Braunschweig (city)

Braunschweig may also refer to the administrative region of Germany. See Braunschweig (region). Brunswick may refer to several geographic locations, companies and products. See Brunswick (disambiguation).

Braunschweig [ˈbraunʃvaik] (English: Brunswick) is a city of 245,500 people (as of December 31, 2004), located in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser.

History

The date and circumstances of the town's foundation are unknown. Legend says that Brunswick was founded by Bruno II (died before 1017 AD), a Saxon count. A wik was a place where merchants rested and stored their goods. Brunswick = Bruno's wik was an ideal resting-place, as it lay by a ford across the Oker River.

Duke Henry the Lion (German: Heinrich der Löwe, born 1129/30, died 06.081195) made B. the capital of his state and built Brunswick Cathedral. He got so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, which led to his condemnation and fall.

Brunswick was a member of the Hanseatic League from the 13th to the middle of the 17th century. In the 18th century Brunswick was not only a political, but also a cultural centre. Emilia Galotti by Lessing and Goethe's Faust were played for the first time in Brunswick.

Brunswick was a duchy until 1918, and afterwards a state within the Weimar Republic. It achieved an inglorious fame by making Adolf Hitler a German citizen, which allowed him to candidate for the German Reichstag and become Head of Government (Reichskanzler). Hitler was employed by the Brunswick State Government in February 1932 and thereby obtained German citizenship. The later site selection of the Volkswagen plant in nearby Wolfsburg (Fallersleben) was likely a thank-you gift for this granting of citizenship.

During World War II Brunswick was severely damaged by Anglo-American aerial attacks. The air raid on October 15, 1944 destroyed most of the city of Brunswick, which consisted of half-timbered houses, and also most of the churches. Only Brunswick Cathedral, which was changed into a National shrine (German: Nationale Weihestätte) by the Nazi-Government, withstood the bombs.
After the war, Brunswick Cathedral was turned into a Protestant church again. A small section of the old centre of town did survive the bombing, and is quite distinctive.

Historical population

Sights

• Castle (built by Henry the Lion, 12th century)
• Cathedral (built from 1173; Henry the Lion is buried here)
• Altstadtmarkt ("old town market"), surrounded by the old town hall and the Martinikirche (church Saint Martin, 1195)
• Aegidienkirche (church Saint Aegidius, 1115), with an adjoining monastery, which is today a museum
• The "Rizzi-Haus", a highly distinctive, cartoonish office building designed by architect James Rizzi.
• The "Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum", an important art museum and the oldest museum in Germany (founded 1754)