Helmstedt
| Helmstedt | |
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 Helmstedt
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Location of the city of Helmstedt within Helmstedt district
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| Coordinates | 52°13′41″N 11°00′38″E / 52.22806°N 11.01056°ECoordinates: 52°13′41″N 11°00′38″E / 52.22806°N 11.01056°E |
| Administration | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Helmstedt |
| Town subdivisions | 4 Boroughs |
| Mayor | Heinz-Dieter Eisermann (Ind.) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 46.97 km2 (18.14 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 123 m (404 ft) |
| Population | 23,686 (31 December 2011)[1] |
| - Density | 504 /km2 (1,306 /sq mi) |
| First mentioned | 952 |
| Received city status | 1247 |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | HE |
| Postal code | 38350 |
| Area code | 05351 |
| Website | www.stadt-helmstedt.de |
Helmstedt (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛlmˌʃtɛt]) is a city located at the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. Helmstedt has 26,000 inhabitants (2004). In former times the city was also called Helmstädt.
Helmstedt developed in the vicinity of the Benedictine St. Ludger's Abbey that was founded around 800 by Saint Liudger as a mission station. Helmstedt was first mentioned in 952; it became a city in 1247. It belonged to the Abbacy of Werden until 1490, when it was bought by the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. From 1576 to 1810, the University of Helmstedt was located here.
From the late 1940s to 1990, the town was the site of a major border crossing between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. The main rail and autobahn route between West Germany and Berlin, across the GDR, began at the Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing, also known as Checkpoint Alpha. Official military traffic from NATO countries to West Berlin was only allowed to use this route.
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Mayor's office (built 1904 - 1906)
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The "Owl Tower" of the medieval town wall
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The Hausmannsturm of Helmstedt
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Memorial to the former border between West and East Germany
[edit] Famous citizens
- Franz Heinrich Ludolf Ahrens, classicist
- Bibiana Beglau, actress
- Victor von Bruns, physician
- Hans Krebs, military officer
- Rudolf Leuckart, biologist
- Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein, zoologist
- Andree Wiedener, footballer
- Johann Christian Freidrich Heyer, Lutheran minister in America, First Lutheran Missionary from America to India (1841)
- Johann Andreas Graeffer (1 January 1746 —7 August 1802) botanist and nurseryman remembered by garden historians as having introduced a number of exotic plants to British gardens and to have worked for the king of Naples at the Palace of Caserta.
In addition, see the list of famous students and professors of the University of Helmstedt.
[edit] Twinnings
Vitré, France since 1978
Chard, United Kingdom since 1980
Albuquerque, United States since 1983
Fiuggi, Italy since 1986
Haldensleben, Germany since 1990
Svetlahorsk, Belarus since 1991
Orăştie, Romania since 2002
[edit] References and external links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helmstedt |
- Official site (in German)
- District Emmerstedt (in German)
- Helmstedt-CITYTOUR (photo-gallery)
- Map of Helmstedt
- Photos and information on Helmstedt's role in Allied military rail operations in 1969-70
- Riding with the locomotive engineer (engine driver) across the former intra-German frontier in 2005
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Helmstedt". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Landesbetrieb für Statistik und Kommunikationstechnologie Niedersachsen – Bevölkerungsfortschreibung
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