Ahrensburg

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Ahrensburg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is a northeastern suburb of Hamburg, situated in Stormarn district. Population around 30,100 (2004). Its outstanding sight is the Renaissance castle dating from 1595. Other sights are the adjacent castle church with its "Gottesbuden" Almshouses. Ahrensburg is situated in the Tunneltal, in which Alfred Rust excavated many items dating back to the ice age. Ahrensburg is easily accessible by car and train, being situated next to the Autobahn A1 and the railway route between the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck.

1 History
2 Religion
3 Politics
4 External links

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History

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Prehistory

The Ahrensburg Tunneltal contains a lot of evidence for late palaeolithic reindeer hunters. Today the railway line between Hamburg and Lübeck follows the flat valley bottm. The finds in the valley are so important, that prehistorians talk about the 'Ahrensburger Stufe' in general. See Ahrensburg culture

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Middle ages

The town dates back to the 13th Century, when the Counts of Schauenburg founded the viallge of Woldenhorn (which later became the town of Ahrensburg) and the neighbouring villages Ahrensfelde, Meilsdorf and Beimoor. Woldenhorn is first mentioned in the year 1314. The village came in to the possession of the Cistercian monastery in Reinfeld in 1327, and Woldenhorn became the seat of the monastery Reeve until the middle of the 16th Century.

The "Arx Arnsburga", also called Arnesvelde castle, was built around the year 1200. Ruins of the castle are still visible in the Hagen forest to the south of the town. The town coat of arms shows the castle in the upper field. There are records of Vogts based in the castle in 1295 and 1304. In 1326 Count John III of Schauenburg had his Reeve relocated to Trittau and abbandoned the castle.

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Modern Period

After the dissolution of the monasteries due to the Reformation, the whole area came into the possession of the king of Denmark. He rewarded his general Daniel Rantzau 1567 with lordship over these villages. His brother and heir Peter Rantzau built a Renaissance residence in the form of a water castle, now the symbol of the town, and the castle church around 1595. The construction of "Gottesbuden" (Accommodation for old and destitute people) directly by the church was exemplary.

The "Ahrensburg Estate" belonged to the so-called Noble Estates, which possessed a large amount of freedom and self administration.

Image:Schloss.Ahrensburg.wmt.jpg

The Rantzaus' estate was heavily indebted by the middle of the 18th century and, in 1759, was acquired by the businessman Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann. Schimmelmann remodelled the castle and village in the baroque style and the current layout of the town reflects these plans.

On the 7th June 1867 the estate viallage Woldenhorn became an independent Prussian country community and renamed itself Ahrensburg after a decision by the community council. It belonged to the "Amt Ahrensburg", from which the "amtsfreie" comumnity once more suceded in 1912.

The construction of the railway between Hamburg and Lübeck in the year 1865 made Ahrensburg to a well loved destination for outings outside Hamburg and the number of inhabitants increased. By 1910 the number had reached 2750 inhabitants. The incorporation of various surrounding communities in the year 1928 lead to an increase in the town area to about 5 km².

Building of the settlements "Daheim/Heimgarten" (partially on the teritory of the current community of Ammersbek) and "Am Hagen" (originally called "Franz Seldte Settlement") commenced in 1933. The rush of settlers from around Hamburg lead to the creation of the current relaxed housing layout.

When Ahrensburg received town rights in 1949, the town had some 17 775 inhabitats - around half of which were refugees from the former eastern German regions.

The town infrastructure was greatly improved and expanded during the following decades. At the same time many companies settled at the edge of town and helped make Ahrensburg a well known business centre in Schleswig-Holstein.

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Religion

Ahrensburg was the seat of the Stormarn Provost of the Lutheran church from 1823 until 1899.

Ahrensburg had a small Jewish community until the beginning of the 1930s. The Synagogue had to be demolished in 1931 due to structural problems. The Jewish cemetery (opened in 1822) can still be seen at the edge of town (Ahrensburg-West), not far from the golf course and is a reminder of this bygone time.

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