Ratzeburg

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Ratzeburg is a town and former bishopric in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

It is situated in the middle of four lakes, that leave just narrow access paths to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the Kreis (district) of Lauenburg. Population 12,300 (1999).

[edit] History

The town was founded in the 11th century. The name is believed to be derived from the local Slavic ruler Ratibor, who was nicknamed Ratse. In the year 1044 Christian missionaries under the leadership of the monk Ansverus came into the region and built a monastery. It was destroyed in a pagan rebellion in 1066, the monks were stoned to death. Today monuments to the missionaries in two of the town's churches commemorate these events. Ansverus was canonised in the 12th century and his relics were entombed in the Ratzeburg cathedral.

Henry the Lion became the ruler of the town in 1143 and established a bishopric in 1154. Later it became a Prince Bishopric, whose ruler was sovereign and as such had a vote at the Imperial Diet. Ratzeburg was the last Catholic state in north Germany, until the death of its ruler Prince-Bishop Georg von Blumenthal in 1550.

After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 the city became part of the duchy of Sachsen-Lauenburg, until the defeat of Denmark by Prussia in 1864. The cathedral and its surroundings became part of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1648 to 1937. The town was almost completely destroyed in 1693, when Christian V of Denmark shot Ratzeburg to ashes. After this event it was rebuilt in Baroque style.

From 1945 to 1989 the Iron Curtain ran just east of the town, putting it on the border with East Germany.

[edit] See also

• Bishopric of Ratzeburg

[edit] Sources and references

(incomplete)

• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.

Coordinates: 53°42′N 10°46′E