Rotenburg an der Wümme

This article is about the town in Lower Saxony. For other places with the same name, see Rotenburg (disambiguation).

Rotenburg an der Wümme
Town hall
Rotenburg an der Wümme
Location of the town of Rotenburg an der Wümme within Rotenburg (Wümme) district
Coordinates	53°06′25″N 9°23′49″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Rotenburg (Wümme)
Town subdivisions	5 districts
Mayor	Detlef Eichinger (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area	98.81 km2 (38.15 sq mi)
Elevation	30 m  (98 ft)
Population	21,821 (31 December 2010)
- Density	221 /km2 (572 /sq mi)
Founded	1195
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	ROW
Postal code	27356
Area code	04261
Website	www.rotenburg-wuemme.de

Rotenburg an der Wümme (until May 1969: Rotenburg in Hannover) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Rotenburg.

Cast in bronze by Carsten Eggers: Drei Generationen (Three generations); centre of Wümme

Geography

Rotenburg is situated at the Wümme river, which in turn lies between the rivers Elbe and Weser at about the same latitude as Hamburg and Bremen, the latter lying 40 km to the west. It is often called "Rotenburg (Wümme)" in order to distinguish it from the town Rotenburg an der Fulda in Hesse and Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria.

History

The town was founded in 1195, when the Prince-Bishop Rudolf I of Verden built a castle at the place. Then the town belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, established in 1180. The castle took its name from the colour of the bricks (rot means "red", Burg "castle"). The adjoining settlement remained a tiny village until the 19th century.

In 1648 the Prince-Bishopric was transformed into the Principality of Verden, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown - interrupted by a Danish occupation (1712–1715) - and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown. The Kingdom of Hanover incorporated the Principality in a real union and the Princely territory, including Rotenburg upon Wümme, became part of the new Stade Region, established in 1823. In 1866 Prussia annexed the territory from Hannover. That's why Rotenburg were called Rotenburg in Hannover. In May 1969 town and district changed their name to Rotenburg an der Wümme. 2006 during the World Cup Rotenburg was the host for the national team from Trinidad and Tobago.

Sights

• Evangelical-Lutheran Stadtkirche (build from 1860–1862, with baptismal font from the 16th century and a bell from the 14th century)
• War Memorial 1914/18 in memory for the fallen rotenburger in World War I
• Half-timbered houses in Goethestraße and Große Straße.
• Heimatmuseum (museum of local history)
• Fountain Paar-oh-die at the Neuen Markt

Education

• Kantor-Helmke-Schule (primary school)
• Schule am Grafel (primary school)
• Stadtschule (primary school)
• Theodor-Heuss-Schule (Hauptschule)
• Realschule
• Pestalozzischule (Sonderschule)
• Ratsgymnasium
• Berufsbildende Schule (vocational school)
• Fachschule für Sozialpädagogik (Diakonissenmutterhaus)
• Fachschule für Heilerziehungspflege (Health education nursing)
• Kinderkrankenpflegeschule (children's nursing)
• Lindenschule (conducive school for spiritual development)
• Krankenpflegeschule (Nursing)
• Kreismusikschule (music school)
• Montessori-Grundschule
• Volkshochschule

Important Institutions

• Local group of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relife(Technisches Hilfswerk)

Twinning

• Aalter, Belgium
• Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany
• Rotenburg a.d. Fulda, Hesse, Germany
• Rothenburg/Oberlausitz, Saxony, Germany
• Rothenburg (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
• Rothenburg LU, Switzerland
• Czerwieńsk, Poland