District of Duchy of Lauenburg
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Duchy of Lauenburg | |
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Country | Germany |
State | Schleswig-Holstein |
Capital | Ratzeburg |
Government | |
• District admin. | Christoph Mager (CDU) |
Area | |
• Total | 1,263 km2 (488 sq mi) |
Population (31 December 2022)[1] | |
• Total | 203,712 |
• Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Vehicle registration | RZ |
Website | herzogtum-lauenburg.de |
Duchy of Lauenburg (German: Herzogtum Lauenburg; German pronunciation: [ˈhɛʁt͡soːktuːm ˈlaʊ̯ənˌbʊʁk] ) is the southernmost Kreis, or district, officially called District of Duchy of Lauenburg (German: Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg; German pronunciation: [kʁaɪ̯s ˈhɛʁt͡soːktuːm ˈlaʊ̯ənˌbʊʁk] ), of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bordered by (from the west and clockwise) the district of Stormarn, the city of Lübeck, the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (districts of Nordwestmecklenburg and Ludwigslust-Parchim), the state of Lower Saxony (districts of Lüneburg and Harburg), and the city state of Hamburg. The district of Herzogtum Lauenburg is named after the former Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg.
Geography
The district's territory comprises most of the former Duchy's territory north of the river
.The district's area contains a number of historically important towns, e.g.
The landscape is characterised by numerous lakes, forming the Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park. The largest lake is the Ratzeburger See with an area of 16 km².
History
The district Herzogtum Lauenburg is named after the medieval Duchy of
After John I's resignation in 1282, Albert II ruled with his still minor nephews Albert III, Eric I and John II, who by 1296 definitely partitioned the duchy providing Saxe-Lauenburg for the brothers, and Saxe-Wittenberg for their uncle Albert II. The last document, mentioning the brothers and their uncle Albert II as Saxon fellow dukes dates back to 1295.[3] A deed of 20 September 1296, circumscribing Saxe-Lauenburg, mentions the Vierlande (now Hamburg), Sadelbande (Land of Lauenburg), the Land of Ratzeburg, the Land of Darzing (later Amt Neuhaus), and the Land of Hadeln (the latter two now Lower Saxony) as the joint territory of the brothers, separate of Saxe-Wittenberg.[3]
Saxe-Lauenburg was also known simply as Lauenburg. While the territory of Saxe-Wittenberg changed drastically over the centuries, the Duchy of Lauenburg remained almost unchanged, until it lost its independence in 1689, when it was inherited by the
Lauenburg upon Elbe was the first capital and name-giving to the Duchy, before it moved in 1619 to
In May 1945 British forces captured the district territory, which in September 1944 had been determined in the
Politics
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays a white horse, the ancient symbol of the duchy of Saxony. The horse is surrounded by a black and white checked border, which represents the colours of Prussia. This is a modified version of the arms used when Saxe-Lauenburg was ruled in personal union with the Danish monarchy, 1815-64. The former arms featured a golden horse's head on a red shield.
The coat of arms was granted on 12 November 1866, after the
District Administrator
From 1873–82 the Hereditary Land Marshal (Erblandmarschall) was responsible for administration of the district and the appointment of offices. The landrat (about in English: county commissioner), as a Prussian official, dealt only with the national administration.
- 1873–1874: Regierungsassessor Jungbluth
- 1874–1881: Graf Andreas von Bernstorff
After 1 October 1882 the Landrat became responsible also for local administration, free from state control.
- 1882–1897: Oskar von Dolega-Kozierowski
- 1897–1900: Graf Finck von Finckenstein
- 1900–1907: Friedrich von Bülow
- 1907–1919: Emil Mathis
- 1919–1927: Kurt Schönberg
- 1927–1933: Gustav Voigt
- 1933–1938: NSDAP
- 1939–1945: NSDAP
A change in government came about after the
- 1945–1946: Ewald Raaz
- 1946–1948: Wilhelm Gülich, SPD
- 1948–1950: CDU
- 1950–1969: Gerhard Wandschneider
- 1969–1975: Klaus Prößdorf
- 1975–2002: CDU
- 2002–2015: independent
- 2015–present: Dr. Christoph Mager, CDU
District President
The District President (Kreispräsident) is the chairman of the district council and is selected from its members. The president chairs the meetings of the council and represents the district, together with the landrat, abroad.
- 19??–1994: CDU
- 1994–2003: Helga Hinz, SPD
- 2003–present: CDU
Organisation
Contrary to others in Schleswig-Holstein, this district is characterised by numerous relatively small municipalities, which practise direct democracy and citizens' participation. The administration most often takes place via offices, which are often of a very manageable size. To that extent, the scope of the planned Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Structure Law will be quite significant: according to the draft of the Ministry of the Interior, a minimum size of 8000 inhabitants was to be implemented for
The economical emphasis of the district lies on the Hamburg bacon-belt, while the eastern parts in the Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park with their abundance of water cater more to tourism and are largely focused on agriculture. The district belongs to Hamburg Metropolitan Region.
Transportation
- In 2003, the public transit system in the district was integrated into the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV).
- Connections to the Autobahn network are provided by the A1 (Hamburg–Lübeck) in the west, the A 24 (Hamburg–Berlin) in the south, the A 25 (Geesthacht–Hamburg) and the A 20 (Lübeck–Rostock) in the north of the district.
- Railway connections exist from Hamburg to Deutsche Bahn AG. From Bergedorf to Geesthacht, there is still the old Bergedorf-Geesthachter Eisenbahn (BGE) freight route, which now serves as a museum railway line, belonging to the privately operated AKN Eisenbahn.
- The Elbe-Lübeck Canal, established in 1900. Via the Trave river, it connects the Central European network of canals to Lübeck and the Baltic Sea. The canal served as a part of the Old Salt Route.
- Nearby airports are Lübeck Airport and Hamburg Airport.
Towns and municipalities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Municipalities_in_RZ.svg/300px-Municipalities_in_RZ.svg.png)
(Populations as of 30 June 2005 in brackets)
Independent towns and municipalities |
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See also
- List of German MPs from the Duchy of Lauenburg
References
- Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein.
- ^ "LAUENBURG", in: Encyclopædia Britannica: 29 vols., 111910–1911, vol. 16 'L to Lord Advocate', p. 280.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
External links
Media related to Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (in German)
- Schlüsseldienst (in German)