d. 1511), founded a hospital and infirmary, renovated in 1576 by Administrator Henry III
, who also else contributed to Vörde's prosperity as a market town.
Administrator John Frederick extended the fortified castle by a Vorwerk
, including stables and the prince-archiepiscopal Chancery
(built in 1608), since 1960 housing a museum, called Bachmann-Museum for regional archeology, geology and history since 1985. The capital function caused the town to be named Bremervörde since the mid-17th century. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union
by the Swedish Crown. The Swedes relocated the capital to Stade
.
During the Swedish reign the Danish King Frederick III (as of 1648, deposed by the Swedes as Bremian Administrator Frederick II in 1645)
invaded the Duchy and bombed his former residence in 1657. In 1682 the damaged castle and the castle church, burial place of many prince-archbishops, were demolished, the rubble bricks moved to Stade for the construction of the Swedish Warehouse (Schwedenspeicher) there. After another Danish occupation between 1712 and 1715 during the Great Northern War
the Duchy of Bremen was handed over to the House of Hanover
, ruling the area until 1866. In 1823 the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region
.
Bremervörde is the end point of the "Deutsche Fährstraße
" established in May 2004, an institution similar to the American National Scenic Byway
s. It connects various places between Bremervörde and Kiel
with relation to the history of ferries
and crossing of rivers, like the historic transporter bridges in Osten
and Rendsburg
.
Rotenburg (district)
Rotenburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stade, Harburg, Heidekreis, Verden, Osterholz and Cuxhaven.-History:...
, in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is situated at the Oste
Oste
The Oste is a river in northern Lower Saxony, Germany with a length of 153 km, left tributary of the Elbe. It flows through the districts of Harburg, Rotenburg, Stade and Cuxhaven and empties into the Elbe river near Otterndorf. Its drainage area is 1.711 km² and the decline between the...
river near the mid of the triangle, which is formed of the rivers Weser and Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
respectively the cities of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Bremen and Cuxhaven.
Division of the town
The municipality Bremervörde consists beside the town Bremervörde of the villages Bevern, Elm, Hesedorf, Hönau-Lindorf, Nieder Ochtenhausen, Iselersheim, Mehedorf, Minstedt, Ostendorf, Plönjeshausen and Spreckens.History
By 1111 the SaxonDuchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
Duke Lothair of Supplinburg, later king of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, erected castrum vorde, the Vörde Castle at a Oste
Oste
The Oste is a river in northern Lower Saxony, Germany with a length of 153 km, left tributary of the Elbe. It flows through the districts of Harburg, Rotenburg, Stade and Cuxhaven and empties into the Elbe river near Otterndorf. Its drainage area is 1.711 km² and the decline between the...
ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
, important for the Oxen Way
Hærvejen
Hærvejen is the name given to an ancient trackway in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein. The route runs from Viborg via Flensburg to Hamburg, the territory of which it entered at Ochsenzoll and where it connected with other roads...
, an ancient trackway
Ancient trackway
Ancient trackway can refer to any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity. Such paths existed from the earliest prehistoric times and in every inhabited part of the globe...
connecting Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
with Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
.
Because of the strategically advantageous location between the rivers Elbe and Weser it was a matter of conflicts in the following centuries. Later it came under the control of Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
and then, in 1219, it fell under the control of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, providing functions as capital with the prince-archiepiscopal residence and seat of government. The parliament, the Bremian Estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
, convened at other places (usually in Basdahl
Basdahl
Basdahl is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:Basdahl belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. Its parliament, the Bremian Estates , convened in diets usually in Basdahl, with Bremervörde serving as capital with the...
), the Bremian cathedral chapter
Cathedral chapter
In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...
had its seat in the city of Bremen.
Maurice of Oldenburg (d. 1368), serving as Diocesan Administrator of Bremen since 1345, ruled the prince-archbishopric from Vörde. When the new Prince-Archbishop Albert II
Albert of Brunswick and Lunenburg-Wolfenbüttel
Duke Albert of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Wolfenbüttel line was as Albert II Prince-Archbishop of Bremen in the years 1361–1395.-Before ascending to the See of Bremen:...
, invested
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
in 1360, tried to depose him Maurice entrenched in Vörde Castle. Only after Albert's brothers Magnus II Torquatus, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg
Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Magnus , called Magnus with the Necklace or Magnus II, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruling the Brunswick-Lüneburg principalities of Wolfenbüttel and, temporarily, Lüneburg....
, Prince of Wolfenbüttel, and Louis, and the latter's father-in-law William II, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg (Celle line)
William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1330 to 1369.- Life :William was born around the year 1300 as the fourth child of Otto the Strict and his wife, Matilda of Bavaria....
and their Wolfenbüttelian and Cellean troops had beleaguered the Vörde in January 1362, Maurice signed his resignation.
The prince-archbishops added up for the development of Vörde. Prince-Archbishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
John III
Johann Rode von Wale
Johann Rode von Wale was a Catholic cleric, a Doctor of Canon and Civil Law, a chronicler, a long-serving government official and as John III Prince-archbishop of Bremen between 1497 and...
(d. 1511), founded a hospital and infirmary, renovated in 1576 by Administrator Henry III
Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg
Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg was a Prince-Archbishop of Bremen , then Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück , then Prince-Bishop of Paderborn . The Roman Catholic Church never confirmed the Lutheran Henry as bishop....
, who also else contributed to Vörde's prosperity as a market town.
Administrator John Frederick extended the fortified castle by a Vorwerk
Folwark
Folwark is a Polish word for a primarily serfdom-based farm and agricultural enterprise , often very large. Folwarks were operated in the Crown of Poland from the 14th century and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 15th century, from the second half of the 16th century in the joint...
, including stables and the prince-archiepiscopal Chancery
Chancery (medieval office)
Chancery is a general term for a medieval writing office, responsible for the production of official documents. The title of chancellor, for the head of the office, came to be held by important ministers in a number of states, and remains the title of the heads of government in modern Germany,...
(built in 1608), since 1960 housing a museum, called Bachmann-Museum for regional archeology, geology and history since 1985. The capital function caused the town to be named Bremervörde since the mid-17th century. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
by the Swedish Crown. The Swedes relocated the capital to Stade
Stade
Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...
.
During the Swedish reign the Danish King Frederick III (as of 1648, deposed by the Swedes as Bremian Administrator Frederick II in 1645)
Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...
invaded the Duchy and bombed his former residence in 1657. In 1682 the damaged castle and the castle church, burial place of many prince-archbishops, were demolished, the rubble bricks moved to Stade for the construction of the Swedish Warehouse (Schwedenspeicher) there. After another Danish occupation between 1712 and 1715 during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
the Duchy of Bremen was handed over to the House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, ruling the area until 1866. In 1823 the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region
Stade (region)
The Stade Region emerged in 1823 by an administrative reorganisation of the dominions of the Kingdom of Hanover, a sovereign state, whose then territory is almost completely part of today's German federal state of Lower Saxony...
.
Tourism
Deutsche Fährstraße
The Deutsche Fährstraße , established in May 2004, is a theme route similar to the American National Scenic Byways. It connects various places between Bremervörde and Kiel with relation to the history of ferries and crossing of rivers, like the historic transporter bridges in Rendsburg and Osten.It...
" established in May 2004, an institution similar to the American National Scenic Byway
National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for its archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and/or scenic qualities. The program was established by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation's scenic but often...
s. It connects various places between Bremervörde and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
with relation to the history of ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
and crossing of rivers, like the historic transporter bridges in Osten
Osten
Osten is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Oste. Osten also means "East" in German.Osten belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...
and Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
.