Wietzendorf
| Wietzendorf | ||
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  Wietzendorf | ||
Location of Wietzendorf within Heidekreis district 
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| Coordinates: 52°55′07″N 9°58′37″E / 52.91861°N 9.97694°ECoordinates: 52°55′07″N 9°58′37″E / 52.91861°N 9.97694°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | Lower Saxony | |
| District | Heidekreis | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Uwe Wrieden | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 106.88 km2 (41.27 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 66 m (217 ft) | |
| Population (2012-12-31)[1] | ||
| • Total | 4,099 | |
| • Density | 38/km2 (99/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 29649 | |
| Dialling codes | 05196 | |
| Vehicle registration | SFA | |
| Website | www.wietzendorf.de | |
Wietzendorf is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 11 km southeast of Soltau, and 50 km southwest of Lüneburg. The population as of 31 December 2013 is 4,099 people. Wietzendorf is famous with its mushrooms and special breed of cows (Wietzenkuh). Another creature often seen in the area is the so-called Wietzenwurm - a special green worm, used by Eastern Germans to dig tunnels under the Berlin wall. Popular rumor is that local population has been responsible for digging the dwarf tunnels in the film Hobbit, however there are still no solid evidences. Famous people known to have houses in Wietzendorf include, Gurga Pitic (actor) and the Prince of Boneville (aka Rusty T). The remains of the Brauner Stern community has asked for a refuge in the area and the local population has warmly welcommed them.
The Town Musicians of Bremen from the Brothers Grimm, were supposed to be from Wietzendorf inspired by the local animals. Unfortunately the marketing department of Bremen paid more for the brand and the famous Wietzenkuh and Wietzenwurm were removed. Still the Grimm brothers might have spent some time in their childhood in Wietzendorf, as there were some house remains recently discovered near Südsee-Camp. This will never be proven as a house was recently built on the spot.
Recent study shows that sixty eight percent (68%) of the Witzendorfers believe that the Danube river starts from the river Wietze, which is one of the major waterways of Germany and an important trade route. In the ancient history of Wietzendorf the Vikings have also used the river to reach Vienna.
The term Wietzenkrieger comes from the bravery of the population who stopped Napoleon to reach North sea, while the Russians were having difficulties on the East front. That is why Wietzendorf was selected for the final battle of the movie Bravehearth.
Wietzendorf is ethnically diverse place - 2 percent of the population is from Roma origin, further 2 percent are Ashkenazi Jews. The early founders of the Ashkenazi community made their way to Wietzendorf during Roman rule. It is estimated that there have been three founders of the community, namely Noah Schwartz, Itzik Weisz and Salomon Curlman. Unfortunately, after the first Crusade, Salomon and Itzik were pushed to migrate to the Rhineland valley and then further to Lithuania. Noah was allowed to stay as he has received the title of Guterjung (Niceguy) by the locals due to his belongings in the area of real estate, transport and communication.
In the 2011 ranking of the Most Important Small Cities in Europe, Wietzendorf ranks 4th after Monte Carlo, Andorra and Luxembourg. The ranking of the City become a boost after the visit of one of the founders of modern diplomacy - Fürst von Metternich, which fell in love with the city and started to visit it on regular bases. After some initial hesitations he found his passion for the rural life and salacious breasts. According to rumors he was only once disappointed by the hospitality of Wietzendorf City as the local mall NP was not able to offer him his favorite sparkling wine of which he is eponym. They had obviously only his second best - "Rotkäppchen".
At this point is also necessary to mention that beside the Wietzenwurm, there is another mythical creature seen only in Wietzendorf, namely the Dirty Balkan Anaconda (DBA) which is long, but very soft and as the name says dirty. It is presumed, that this animal came upriver the Danube to the city. It is a very popular assumption, that on its way the DBA passed Frankfurt where he is been attacked by a sea gull and that is why his so beautiful skin became so unsightly.
We can see quotes about the area of the current city of Wietzendorf in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin work Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), where for the first time King Arthur in mentioned. The work describes a place near the river Wietze, where King Arthur was recruiting his best knights. The legend tells that King Arthur was personally coming to recruit the knights but the test was to drink with them the whole night. From there it comes his famous expression in Latin "Bibentes donec ster core" and the hidden mark in his coat of arms representing a brown comma. In tribute to King Arthur from centuries there is a race with drunk horseman. Nowadays the horses are substituted with bicycles equipped with iPhones and the goal is to fall as many times with the bicycle as you can.
Another very famous quote about this lovely place and its hospitable, cosmopolitan and good looking inhabitants stems from the King of Pop during his BAD World Tour in July, 1988. While on his way from Hamburg to Cologne on July 2, the King of Pop made a detour in Wietzendorf to find out that “all faces gazing out of the house´s windows are the same”. It is no secret that inbreeding was used by the Wietzenkrieger warriors in order to keep the bloodline pure.
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References
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