Elze
Encyclopedia
Elze is a town in the district of Hildesheim
, in Lower Saxony
, Germany
. It is situated on the river Leine
, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Hildesheim
. The municipality of Elze also comprises the villages of Esbeck, Mehle, Sehlde, Sorsum, Wittenburg and Wülfingen.
Elze is one of the oldest settlement in the area, as its name stems from , a castle of Charlemagne
which he had established about 800 in the Saxon
estates after his victory over duke Widukind
in the Saxon Wars
. The emperor also founded a missionary diocese here, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul
which became the origin of the Bishopric of Hildesheim
. King Louis the Pious
relocated the episcopal see to Hildesheim in 815, however the Lutheran
parish church is still devoted to Peter and Paul and the saints are also depicted in the town's coat of arms.
The village of Wittenburg is the site of a former Augustininan
canons regular
monastery, established in the 14th century in the place of a former castle, maybe erected by members of the Billung
dynasty as early as 805. The abbey decayed in the course of the Protestant Reformation
, while the Gothic
monastery church is preserved.
In 1856 the Kingdom of Hanover
opened the southern railway (Südbahn) from Hanover
to Kassel
with a station in Elze. After the annexation by Prussia
in 1866, the town became an important railway junction with the building of the Weserbahn branch-off to Löhne
in Westphalia
by entrepreneur Bethel Henry Strousberg
, finished in 1875. Elze is also the junction of the Bundesstraße 1
and Bundesstraße 3 federal highways.
Hildesheim (district)
Hildesheim is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hanover, Peine, Wolfenbüttel, Goslar, Northeim, Holzminden and Hamelin-Pyrmont.-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 on the river Leine
Leine
The Leine is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller river and 281 km in length.The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia...
, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Hildesheim
Hildesheim
Hildesheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
. The municipality of Elze also comprises the villages of Esbeck, Mehle, Sehlde, Sorsum, Wittenburg and Wülfingen.
Elze is one of the oldest settlement in the area, as its name stems from , a castle of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
which he had established about 800 in the Saxon
Duchy 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...
estates after his victory over duke Widukind
Widukind
Widukind was a pagan Saxon leader and the chief opponent of Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars. Widukind was the leader of the Saxons against the Frankish king Charlemagne...
in the Saxon Wars
Saxon Wars
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of disaffected tribesmen was crushed. In all, eighteen battles were fought in what is now northwestern Germany...
. The emperor also founded a missionary diocese here, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...
which became the origin of the Bishopric of Hildesheim
Bishopric of Hildesheim
The Diocese of Hildesheim is a diocese or ecclesiastical territory of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Germany. Founded in 815 as a missionary diocese by King Louis the Pious, his son Louis the German appointed the famous former archbishop of Rheims, Ebbo, as bishop...
. King Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
relocated the episcopal see to Hildesheim in 815, however the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
parish church is still devoted to Peter and Paul and the saints are also depicted in the town's coat of arms.
The village of Wittenburg is the site of a former Augustininan
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
canons regular
Canons Regular
Canons Regular are members of certain bodies of Canons living in community under the Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common...
monastery, established in the 14th century in the place of a former castle, maybe erected by members of the Billung
Billung
The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries.The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811...
dynasty as early as 805. The abbey decayed in the course of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, while the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
monastery church is preserved.
In 1856 the Kingdom of Hanover
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 era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
opened the southern railway (Südbahn) from Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
to Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
with a station in Elze. After the annexation by Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in 1866, the town became an important railway junction with the building of the Weserbahn branch-off to Löhne
Löhne
Löhne is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Löhne is situated on the river Werre, approx. 8 km north of Herford and 20 km south-west of Minden.-Neighbouring places:* Hüllhorst* Bad Oeynhausen...
in Westphalia
Province of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
by entrepreneur Bethel Henry Strousberg
Bethel Henry Strousberg
Bethel Henry Strousberg was a Jewish industrialist and railway entrepreneur in Germany during its rapid industrial expansion in the 19th century...
, finished in 1875. Elze is also the junction of the Bundesstraße 1
Bundesstraße 1
The Bundesstraße 1 or B1 is a German federal highway running in an east-west direction from the Dutch border near Aachen to the Polish border at Küstrin-Kietz on the Oder River.-Route description:...
and Bundesstraße 3 federal highways.
Notable people
- Philipp FurtwänglerPhilipp FurtwänglerPhilipp Furtwängler was a German number theorist.He wrote an 1896 doctoral dissertation at the University of Göttingen on cubic forms , under Felix Klein...
, mathematician, born April 21, 1869 in Elze, died May 19, 1940 in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre... - Władysław Kozakiewicz, a pole-jumper born December 8, 1953 in ŠalčininkaiŠalcininkaiŠalčininkai is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, situated south-east of Vilnius, near the border with Belarus.Šalčininkai received its city rights in 1956 and is now a capital of the Šalčininkai district municipality. Šalčininkai features a multi-ethnic population of Poles , Lithuanians ,...
near VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, in LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. - Johann Heinrich Louis Krüger, mathematician, born September 21, 1857 in Elze, died June 1, 1923 in Elze.