Buxtehude

Reconstruction of the Daensen folding chair

The Ovelgönne bread roll (top) with reconstruction (below)

Early signs of settlements are the Daensen folding chair from a Bronze Age tumulus near Daensen and the Ovelgönne bread roll from the Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe, which was found in a loam mine in Ovelgönne.

• In 959 a settlement by the Este river is first recorded. The manor of "Buochstadon" is given to the Abbey of Magdeburg. Soon a wharf, "Hude", is established.
• In 1135 the settlement is mentioned as "Buchstadihude" in a reference to the success of trade from the quay.
• In 1180 the Duchy of Saxony, to which "Buchstadihude" belonged, is conquered and dissolved. Buxtehude becomes part of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, newly upgraded to imperial immediacy it became one of the many successor states of the Duchy of Saxony. Nevertheless, ecclesiastically Buxtehude remained a part of the Diocese of Verden until Catholicism was overthrown in the Reformation with that diocese remaining vacant since 1644.
• In 1197 two royal settlers found a Benedictine Monastery near the village. Owing to the fertile soil and a partial participation in the saline of Lüneburg wealth and population increase.
• In 1280 the prince-archbishop Giselbert of Bremen orders the settlement to be protected by defensive walls and fortifications including 5 zwingers, 7 peels and 3 town gates.
• In 1328 the town hall is mentioned for the first time and the settlement is granted full town privileges, based on the law of Hamburg. By now "Buxtehude" is self-governing and rapidly growing into a centre of trade.
• In 1485 the immensely wealthy "Master Halepaghen", cousin and tutor of the burgomaster of Hamburg, dies and donates his assets to the town for scholarships and charitable purposes.
• In 1542 the town council of Buxtehude adopted Lutheranism within its domain.
• In 1600s Hanseatic trade declines and the most important area of trade is in cattle. Apart from Stade, Buxtehude is the only crossing point on the Elbe river.
• In 1645 Buxtehude surrendered to the Swedish army and loses its independence. Trade and population decrease dramatically.
• In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen was converted to the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedes and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown.
• 1769 the monastery is demolished owing to secularization.
• In 1823 the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region.
• In 1837 the link road through the town reanimates business and trade.
• 1845 is dominated by industrial boom with a paper factory being installed on the former cloister ground.
• In 1945 the population grows to 14,000. Much living space in Hamburg was in ruins and people fled to the suburbs and surrounding towns and villages such as Buxtehude.
• In 1958 Buxtehude became part of the plan for the reconstruction of Hamburg after the war and thus was heavily funded by the government.
• Lower Saxony incorporates 9 neighbouring villages into the town in 1972 changing the structure of Buxtehude and creating a cluster of more than 30,000 inhabitants.
• In 1983 the old part of town is pedestrianized.
• In 1985 town twinning with Blagnac (France) is undertaken.
• In 1990 Ribnitz-Damgarten in the former German Democratic Republic becomes the second twin town.

Since 1881 Buxtehude has had its own railroad station on the R50 line between Hamburg and Cuxhaven. In late 2007 this line was added to the rapid transit system of the Hamburg S-Bahn by the HVV.

Since 1928 there has also been a second railroad line crossing Buxtehude, the EVB, (Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser, Zeven) between Hamburg's outermost district and Bremerhaven on the coast of the North Sea. The Este river connects the town to the important Elbe river 6 miles north. Earlier in history this connection was used to ship goods into the small harbour, which still exists but has become less accessible due to town developments and aggradation.

A major highway, scheduled for completion in 2012, is to connect the town to Hamburg.

In April 2019 the unemployment rate in Buxtehude was 3.8%[2]

Companies

Airbus site at Buxtehude

Several major companies are located in Buxtehude (i.e. having production sites or headquarters in Buxtehude):

• Airbus S.A.S, the commercial aircraft manufacturer
• Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch company in the personal care and food sector.
• KID-Systeme GmbH, a Buxtehude-based supplier for aeroplane cabin electronics
• INTERPANE, a German manufacturer of insulation glass
• Harros Krämerladen, a large German supermarket corporation
• Pioneer Hi-Bred, a subdivision of the US-based chemical producer DuPont, developer and exporter of seeds
• Nord Kalksandsteinwerke, a German producer of lime sand bricks and other building material
• Niederelbe Schifffahrtsgesselleschaft (NSB), German container shipping companies
• Implantcast GmbH, German manufacturer of orthopaedic implants, such as artificial hips and knees

Buxtehude is sometimes called the "Fairytale Capital of the World," an epithet that it shares with e.g. Kassel. The tale of "The Hare and the Hedgehog" by the Brothers Grimm is set in this town. Furthermore, the name is used in numerous German tales. And thus some people claim that the town of Buxtehude does not actually exist. The German saying "...nach Buxtehude jagen" (literally: "to chase somebody off to Buxtehude") means to exile someone to a far-away place.

• Hochschule 21, a private college with a renowned architecture program.
• Halepaghen Grammar School, local highschool. Holder of the title "School without racism, School with courage", former member in the "Quality Network for Schools" in Lower Saxony, Humanitarian School and rating highest in the county.
• Gymnasium Süd local highschool
• Volkshochschule Buxtehude, community college.
• Malerschule, private art school.
• Berufsbildende Schulen Buxtehude, public secondary schools for the sectors of economics, informatics and electrotechnics.[4]

Buxtehude is served by the Hamburg S-Bahn with the stations Buxtehude and Neukloster;[5] and by the Bundesstraße 3 and Bundesstraße 73, two federal highways. It is planned to connect Buxtehude to the Autobahn 26 once construction continues.

• Blagnac, France, since 1985
• Ribnitz-Damgarten, Germany, since 1990

• Hermann Blumenthal (1903–1941), Germanist and librarian
• Stefan Studer (born 1964), footballer and functionary
• Michael Stolle (born 1974), athlete and Olympic athlete
• Nils Winter (born 1977), long jumper
• Alexander Nouri (born 1979), footballer and coach

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buxtehude.

• Official website (in German)