Misplaced Pages

#746253

124-736: A powerful and influential centre of commerce in medieval Germany, Brunswick was a member of the Hanseatic League from the 13th until the 17th century. It was the capital city of three successive states: the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1269–1432, 1754–1807, and 1813–1814), the Duchy of Brunswick (1814–1918), and the Free State of Brunswick (1918–1946). Today, Brunswick is the second-largest city in Lower Saxony and

248-586: A coalition government . An uprising in Braunschweig in 1919, led by the communist Spartacus League , was defeated when Freikorps troops under Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker took over the city on order of the German Minister of Defence, Gustav Noske . An MSPD-led government was subsequently established; in December 1921, a new constitution was approved for the Free State of Brunswick , now

372-743: A parliamentary republic within the Weimar Republic , again with Braunschweig as its capital. After the Landtag election of 1930, Brunswick became the second state in Germany where the Nazis participated in government, when the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) formed a coalition government with several conservative and right-wing parties. With the support of Dietrich Klagges , Brunswick's minister of

496-702: A socialist workers' council forced Duke Ernest Augustus to abdicate. On 10 November, the council proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Brunswick under one-party government by the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD); however, the subsequent Landtag election on 22 December 1918 was won by the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), and the USPD and MSPD formed

620-544: A 15 kilometer radius. Braunschweig's urban area makes it a bigger city compared to others with a similar size e.g. Aachen , Wiesbaden or Gelsenkirchen , and since the urban area is not significantly smaller than Hanover , it makes itself an important and major city in Lower Saxony . Companies like New Yorker , Salzgitter AG , Jägermeister , Siemens , Bosch , Volkswagen , Nordzucker , Continental , Kosatec  [ de ] and others are headquartered or have

744-612: A Wendish offensive, towns from Prussia and the Netherlands, and eventually joined by Wendish towns, allied in the Confederation of Cologne in 1368, sacked Copenhagen and Helsingborg , and forced Valdemar IV, King of Denmark , and his son-in-law Haakon VI, King of Norway , to grant tax exemptions and influence over Øresund fortresses for 15 years in the peace treaty of Stralsund in 1370. It extended privileges in Scania to

868-482: A branch in this area. Information about the Urban Agglomeration in 2024 : Population : 401,234 Area size: 585.16 Density : 698 per square Kilometer Migration background percentage : 44.7% Largest cities, districts and towns : Braunschweig , Salzgitter , Kreis Wolfenbüttel , Lehrte , Kreis Cremlingen , Kreis Gifhorn , Vechelde , Lengede The population of the urban area with

992-593: A consortium of 7 Hanseatic cities, and enjoyed full Hanseatic trading privileges. It went to Margaret in 1398. The Victual Brothers controlled Gotland in 1398. It was conquered by the Teutonic Order with support from the Prussian towns and its privileges were restored. The grandmaster of the Teutonic Order was often seen as the head of the Hanse ( caput Hansae ), both abroad and by some League members. Over

1116-454: A date of foundation. Historians traditionally traced its origins to the rebuilding of the north German town of Lübeck in 1159 by the powerful Henry the Lion , Duke of Saxony and Bavaria , after he had captured the area from Adolf II , Count of Schauenburg and Holstein . More recent scholarship has deemphasized Lübeck, viewing it as one of several regional trading centers, and presenting

1240-632: A lion, his heraldic animal, erected in front of the castle. The lion subsequently became the city's landmark. Henry the Lion became so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to the Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa , which led to his banishment in 1182. Henry went into exile in England. He had previously established ties to the English crown in 1168, through his marriage to King Henry II of England 's daughter Matilda , sister of Richard

1364-551: A major centre of scientific research and development. The date and circumstances of the town's foundation are unknown. Tradition maintains that Brunswick was created through the merger of two settlements, one founded by Brun(o) , a Saxon count who died in 880, on one side of the River Oker – the legend gives the year 861 for the foundation – and the other the settlement of a legendary Count Dankward , after whom Dankwarderode Castle (the "Castle of Dankward's clearing"), which

SECTION 10

#1732771994747

1488-513: A migration background is 178,998 in 2023, making it 44.7% of the population. This makes the agglomeration one of the most diverse in Germany and the most in Lower Saxony. The city is unique because unlike most cities with migrant populations concentrated inside the city itself, higher number of migrant populations are also found in surrounding areas. Braunschweig's urban agglomeration has a higher migration percentage compared to its city due to industrialization and other major factors since 2011. One of

1612-522: A political mission, when he accompanied the Weimarsch minister, his duke, Charles Augustus . At a time when the political situation between Austria and Prussia had heated up once again, the small and medium-sized German states planned the creation of a larger princely state as a counterbalancing force. Duke Charles William Ferdinand of Brunswick was to be asked to join this league of princes ( Fürstenbund ) which he did on 30 August. The secret mission

1736-455: A representative merchant and warehouse. Often they were not permanently manned. In Scania , Denmark, around 30 Hanseatic seasonal factories produced salted herring, these were called vitten and were granted legal autonomy to the extent that Burkhardt argues that they resembled a fifth kontor and would be seen as such if not for their early decline. In England, factories in Boston (the outpost

1860-641: A resounding defeat in the Battle of Soltau , eventually resulted in large territorial gains accruing to Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In the Thirty Years War Wolfenbüttel was the strongest fortress in North Germany but survived the war heavily damaged. The Wolfenbüttel line died out during the war. In 1571 the castle and village of Calvörde became part of the principality thanks to Duke Julius of Brunswick . In 1635 Duke Augustus

1984-615: A treaty with the Visby Hansa, northern German merchants made regular stops at Gotland. In the first half of the 13th century, they established their own trading station or Kontor in Novgorod, known as the Peterhof , up the river Volkhov . Lübeck soon became a base for merchants from Saxony and Westphalia trading eastward and northward; for them, because of its shorter and easier access route and better legal protections, it

2108-533: A variety of vessel types for shipping across the seas and navigating rivers. The most emblematic type was the cog . Expressing diversity in construction, it was depicted on Hanseatic seals and coats of arms. By the end of the Middle Ages, the cog was replaced by types like the hulk , which later gave way to larger carvel ships. Hanse is the Old High German word for a band or troop. This word

2232-631: Is 9.9 °C (49.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 614.8 mm (24.20 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 18.7 °C (65.7 °F), and lowest in January, at around 1.8 °C (35.2 °F). The Braunschweig weather station has recorded the following extreme values: Parks and gardens in the city include the botanical garden Botanischer Garten der Technischen Universität Braunschweig , founded in 1840 by Johann Heinrich Blasius ,

2356-551: Is Thorsten Kornblum of the Social Democratic Party (SPD); he has been mayor since 2021. The most recent mayoral election was held on 12 September 2021, with a runoff held on 26 September, and the results were as follows: The Braunschweig city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 12 September 2021, and the results were as follows: Braunschweig's city centre

2480-561: Is mostly a car-free pedestrian zone . Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German towns in the late 12th century, the League expanded between the 13th and 15th centuries and ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across eight modern-day countries, ranging from Estonia in

2604-627: Is that it comes from Brand , or burning, indicating a place which developed after the landscape was cleared through burning. The city was first mentioned in documents from the St. Magni Church from 1031, which give the city's name as Brunesguik . Up to the 12th century, Brunswick was ruled by the Saxon noble family of the Brunonids ; then, through marriage, the town fell to the House of Welf . In 1142, Henry

SECTION 20

#1732771994747

2728-483: Is unknown. Piera Sonnino (1922–1999), an Italian author, writes of her imprisonment in Braunschweig in her book, This Has Happened , published in English in 2006 by MacMillan Palgrave. The Allied air raid on October 15, 1944, destroyed most of the city's churches, and the Altstadt (old town), the largest homogeneous ensemble of half-timbered houses in Germany. 100 out of 800 half-timbered houses survived as well as

2852-533: The Battle of Auerstedt . After a short interregnum Brunswick was occupied from 1807 to 1813 by the French and became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia . After the end of Napoleonic rule the state was re-established under the name of the Duchy of Brunswick . The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern emerged from an inheritance dispute between Ferdinand Albert I and his brothers. In 1667 Ferdinand Albert

2976-642: The Burgundian State . The city of Lübeck faced financial troubles in 1403, leading dissenting craftsmen to establish a supervising committee in 1405. This triggered a governmental crisis in 1408 when the committee rebelled and established a new town council. Similar revolts broke out in Wismar and Rostock, with new town councils established in 1410. The crisis was ended in 1418 by a compromise. Eric of Pomerania succeeded Margaret in 1412 and sought to expand into Schleswig and Holstein levying tolls at

3100-812: The Bürgerpark , the Löwenwall with an obelisk from 1825, the Prinz-Albrecht-Park , and the Inselwallpark . Other parks and recreation areas are Stadtpark , Westpark , Theaterpark , Museumpark , Heidbergsee , Südsee , Ölpersee , the zoological garden Arche Noah Zoo Braunschweig and the nearby Essehof Zoo . Braunschweig is made up of 19 boroughs (German: Stadtbezirke ), which themselves may consist of several quarters (German: Stadtteile ) each. The 19 boroughs, with their official numbers, are: The current mayor of Braunschweig

3224-654: The Congress of Vienna in 1815, Brunswick was made capital of the re-established independent Duchy of Brunswick , later a constituent state of the German Empire from 1871. In the aftermath of the July Revolution in 1830, in Brunswick duke Charles II was forced to abdicate. His absolutist governing style had previously alienated the nobility and bourgeoisie , while the lower classes were disaffected by

3348-605: The Griffin dukes of Pomerania were in constant conflict over control of the Pomeranian Hanseatic towns. While not successful at first, Bogislav X eventually subjugated Stettin and Köslin , curtailing the region's economy and independence. A major Hansa economic advantage was its control of the shipbuilding market, mainly in Lübeck and Danzig. The League sold ships throughout Europe. The economic crises of

3472-667: The Grüne Moschee in Wolfenbüttel, Fatih Moschee Salzgitter and the Albanischer-Kulturverein in Gifhorn. A total of 84,994 of Braunschweig's residents, including citizens with second passport , had a migration background in 2023 (31.2% of the total population). Weststadt has the highest migration percentage being 63%. Among those, 39,785 were non-German citizens (15%); the following table lists up

3596-677: The Juliusstadt in the east and the Heinrichstadt . Following the twelfth division of the duchy in 1495, whereby the Principality of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen was re-divided into its component territories, Duke Henry the Elder was given the land of Brunswick, to which the name of the new Residenz at Wolfenbüttel was added. From then on the name of the principality became "Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel". The reigns of dukes Henry

3720-826: The Kingdom of Poland , (from 1466 to 1569 referred to as Royal Prussia , region of Poland) by the Second Peace of Thorn . Poland in turn was heavily supported by the Holy Roman Empire through family connections and by military assistance under the Habsburgs . Kraków , then the Polish capital, had a loose association with the Hansa. The lack of customs borders on the River Vistula after 1466 helped to gradually increase Polish grain exports, transported down

3844-513: The Kontor of Bruges , became significant enclaves . The London Kontor , the Steelyard , stood west of London Bridge near Upper Thames Street , on the site later occupied by Cannon Street station . It grew into a walled community with its warehouses, weigh house , church, offices, and homes. In addition to the major Kontors , individual ports with Hanseatic trading outposts or factories had

Braunschweig - Misplaced Pages Continue

3968-580: The Meier could also quit. This change usually meant that the Meier family did not move out when the contract expired or when the farmer died; i.e. that the family were not prematurely evicted as would have been the case before. In 1563 it was decreed by Henry the Younger that every 6 years Meier and Grundherr had to negotiate the extension of the estate lease; later this was increased to 9 years. In his Landtag farewell in 1597, "Duke" Henry Julius made

4092-413: The Peterhof from 1443 to 1448. After extended conflicts with the League from the 1370s, English traders gained trade privileges in the Prussian region via the treaties of Marienburg (the first in 1388, the last in 1409). Their influence increased, while the importance of Hanseatic trade in England decreased over the 15th century. Over the 15th century, tensions between the Prussian region and

4216-468: The Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , who ruled over one of the subdivisions of Brunswick-Lüneburg, finally moved their Residenz out of the city and to the nearby town of Wolfenbüttel in 1432. The Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel did not regain control over the city until the late 17th century, when Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg , took the city by siege. In the 18th century Brunswick

4340-774: The Scania Market ; Cologne joined them in the Diet of 1260. The towns raised their armies, with each guild required to provide levies when needed. The Hanseatic cities aided one another, and commercial ships often served to carry soldiers and their arms. The network of alliances grew to include a flexible roster of 70 to 170 cities. In the West, cities of the Rhineland such as Cologne enjoyed trading privileges in Flanders and England. In 1266, King Henry III of England granted

4464-457: The Vistula , from 10,000 short tons (9,100 t) per year, in the late 15th century, to over 200,000 short tons (180,000 t) in the 17th century. The Hansa-dominated maritime grain trade made Poland one of the main areas of its activity, helping Danzig to become the Hansa's largest city. Polish kings soon began to reduce the towns' political freedoms. Beginning in the mid-15th century,

4588-837: The Yorkist side during the Wars of the Roses of 1455–1487. Tsar Ivan III of Russia closed the Hanseatic Kontor at Novgorod in 1494 and deported its merchants to Moscow, in an attempt to reduce Hanseatic influence on Russian trade. At the time, only 49 traders were at the Peterhof. The fur trade was redirected to Leipzig, taking out the Hansards; while the Hanseatic trade with Russia moved to Riga, Reval, and Pleskau. When

4712-664: The "Wendish" cities (Lübeck and its eastern neighbours) increased. Lübeck was dependent on its role as center of the Hansa; Prussia's main interest, on the other hand, was the export of bulk products such as grain and timber to England, the Low Countries and later on Spain and Italy. Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg , tried to assert authority over the Hanseatic towns Berlin and Cölln in 1442 and blocked all Brandenburg towns from participating in Hanseatic diets. For some Brandenburg towns, this ended their Hanseatic involvement. In 1488, John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg did

4836-553: The 1380s, the League regained its trade privileges in 1392, agreeing to Russian trade privileges for Livonia and Gotland. In 1424, all German traders of the Petershof kontor in Novgorod were imprisoned and 36 of them died. Although rare, arrests and seizures in Novgorod were particularly violent. In response, and due to the ongoing war between Novgorod and the Livonian Order , the League blockaded Novgorod and abandoned

4960-466: The 15th century, the League became further institutionalized. This was in part a response to challenges in governance and competition with rivals, but also reflected changes in trade. A slow shift occurred from loose participation to formal recognition/revocation. Another general trend was Hanseatic cities' increased legislation of their kontors abroad. Only the Bergen kontor grew more independent in this period. In Novgorod, after extended conflict since

5084-461: The 1980s. In the 1990s - after the German reunification - it began to grow again as many East Germans moved there due to its close close proximity to former East Germany . Currently, Braunschweig has a strong focus on research and development. According to 2019 data, it has the highest R&D intensity (ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP ) in the entire EU and over 4% of all employed people are R&D personnel. In 2015, 91,785 people (or 36.3% of

Braunschweig - Misplaced Pages Continue

5208-427: The 1990s, efforts increased to reconstruct historic buildings that had been destroyed in the air raid. The façade of the Braunschweiger Schloss was rebuilt, and buildings such as the Alte Waage (originally built in 1534) now stand again. Braunschweig has a population of 250,000 and is the 2nd largest city in Lower Saxony . Braunschweig is considered as one of the oldest cities in Germany, founded in 1031 by Henry

5332-420: The 20th century. In front of the Herzogtor , the number of gardens grew, until they eventually reached the Lechlum Wood ( Lechlumer Holz ). Its southern edge was graced by the little Lustschloss of Antoinettenruh , built in 1733 instead of a garden house, a work by the master builder, Hermann Korb, who was so important to Wolfenbüttel. Wolfenbüttel became a town of schools. In 1753 the teachers' training college

5456-461: The Baltic. Although the blockade of the grain trade hurt Holland and Zeeland more than Hanseatic cities, it was against Prussian interest to maintain it. In 1454, the year of the marriage of Elisabeth of Austria to King-Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland-Lithuania , the towns of the Prussian Confederation rose up against the dominance of the Teutonic Order and asked Casimir IV for help. Gdańsk (Danzig), Thorn and Elbing became part of

5580-449: The BraWo Park's parking lot is today, held about 800 male prisoners, who were forced to work in the arms production at Büssing-NAG . After about 300 had died due to disease, hunger, and maltreatment over the course of just a few months, a further 200 were transferred to the infirmary of a nearby subcamp in early January 1945 in order to reduce the number of deaths. However, this was only effective to some degree, as another 80 bodies landed in

5704-493: The Carpathians were another important source of copper and iron, often sold in Thorn . Lubeck had a vital role in the salt trade; salt was acquired in Lüneburg or shipped from France and Portugal and sold on Central European markets, taken to Scania to salt herring, or exported to Russia. Stockfish was traded from Bergen in exchange for grain; Hanseatic grain inflows allowed more permanent settlements further north in Norway. The league also traded beer, with beer from Hanseatic towns

5828-401: The Danish dominion, as had Hamburg in 1189. Also in this period Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, and Danzig received city charters. Hansa societies worked to remove trade restrictions for their members. The earliest documentary mention (although without a name) of a specific German commercial federation dates between 1173 and 1175 (commonly misdated to 1157) in London. That year, the merchants of

5952-436: The German and Scandinavian coasts, making it the best-lighted coast in the world, largely thanks to the Hansa. The weakening of imperial power and imperial protection under the late Hohenstaufen dynasty forced the League to institutionalize a cooperating network of cities with a fluid structure, called the Städtehanse , but it never became a formal organization and the Kaufmannshanse continued to exist. This development

6076-458: The Hansa in Cologne convinced King Henry II of England to exempt them from all tolls in London and to grant protection to merchants and goods throughout England. German colonists in the 12th and 13th centuries settled in numerous cities on and near the east Baltic coast, such as Elbing ( Elbląg ), Thorn ( Toruń ), Reval ( Tallinn ), Riga , and Dorpat ( Tartu ), all of which joined the League, and some of which retain Hansa buildings and bear

6200-520: The Hanseatic League remained a loosely aligned confederation of city-states . It lacked a permanent administrative body, a treasury, and a standing military force. In the 14th century, the Hanseatic League instated an irregular negotiating diet that operated based on deliberation and consensus . By the mid-16th century, these weak connections left the Hanseatic League vulnerable, and it gradually unraveled as members merged into other realms or departed, ultimately disintegrating in 1669. The League used

6324-603: The Hanseatic network of merchant guilds. The dominant language of trade was Middle Low German , which had a significant impact on the languages spoken in the area, particularly the larger Scandinavian languages , Estonian , and Latvian . Visby , on the island of Gotland, functioned as the leading center in the Baltic before the Hansa. Sailing east, Visby merchants established a trading post at Novgorod called Gutagard (also known as Gotenhof ) in 1080. In 1120, Gotland gained autonomy from Sweden and admitted traders from its southern and western regions. Thereafter, under

SECTION 50

#1732771994747

6448-413: The League as the combination of a north German trading system oriented on the Baltic and a Rhinelandic trading system targeting England and Flanders. German cities speedily dominated trade in the Baltic during the 13th century, and Lübeck became a central node in the seaborne trade that linked the areas around the North and Baltic seas . Lübeck hegemony peaked during the 15th century. Well before

6572-592: The League's power and tried to diminish it. For example, in London, local merchants exerted continuing pressure for the revocation of privileges. Most foreign cities confined Hanseatic traders to specific trading areas and their trading posts. The refusal of the Hansa to offer reciprocal arrangements to their counterparts exacerbated the tension. League merchants used their economic power to pressure cities and rulers. They called embargoes, redirected trade away from towns, and boycotted entire countries. Blockades were erected against Novgorod in 1268 and 1277/1278. Bruges

6696-451: The League, including Holland and Zeeland. The treaty marked the height of Hanseatic influence; for this period the League was called a "Northern European great power ". The Confederation lasted until 1385, while the Øresund fortresses were returned to Denmark that year. After Valdemar's heir Olav died, a succession dispute erupted over Denmark and Norway between Albert of Mecklenburg, King of Sweden and Margaret I, Queen of Denmark . This

6820-514: The League. Over the 13th century, older and wealthier long-distance traders increasingly chose to settle in their hometowns as trade leaders, transitioning from their previous roles as landowners. The growing number of settled merchants afforded long-distance traders greater influence over town policies. Coupled with an increased presence in the ministerial class , this elevated the status of merchants and enabled them to expand to and assert dominance over more cities. This decentralized arrangement

6944-411: The Lion of the House of Welf became duke of Saxony and made Braunschweig the capital of his state (which, from 1156 on, also included the Duchy of Bavaria ). He turned Dankwarderode Castle, the residence of the counts of Brunswick , into his own Pfalz and developed the city further to represent his authority. Under Henry's rule, the Cathedral of St. Blasius was built and he also had the statue of

7068-409: The Lion . Braunschweig first reached its peak of over 100,000 in 1890. In the 1960s and 1970s industrialization boomed in Braunschweig due to automobile and other companies coming to Braunschweig and surrounding cities like Wolfsburg and Salzgitter . Braunschweig's population reached its highest peak of population in 1975 with population of about 273,000. Braunschweig's population started to decline in

7192-415: The Lionheart . However, Henry's son Otto , who regained influence and was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor , continued to foster the city's development. During the Middle Ages , Brunswick was an important center of trade, one of the economic and political centers in Northern Europe and a member of the Hanseatic League from the 13th century to the middle of the 17th century. By the year 1600, Brunswick

7316-400: The Lower Weser. The importance of this court was signified by the number of craftsmen needed. Hundreds of timber-framed buildings were built for the court, for its citizens and for ducal facilities, initially randomly, later designed to ducal requirements and for fire protection. In the heyday of the town's development its districts were named after various dukes: the Auguststadt in the west,

7440-542: The Lübeck and Hamburg Hansa a charter for operations in England , initially causing competition with the Westphalians. But the Cologne Hansa and the Wendish Hansa joined in 1282 to form the Hanseatic colony in London, although they didn't completely merge until the 15th century. Novgorod was blockaded in 1268 and 1277/1278. Nonetheless, Westphalian traders continued to dominate trade in London and also Ipswich and Colchester , while Baltic and Wendish traders concentrated between King's Lynn and Newcastle upon Tyne . Much of

7564-420: The Peaceful . According to Bornstedt, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was therefore the first principality in the Holy Roman Empire to do away with feudalism. The recess laid down that all arbitrariness ( Willkür ) in the levies on stewards, or Meier , of feudal manors, particularly on the death of the farmer , were cancelled. the Grundherr or 'lord of the manor' continued to be the owner of the Meier estate, but now

SECTION 60

#1732771994747

7688-540: The Peterhof reopened in 1514, Novgorod was no longer a trade hub. In the same period, the burghers of Bergen tried to develop an independent intermediate trade with the northern population, against the Hansards' obstruction. The League's mere existence and its privileges and monopolies created economic and social tensions that often spilled onto rivalries between League members. Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenb%C3%BCttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ( German : Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel )

7812-404: The Prussian Crown Prince Frederick to Elisabeth Christine . The marriage was arranged by Frederick William I of Prussia and Ferdinand Albert . They also founded the "brotherhood in arms" between the little state and the great Prussian kingdom. Numerous Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel officers served in high positions in the Prussian Army , most notably during the Seven Years' War . The regiments of

7936-451: The Tall) (1236–1279) was given the regions around Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel , Einbeck-Grubenhagen and Göttingen-Oberwald . He thus founded the Old House of Brunswick and laid the basis for what became, later, the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. His brother John (1242–1277) inherited the land around Lüneburg and founded the Old House of Lüneburg. The town of Brunswick remained under joint rule. The area of Brunswick(-Wolfenbüttel)

8060-427: The Younger , Julius and Henry Julius followed, under whose lordship the Residenz of Wolfenbüttel was expanded and the principality gained a Germany-wide standing. In 1500 Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel became part of the Lower Saxon Circle within the Holy Roman Empire . From 1519 to 1523 the principality went to war with the principalities of Hildesheim and Lüneburg in the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud which, despite

8184-412: The Younger , from the collateral line of Lüneburg-Dannenberg, took over the reins of power in the principality and founded the New House of Brunswick. Under his rule, Wolfenbüttel reached its cultural zenith. One of his greatest achievements was the building of the Wolfenbüttel Library , the largest in Europe in its day. In 1671 an old pipe dream of the House of Welf dukes came true when the joint armies of

8308-415: The acquiescence of the state government. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, several state institutions were placed in Braunschweig, including the Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt in Völkenrode , the Hitler Youth Academy for Youth Leadership , and the SS - Junkerschule Braunschweig . With the Reichswerke Hermann Göring in Salzgitter and the Stadt des KdF-Wagens , as well as several factories in

8432-459: The archives, the ecclesiastical office and the library remained as a link to earlier times. From Brunswick there were jibes that Wolfenbüttel had deteriorated into a "widows' residence" ( Witwensitz ). The extensive gardens in front of the three town gates (the Herzogtor , Harztor and Augusttor ) were leased to the former gardeners as an emphyteusis . As a consequence jam factories were established which were characteristic of Wolfenbüttel until

8556-428: The archives—became the nerve centre of a giant region, from which the Wolfenbüttel-Brunswick part of the overall duchy was ruled. For a long time, it also governed the principalities of Calenberg-Göttingen and Grubenhagen , the Prince- Bishopric of Halberstadt , large parts of the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim , the counties of Hohnstein and Regenstein , the baronies of Klettenberg and Lohra and parts of Hoya on

8680-401: The bad economic situation. During the night of 7–8 September 1830, the ducal palace in Brunswick was stormed by an angry mob, set on fire, and destroyed completely. Charles was succeeded by his brother William VIII . During William's reign, liberal reforms were made and Brunswick's parliament was strengthened. During the 19th century, industrialisation caused a rapid growth of population in

8804-463: The city itself (including Büssing and the Volkswagenwerk Braunschweig ), the Braunschweig region became one of the centres of the German arms industry . During the Second World War , Braunschweig was a sub-area headquarters of Wehrkreis XI (one of Germany's military districts), and was the garrison city of the 31st Infantry Division that took part in the invasions of Poland, Belgium, and France, largely being destroyed during its retreat following

8928-630: The city's crematory until the subcamp's closing in March 1945, when Büssing-NAG had to halt production due to severe bombing damages. Today the Gedenkstätte Schillstraße , located very close to the former premises of the subcamp, documents Braunschweig's history during the Third Reich . Büssing-NAG also had another subcamp in the nearby Vechelde , which held a further 400 male prisoners. The subcamp SS-Reitschule , named so as it

9052-552: The city, eventually causing Brunswick to be for the first time significantly enlarged beyond its medieval fortifications and the River Oker. On 1 December 1838, the first section of the Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line connecting Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel opened as the first railway line in Northern Germany, operated by the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway . On 8 November 1918, at the end of World War I ,

9176-593: The city. Emilia Galotti by Lessing and Goethe 's Faust were performed for the first time in Brunswick. In 1806, the city was captured by the French during the Napoleonic Wars and became part of the short-lived Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. The exiled Duke Frederick William raised a volunteer corps, the Black Brunswickers , who fought the French in several battles. After

9300-465: The cottage industry occurred in other fields, e.g. etching, wood carving, armor production, engraving of metals, and wood-turning . The league primarily traded beeswax, furs, timber, resin (or tar), flax, honey, wheat, and rye from the east to Flanders and England with cloth, in particular broadcloth , (and, increasingly, manufactured goods ) going in the other direction. Metal ore (principally copper and iron) and herring came south from Sweden, while

9424-484: The different dynastic lines were able to capture the town of Brunswick and add it to their domain. In 1735 when the dynastic line died out another collateral line emerged: the Brunswick-Bevern line founded in 1666. In 1753–1754 the residence of the dukes of Wolfenbüttel returned to Brunswick, to the newly built Brunswick Palace . The town thus lost the independence it had enjoyed since the 15th century. In

9548-421: The drive for cooperation came from the fragmented nature of existing territorial governments, which did not provide security for trade. Over the next 50 years, the merchant Hansa solidified with formal agreements for co-operation covering the west and east trade routes . Cities from the east modern-day Low Countries, but also Utrecht, Holland, Zealand, Brabant, Namur, and modern Limburg joined in participation over

9672-468: The dukes became weary of the constant disputes with the citizens of the town of Brunswick and, in 1432, moved their Residenz to the water castle of Wolfenbüttel , which lay in a marshy depression of the river Oker about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Brunswick. The castle built here for the Brunswick-Lüneburg dukes—together with the ducal chancery, the consistory , the courts and

9796-509: The interior, the NSDAP organized a large SA rally in Braunschweig. On 17–18 October 1931, 100,000 SA stormtroopers marched through the city; street fights between Nazis, socialists, and communists left several dead or injured. On 25 February 1932, the state of Brunswick granted Adolf Hitler German citizenship to allow him to run in the 1932 German presidential election . In Braunschweig, Nazis carried out several attacks on political enemies, with

9920-578: The invasion of Russia. In this period, thousands of Eastern workers were brought to the city as forced labor , and in the 1943–1945 period at least 360 children taken away from such workers died in the Entbindungsheim für Ostarbeiterinnen ("Maternity Ward for Eastern Workers"). In 1944, two subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp were established in Braunschweig. The subcamp Schillstraße or Büssing-NAG/Schillstraße , located where

10044-408: The largest Vietnamese, Cameroonian and Tunisian populations in Germany are located in the surroundings and within Braunschweig. These are the biggest nationalities in the urban area ( these include the citizens with a migration background and a second passport ): Braunschweig's climate is classified as oceanic ( Köppen : Cfb ; Trewartha : Dobk ). The average annual temperature in Braunschweig

10168-614: The largest minority groups, including citizens with a migration background from a specific nation or region: The estimated migration population in 2025 is 95,961 (35% of 274,233). The urban agglomeration area of Braunschweig is approximately 400,000 in 2024, making it one of the largest regiopolis after Mannheim and Bonn in Germany and the largest one in Lower Saxony . This area includes Wolfenbüttel , Meine , Salzgitter-Thiede , Salzgitter-Lebenstedt , Weddel , Sickte , Timmerlah , Lengede and other towns and regions within

10292-423: The late 15th century did not spare the Hansa. Nevertheless, its eventual rivals emerged in the form of territorial states . New vehicles of credit were imported from Italy. When Flanders and Holland became part of the Duchy of Burgundy , Burgund Dutch and Prussian cities increasingly excluded Lübeck from their grain trade in the 15th and 16th century. Burgund Dutch demand for Prussian and Livonian grain grew in

10416-677: The late 15th century onwards. Nuremberg in Franconia developed an overland route to sell formerly Hansa-monopolised products from Frankfurt via Nuremberg and Leipzig to Poland and Russia, trading Flemish cloth and French wine in exchange for grain and furs from the east. The Hansa profited from the Nuremberg trade by allowing Nurembergers to settle in Hanseatic towns, which the Franconians exploited by taking over trade with Sweden as well. The Nuremberger merchant Albrecht Moldenhauer

10540-417: The late 15th century. These trade interests differed from Wendish interests, threatening political unity, but also showed a trade where the Hanseatic system was impractical. Hollandish freight costs were much lower than the Hansa's, and the Hansa were excluded as middlemen. After naval wars between Burgundy and the Hanseatic fleets, Amsterdam gained the position of leading port for Polish and Baltic grain from

10664-587: The most important places and streets, preserved in 5 areas of the old town. The city's cathedral, which had been converted to a Nationale Weihestätte (national shrine) by the Nazi government, still stood. About 10% of the inner city survived Allied bombing and remain to represent its distinctive architecture. The cathedral was restored to its function as a Protestant church. Outside the old town city centre large historic quarters remain like Östliches Ringgebiet with its Gründerzeit architecture. Politically, after

10788-630: The most valued, and Wendish cities like Lübeck, Hamburg, Wismar, and Rostock developed export breweries for hopped beer. The Hanseatic League, at first the merchant hansas and eventually its cities, relied on power to secure protection and gain and preserve privileges. Bandits and pirates were persistent problems; during wars, these could be joined by privateers . Traders could be arrested abroad and their goods could be confiscated. The league sought to codify protection; internal treaties established mutual defense and external treaties codified privileges. Many locals, merchant and noble alike, envied

10912-634: The north and east, to the Netherlands in the west, and extended inland as far as Cologne , the Prussian regions and Kraków , Poland . The League began as a collection of loosely associated groups of German traders and towns aiming to expand their commercial interests, including protection against robbery. Over time, these arrangements evolved into the League, offering traders toll privileges and protection on affiliated territory and trade routes. Economic interdependence and familial connections among merchant families led to deeper political integration and

11036-468: The population) were Protestant and 34,604 (13.7%) people were Roman Catholic ; 126,379 people (50.0%) either adhered to other denominations or followed no religion. Roughly 17,000 Muslims (6.2% of the population) live in Braunschweig. Mosques like DMK Moschee , Fatih Moschee Braunschweig and cultural clubs are present throughout the city but mosque buildings with minerates have not been built in Braunschweig but can be seen in its urban area for example

11160-460: The principality screened the allied army in western Prussia and, in particular, the allied Electorate of Hanover . An outstanding representative of the military alliance between Brunswick and Prussia was the Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, the hereditary Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel . During Charles I's era, there were great achievements in the cultural and scientific fields: the theatre

11284-462: The process, the duke followed the trend and did not interfere with anything, including work on the new castle, begun in 1718 by Hermann Korb on the Grauer Hof which was still not finished. The effect on Wolfenbüttel was catastrophic, as can be seen from the timber-framed houses built later on. 4,000 townsfolk followed the ducal family and Wolfenbüttel's population sank from 12,000 to 7,000. Only

11408-545: The recesses; representatives would sometimes leave the Diet prematurely to give their towns an excuse not to ratify decisions. Only a few Hanseatic cities were free imperial cities or enjoyed comparable autonomy and liberties, but many temporarily escaped domination by local nobility. Between 1361 and 1370, League members fought against Denmark in the Danish-Hanseatic War . Though initially unsuccessful with

11532-1007: The reduction of trade barriers. This gradual process involved standardizing trade regulations among Hanseatic Cities. During its time, the Hanseatic League dominated maritime trade in the North and Baltic Seas . It established a network of trading posts in numerous towns and cities, notably the Kontors in London (known as the Steelyard ), Bruges , Bergen , and Novgorod , which became extraterritorial entities that enjoyed considerable legal autonomy. Hanseatic merchants, commonly referred to as Hansards, operated private companies and were known for their access to commodities, and enjoyed privileges and protections abroad. The League's economic power enabled it to impose blockades and even wage war against kingdoms and principalities. Even at its peak,

11656-491: The same to Stendal and Salzwedel in the Altmark . Until 1394, Holland and Zeeland actively participated in the Hansa, but in 1395, their feudal obligations to Albert I, Duke of Bavaria prevented further cooperation. Consequently, their Hanseatic ties weakened, and their economic focus shifted. Between 1417 and 1432, this economic reorientation became even more pronounced as Holland and Zeeland gradually became part of

11780-457: The sea and many were linked to partners by river trade or even land trade. These formed an integrated network, while many smaller Hanseatic towns had their main trading activity in subregional trade. Internal Hanseatic trade was the Hanse's quantitatively largest and most important business. Trade over rivers and land was not tied to specific Hanseatic privileges, but seaports such as Bremen , Hamburg and Riga dominated trade on their rivers. This

11904-515: The style of their Hanseatic days. Most adopted Lübeck law , after the league's most prominent town. The law provided that they appeal in all legal matters to Lübeck's city council. Others, like Danzig from 1295 onwards, had Magdeburg law or its derivative, Culm law . Later, the Livonian Confederation of 1435 to c.  1582 incorporated modern-day Estonia and parts of Latvia ; all of its major towns were members of

12028-548: The term Hanse appeared in a document in 1267, in different cities began to form guilds , or hansas , with the intention of trading with overseas towns, especially in the economically less-developed eastern Baltic. This area could supply timber, wax , amber , resins , and furs, along with rye and wheat brought on barges from the hinterland to port markets. Merchant guilds formed in hometowns and destination ports as medieval corporations ( universitates mercatorum ), and despite competition increasingly cooperated to coalesce into

12152-590: The thirteenth century. This network of Hanseatic trading guilds became called the Kaufmannshanse in historiography. The League succeeded in establishing additional Kontors in Bruges ( Flanders ), Bryggen in Bergen (Norway), and London (England) beside the Peterhof in Novgorod. These trading posts were institutionalised by the first half of the 14th century (for Bergen and Bruges) and, except for

12276-577: The traders' hometowns. Outposts in Lisbon , Bordeaux , Bourgneuf , La Rochelle and Nantes offered the cheaper Bay salt. Ships that plied this trade sailed in the salt fleet . Trading posts operated in Flanders, Denmark-Norway, the Baltic interior, Upper Germany, Iceland, and Venice. Hanseatic trade was not exclusively maritime, or even over water. Most Hanseatic towns did not have immediate access to

12400-631: The war, the Free State of Brunswick was dissolved by the Allied occupying authorities , Braunschweig ceased to be a capital, and most of its lands were incorporated in the newly formed state of Lower Saxony . During the Cold War , Braunschweig, then part of West Germany , suffered economically due to its proximity to the Iron Curtain . The city lost its historically strong economic ties to what

12524-564: The Øresund toll, which caused tensions with Holland and Zeeland . The Sound tolls, and a later attempt of Lübeck to exclude the English and Dutch merchants from Scania harmed the Scanian herring trade when the excluded regions began to develop their own herring industries. In the Dutch–Hanseatic War (1438–1441), a privateer war mostly waged by Wendish towns, the merchants of Amsterdam sought and eventually won free access to

12648-548: The Øresund. Hanseatic cities were divided initially; Lübeck tried to appease Eric while Hamburg supported the Schauenburg counts against him. This led to the Danish-Hanseatic War (1426-1435) and the Bombardment of Copenhagen (1428). The Treaty of Vordingborg renewed the League's commercial privileges in 1435, but the Øresund tolls continued. Eric of Pomerania was subsequently deposed and in 1438 Lübeck took control of

12772-482: Was a major Rus trade centre . Scandinavians led the Baltic trade before the League, establishing major trading hubs at Birka , Haithabu , and Schleswig by the 9th century CE. The later Hanseatic ports between Mecklenburg and Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad ) originally formed part of the Scandinavian-led Baltic trade system. The Hanseatic League was never formally founded, so it lacks

12896-418: Was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 square kilometres in the mid 17th century. Various dynastic lines of the House of Welf ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. As a result of the Congress of Vienna , its successor state, the Duchy of Brunswick ,

13020-522: Was also called Stalhof), Bristol , Bishop's Lynn (later King's Lynn , which featured the sole remaining Hanseatic warehouse in England), Hull , Ipswich , Newcastle upon Tyne , Norwich , Scarborough , Yarmouth (now Great Yarmouth ), and York , many of which were important for the Baltic trade and became centers of the textile industry in the late 14th century. Hansards and textile manufacturers coordinated to make fabrics meet local demand and fashion in

13144-528: Was applied to bands of merchants traveling between the Hanseatic cities. Hanse in Middle Low German came to mean a society of merchants or a trader guild. Claims that it originally meant An-See , or "on the sea", are incorrect. Exploratory trading ventures, raids, and piracy occurred throughout the Baltic Sea. The sailors of Gotland sailed up rivers as far away as Novgorod , which

13268-434: Was awarded the castle of Bevern near Holzminden . He — and later his son Ferdinand Albert II — were princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern. In 1735 Ferdinand Albert II took over the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the subordinate principality returning to the overarching Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. According to Bornstedt serfdom in the state was abolished with the " Recess of 17 May 1433" by Henry

13392-483: Was created in 1815. After Otto the Child , grandchild of Henry the Lion , had been given the former allodial seat of his family (located in the area of present-day eastern Lower Saxony and northern Saxony-Anhalt ) by Emperor Frederick II on 21 August 1235 as an imperial enfeoffment under the name of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the duchy was divided in 1267–1269 by his sons. Albert I (also called Albert

13516-545: Was delayed by the conquest of Wendish cities by the Danish king Eric VI Menved or by their feudal overlords between 1306 and 1319 and the restriction of their autonomy. Assemblies of the Hanse towns met irregularly in Lübeck for a Hansetag  [ de ] (Hanseatic Diet) – starting either around 1300, or possibly 1356. Many towns chose not to attend nor to send representatives, and decisions were not binding on individual cities if their delegates were not included in

13640-599: Was disguised as a family visit at the time of the Autumn Fair. court life determined the timing of the stay in the Residenz castle on Bohlweg . As a result of the German Mediatisation of 25 February 1803 the principality was given the territories of the secularised imperial abbeys of Gandersheim and Helmstedt . In 1806 Duke Charles William Ferdinand was mortally wounded as a Prussian general in

13764-468: Was fostered by slow travel speeds: moving from Reval to Lübeck took between 4 weeks and, in winter, 4 months. In 1241, Lübeck, which had access to the Baltic and North seas' fishing grounds, formed an alliance—a precursor to the League—with the trade city of Hamburg, which controlled access to the salt-trade routes from Lüneburg . These cities gained control over most of the salt-fish trade, especially

13888-578: Was founded, which began in the orphanage and later moved to the building of the present-day Harztorwall School. Politically Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was one of Prussia 's closest allies. Whilst shortly beforehand the Habsburg emperor had been the most important focal point through political marriages, the Wolfenbüttel line of the Welfs became closely linked to the Hohenzollerns through the marriage of

14012-399: Was further complicated when Swedish nobles rebelled against Albert and invited Margaret. Albert was taken prisoner in 1389, but hired privateers in 1392, the socalled Victual Brothers , who took Bornholm and Visby in his name. They and their descendants threatened maritime trade between 1392 and the 1430s. Under the 1395 release agreement for Albert, Stockholm was ruled from 1395 to 1398 by

14136-571: Was further subdivided in the succeeding decades. For example, the lines of Grubenhagen and Göttingen were split for a while. In a similar way, in 1432 the estates between the Deister hills and the Leine river, that had been gained in the meantime from the Middle House of Brunswick, split away to form the Principality of Calenberg . There were further reunifications and divisions. In the meanwhile

14260-510: Was influential in developing the trade with Sweden and Norway, and his sons Wolf and Burghard Moldenhauer established themselves in Bergen and Stockholm, becoming leaders of the local Hanseatic activities. King Edward IV of England reconfirmed the league's privileges in the Treaty of Utrecht despite the latent hostility, in part thanks to the significant financial contribution the League made to

14384-498: Was located on the former premises of the SS-Junker School 's riding school, held approximately 800 prisoners, all female, who were tasked with clearing away rubble. This subcamp was commissioned by the city of Braunschweig. Although it was only open for two months - from December 1944 until February 1945, there were at least 17 deaths and a transfer of about 50 prisoners to a nearby subcamp's infirmary. The number of survivors

14508-600: Was more attractive than Schleswig . It became a transshipment port for trade between the North Sea and the Baltics. Lübeck also granted extensive trade privileges to Russian and Scandinavian traders. It was the main supply port for the Northern Crusades , improving its standing with various Popes. Lübeck gained imperial privileges to become a free imperial city in 1226, under Valdemar II of Denmark during

14632-678: Was not only a political, but also a cultural centre. Influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment , dukes like Anthony Ulrich and Charles I became patrons of the arts and sciences. In 1745, Charles I founded the Collegium Carolinum , predecessor of the Brunswick University of Technology , and in 1753 he moved the ducal residence back to Brunswick. With this he attracted poets and thinkers such as Lessing , Leisewitz , and Jakob Mauvillon to his court and

14756-592: Was not possible for the Rhine where trade retained an open character. Digging canals for trade was uncommon, although the Stecknitz Canal was built between Lübeck and Lauenburg from 1391 to 1398. Starting with trade in coarse woolen fabrics, the Hanseatic League increased both commerce and industry in northern Germany. As trade increased, finer woolen and linen fabrics, and even silks, were manufactured in northern Germany. The same refinement of products out of

14880-903: Was pressured by temporarily moving the Hanseatic emporium to Aardenburg from 1280 to 1282, from 1307 or 1308 to 1310 and in 1350, to Dordt in 1358 and 1388, and to Antwerp in 1436. Boycotts against Norway in 1284 and Flanders in 1358 nearly caused famines. They sometimes resorted to military action. Several Hanseatic cities maintained their warships and in times of need, repurposed merchant ships. Military action against political powers often involved an ad hoc coalition of stakeholders, called an alliance ( tohopesate ). As an essential part of protecting their investments, League members trained pilots and erected lighthouses, including Kõpu Lighthouse . Lübeck erected in 1202 what may be northern Europe's first proper lighthouse in Falsterbo . By 1600 at least 15 lighthouses had been erected along

15004-518: Was promoted and education encouraged. In 1753 the ducal art and natural history collection—forerunner of the Natural History Museum—was founded. These substantial collections had been amassed by the Brunswick dukes. This enterprise was supported by Abbot Jerusalem , the founder of the Collegium Carolinum . Whilst Wolfenbüttel waned, Brunswick now experienced a cultural boom. In August 1784 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stayed in Brunswick on

15128-517: Was reconstructed in the 19th century, is named. The town's original name of Brunswik may be a combination of the name Bruno and Low German wik (related to the Latin vicus ), a place where merchants rested and stored their goods. The town's name, therefore, may indicate a resting place, consistent with its location by a ford across the Oker River. An alternative explanation of the city's name

15252-526: Was the seventh largest city in Germany. Although formally one of the residences of the rulers of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire , Brunswick was de facto ruled independently by a powerful class of patricians and the guilds throughout much of the Late Middle Ages and the Early modern period . Because of the growing power of Brunswick's burghers ,

15376-463: Was then East Germany ; for decades, economic growth remained, on average, below the rest of the country while unemployment was above-average for West Germany. On 28 February 1974, as part of a district reform in Lower Saxony, the rural district of Braunschweig , which had surrounded the city, was disestablished. The major part of the former district was incorporated into the city of Braunschweig, increasing its population by roughly 52,000 people. In

#746253