Salzgitter

Salzgitter
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Salzgitter
Salzgitter (Germany)
Salzgitter
Administration
Country Germany
State Lower Saxony
District Urban district
City subdivisions 7 Towns
with 31 quarters
Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area 223.96 km² (86.5 sq mi)
Elevation 80-275 m
Population 106,077  (14/12/2006)
 - Density 474 /km² (1,227 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate SZ
Postal codes 38226, 38228, 38229,
38239, 38259
Area code 05341
Website www.salzgitter.de

Salzgitter (German pronunciation: [zaltsˈgɪtɐ]) is a city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Salzgitter is an independent city. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven Oberzentren of Lower Saxony (roughly equivalent to a metropolitan area). With 109,142 inhabitants and 223.94 km² (as of 30 January 2004), its area is one of the biggest in Germany. The main shopping street of the young city is in the borough Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, and the central business district is in Salzgitter-Bad. The city is connected to the Mittellandkanal and the Elbe-Seitenkanal by a distributary. The nearest metropolises are Braunschweig, about 23 km to the northeast, and Hanover, about 51 km to the northwest. The population of the City of Salzgitter has exceeded 100,000 inhabitants since its foundation in 1942 (which made it a city in contrast to a town by the German definition), when it was still called Watenstedt-Salzgitter. Beside Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Eisenhüttenstadt, Salzgitter therefore is one of the few towns in Germany founded during the 20th century.

Contents

History of the name

Until 31 March 1942, "Salzgitter" was the name of a town where the borough Salzgitter-Bad now is. From then until 1951, "Salzgitter" was the name of a borough of the city Watenstedt-Salzgitter that existed at the time. In 1951, the borough Salzgitter was renamed Salzgitter-Bad; the name Salzgitter, having thus been freed up, became the new and more succinct name of the city that had been called "Watenstedt-Salzgitter" until then. (Nowadays, "Salzgitter-Watenstedt" is the name of a small borough with a few hundred inhabitants.)

Geography

Salzgitter is located in a bride dell coated with loess, between the Oderwald Forest and the Salzgitter-Höhenzug ("Salzgitter Hills"). The largest extension of the city area is 24 km from north to south and 19 km from east to west. The highest point in it is the hill Hamberg (275 m), located north-west from Salzgitter-Bad.

Neighbouring municipalities

The following cities, towns and municipalities border on the City of Salzgitter. They will be named clock-wise, beginning in the North East. (As the City of Salzgitter was founded on the area of the District (Landkreis) Wolfenbüttel, that district borders on Salzgitter in the west and in the east; that is why it is named twice.)

City structure

Salzgitter and its 31 villages

The area of the City of Salzgitter consists of 31 quarters (often called villages): Bad, Barum, Beddingen, Beinum, Bleckenstedt, Bruchmachtersen, Calbecht, Drütte, Engelnstedt, Engerode, Flachstöckheim, Gebhardshagen, Gitter, Groß Mahner, Hallendorf, Heerte, Hohenrode, Immendorf, Lebenstedt, Lesse, Lichtenberg, Lobmachtersen, Ohlendorf, Osterlinde, Reppner, Ringelheim, Salder, Sauingen, Thiede, Üfingen, Watenstedt.

These 31 quarters are combined to 7 Towns. As a board, every Town has got a Town Council, elected by the population allowed to elect, with a Town Mayor.

The Towns with their quarters are:

History

Salzgitter originated in the beginning 14th century around salt springs near the village Verpstedt (later Vöppstedt). 'The name developed from the neighbouring village Gitter (nowadays a quarter) as "up dem solte to Gytere", which means "Salt near Gitter"; the first mention was in 1347. After 200 years of saltern at various springs, the peasants in the area, which is Salzgitter nowadays, were chartered around 1350, but, however, lost municipal law when being transferred to the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the beginning 16th century. Later, Salzgitter belonged to the diocese Hildesheim. When that was transferred to Prussia in 1803, the municipal laws were reconfirmed, but were taken again in 1815, when Salzgitter became part of the Kingdom of Hanover.

In 1830, a brine bath was established in Salzgitter.

After the Kingdom of Hanover was transferred to Prussia in 1866, Salzgitter became a Prussian municipality, which was chartered again in 1929. Before, the towns Vorsalz and Liebenhall had been incorporated (1926, 1928). Salzgitter belonged to the Landkreis (district) Goslar and included beside Salzgitter itself also some small settlements like Gittertor, which is part of Salzgitter-Bad nowadays. In 1936, Kniestedt, was incorporated; it is part of Salzgitter-Bad by now, too. In 1938, the neighbouring municipality Gitter was incorporated. With the village Gitter, which was already incorporated in 1938, the young city first had got 29 quarters from 1942 on.

Due to the large iron ore body in Salzgitter, which had been mentioned first in 1310, the National Socialists founded the "Reichswerke Hermann Göring" (Reich works Herrmann Göring) for ore mining and ironworks in 1937. As the smelting works were supposed to develop economically well, a unique administration structure in the whole area was necessary. Therefore the Order about the area settlement around the Hermann-Göring-Werke Salzgitter as from 1st April 1942 disposed to form a unique city district (Independent City). For this aim, the town of Salzgitter and the municipalities Beinum, Flachstöckheim, Groß-Mahner, Hohenrode, Ohlendorf and Ringelheim (7 altogether, all belonging to the Landkreis Goslar) and Barum, Beddingen, Bleckenstedt, Bruchmachtersen, Calbecht, Drütte, Engelnstedt, Engerode, Gebhardshagen, Hallendorf, Heerte, Immendorf, Lebenstedt, Lesse, Lichtenberg, Lobmachtersen, Osterlinde, Reppner, Salder, Thiede-Steterburg (nowadays Thiede) and Watenstedt (21 altogether, all belonging to the Landkreis Wolfenbüttel) were merged to the Stadtkreis Watenstedt-Salzgitter. Together with the remaining rest of the Landkreis Goslar, the new Independent municipality was integrated into the state of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In return, Braunschweig transferred the Landkreis Holzminden to the Prussian province of Hanover. In October, 1942, the SS established the Druette concentration camp, a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp, to provide slave labour for the Hermann Göring Works.[1] This large subcamp held 2,800 inmates. There were three concentration camps located in Salzgitter. During the war, Salzgitter was damaged hard by several American and British bombings. After the war, the State of Braunschweig became part of the Land Lower-Saxony, and Watenstedt-Salzgitter became an Independent City in the "Administrative District of Braunschweig" (later Regierungsbezirk of Braunschweig).

On April 1st, 1942, the Independent City Watenstedt-Salzgitter (renamed in Salzgitter in 1951) was formed by uniting Landkreis Goslar, the town of Salzgitter (municipalities of Beinum, Flachstöckheim, Groß Mahner, Hohenrode, Ohlendorf and Ringelheim) and Landkreis Wolfenbüttel (municipalities of Barum, Beddingen, Bleckenstedt, Bruchmachtersen, Calbecht, Drütte, Engelnstedt, Engerode, Gebhardshagen, Hallendorf, Heerte, Immendorf, Lebenstedt, Lesse, Lichtenberg, Lobmachtersen, Osterlinde, Reppner, Salder, Thiede-Steterburg and Watenstedt).

On March 1st, 1974, the municipalities Üfingen and Sauingen (up to then Landkreis Wolfenbüttel) were incorporated. In 1951, the city was renamed into "Stadt Salzgitter" (City of Salzgitter), the then-quarter Salzgitter was named "Salzgitter-Bad", referring to the brine bath there. In the course of the area reform of Lower-Saxony as from 1st March 1974, the municipalities Üfingen and Sauingen (Landkreis Wolfenbüttel) were incorporated. Since then, Salzgitter has got 31 quarters. Until 1982, Salzgitter was mined (iron); in the former mine Schacht Konrad, an ultimate disposal place for radioactive waste has been planned since 1975.

Population development

Population figures in order to the then area, i.e. until 1942 the contemporary quarter Salzgitter-Bad and from 1942 on the Independent City Watenstedt-Salzgitter and Salzgitter respectively.

Year Population figures
1821 2,258
1848 2,654
1871 2,752
1885 2,681
1905 2,837
1925 2,852
1933 19,164
1942 108,480
1946 93,260
1948 110,247
1950 108,888
6 June 1961 ¹ 110,200
1965 115,500
1970 119,000
1975 119,000
1980 113,500
25 May 1987[T 1] 111,069
1989 111,676
30 June 1997 116,300
October 2003 109,632
September 2004 108,614
February 2005 108,174
  1. ↑ Census amount

Religions

The area of the contemporary city Salzgitter originally belonged to the diocese of Hildesheim. In 1568, the Reformation was established in Salzgitter. Two superintendencies came into existence. The southern part of the area where the city is nowadays (Superintendency Salzgitter) belonged to the Province of Hanover and so to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover (Consistory in Hildesheim). The northern part (superintendency Lebenstedt), however, belonged to the state of Braunschweig and so to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Braunschweig.

When the city Watenstedt-Salzgitter originated (1942), the whole city area was attached to the state of Braunschweig, both politically and ecclesiastically. Thus all parishes of Salzgitter belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Braunschweig nowadays. The two superintendencies are called Propstei today. However, the Propsteien Salzgitter-Bad and Salzgitter-Lebenstedt also comprise parishes that do not belong to the city of Salzgitter.

The Catholics, who moved into the city again afterwards, belonged - like before the Reformation - to the diocese of Hildesheim, which established a separate deanery in Salzgitter, to which all parishes of the city belong nowadays.

Beside the two big churches, there are parishes, too, that belong to Free Churches, for example a Baptist parish, the Church of God, the Plymouth Brethren and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In addition, there are several New Apostolic Churches in Salzgitter. Due to the immigration of foreign workers during the 1970s, there are some Islamic mosques and societies.

Politics

After the creation of Salzgitter a state commissar was set in place as provisional Mayer of the city of Watenstedt-Salzgitter. After World War II, the military government of the British zone of occupation installed the communal constitution of Britain. Furthermore, there is an elected Council in place. The Council elects one of its members Mayor (German: Oberbürgermeister) as leader and representative of the city. Besides, from 1946 on there was the Oberstadtdirektor as the Chief Executive of the City Council. Since 2001, the office of the leader of the Council and the Chief Executive are merged into one, simply called Mayor. Being elected by the people, he represents the city and leads the Council.

Coat of arms

In Salzgitter's Coat of Arms there is a silver furnace visible behind a silver pinnacle wall, on which there is a buckler whose upper ground is green and adorned with two saltern instruments and whose lower ground is gold and adorned with a black sledge and black iron. On the red ground behind the furnace, there are two wheaten ears.

The Coat of Arms stands for the agriculture, which is important for many villages of Salzgitter, on the one hand, and for the industry, which led to Salzgitter's foundation, on the other hand.

This Coat of Arms is from 1951. Before, Watenstedt-Salzgitter had got a different one. Also the former town Salzgitter had got various coats of arms from 1854 on.

Like many German cities, Salzgitter has used the city's logo for some years. It is a green field with a white snaking way that narrows towards the horizon.

Town twinnings

The City of Salzgitter is twinned to these cities and towns:

Economy and infrastructure

Traffic

Road

In the north of Salzgitter, there is an Autobahn (A 39) from Braunschweig to the interchange Salzgitter (where you can change to Autobahn 7 (Kassel-Hanover). Salzgitter has got five grade-separated interchanges to this Autobahn. East from Salzgitter, there is the Autobahn 395 (Braunschweig-Goslar), which can be reached from Salzgitter by four interchanges.
Moreover, two Bundesstraßen (German highways) go through Salzgitter.

Railway

Salzgitter has six train stations. The most important one is in the quarter Salzgitter-Ringelheim, the most central one in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt. There is no Hauptbahnhof (main train station or union station) in Salzgitter. Salzgitter-Ringelheim's station is located at the lines Halle (Saale)-Goslar-Salzgitter-Hildesheim-Hanover. Another line leads into the Harz Mountains and to Braunschweig, passing Salzgitter-Bad. Salzgitter-Lebenstedt is the end of a local line coming from Braunschweig and passing the other train stops of Salzgitter.

Public transport

There are three bus companies in Salzgitter. The bus is quite important considering Salzgitter consists of many, spread villages.

Media

In Salzgitter, the daily newspaper Salzgitter-Zeitung and the Sunday newspaper Salzgitter-Woche am Sonntag are published. There is the event calendar Salzgitter Szene and the online magazine Salzgitter-aktuell. Furthermore, the local TV channel TV 38 is broadcasted by cable television.

Important companies in Salzgitter

Public institutions

Salzgitter is seat of these public institutions:

Education

Since 1993, there is a site of the Fachhochschule Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, where you can study

In addition, you can study after having completed a study in the past

and - by correspondence course -

The other sites of the Fachhochschule are Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel and Wolfsburg.

Furthermore, there are several general-education schools (meaning that general knowledge is taught there in contrast to occupation-specific knowledge) and vocational schools, among them three grammar schools, the Gymnasium Salzgitter-Bad, the Gymnasium am Fredenberg and the Kranich-Gymnasium, the latter two located at Salzgitter-Lebenstedt.

For education outside school, there is the Volkshochschule Salzgitter with sites in Salzgitter-Bad and in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt.

Culture and sights

Libraries

There are three public libraries in Salzgitter. The main-library is located in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt (155 000 media) with branch-libraries in Salzgitter-Bad (42 000 media) and Salzgitter-Fredenberg (25 000 media).

Theatre

There is no theatre in Salzgitter nor any building used as one. Yet there are several representations at various places. For example, in Salzgitter-Bad there is a society rooting in the students' theater of the local grammar-school that supports the amateur play. They act on various stages, with an auditory between 100 and 600 people. Furthermore, there are irregular performances of musicals.

Museums

Buildings

Other sights

Regular events

References

  1. ↑ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia. Neuengamme. Accessed 18 April 2007.

External links

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Region
Hanover
Urban districts
Braunschweig · Delmenhorst · Emden · Oldenburg · Osnabrück · Salzgitter · Wilhelmshaven · Wolfsburg
Rural districts
Ammerland · Aurich · Bentheim · Celle · Cloppenburg · Cuxhaven · Diepholz · Emsland · Friesland · Gifhorn · Goslar · Göttingen · Hamelin-Pyrmont · Harburg · Helmstedt · Hildesheim · Holzminden · Leer · Lüchow-Dannenberg · Lüneburg · Nienburg · Northeim · Oldenburg · Osnabrück · Osterholz · Osterode · Peine · Rotenburg · Schaumburg · Soltau-Fallingbostel · Stade · Uelzen · Vechta · Verden · Wesermarsch · Wittmund · Wolfenbüttel