Lauenburg/Elbe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lauenburg_in_Germany.png
Map of Germany showing Lauenburg

Lauenburg  is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated at the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. Lauenburg belongs to the Kreis (district) of Lauenburg. Its population was 11,900 as of 2002. the town is also known in German as "Lauenburg an der Elbe" to differentiate it from other places with the name Lauenburg.

The town was founded in 1182 by Bernard of Ascania, the ancestor of the dukes of Lauenburg. Lauenburg was a duchy until 1689. The area of the medieval fief was roughly identical with today's district. In medieval times Lauenburg was a waypoint on the Old Salt Route. Today it is the southern terminus of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal.

Enlarge


In other languages