Lauenburg (district)

History

The district calls itself "duchy of Lauenburg", since it goes back to the medieval duchy of Lauenburg, which was the last remnant of the first Saxon state. This duchy of Saxony had nothing but the name in common with the territory, which is today known as Saxony. It was divided in 1260 into the two partial states of Saxony-Wittenberg and Saxony-Lauenburg.

While Saxony-Wittenberg was soon to be erased from the maps, Saxony-Lauenburg existed for centuries, although it was soon known as Lauenburg (without "Saxony" mentioned in its name). The duchy of Lauenburg remained almost unchanged, until it lost its independency in 1689, when it was annexed by Hanover. 1815-1864 it belonged to the Duke of Holstein and the King of Denmark, who was one and the same. In 1864 it fell to Prussia. For a short period Lauenburg was still an autonomous entity, but in 1876 it was incorporated as a district into the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein.

Lauenburg was the first capital of the district. In 1937 the city of Ratzeburg, which had formerly been a part of Mecklenburg, became a part of the district.

Geography

This area contains a number of historically important towns, e.g. Lauenburg, Mölln and Ratzeburg. This importance was due to the Old Salt Route (Alte Salzstraße), one of the major medieval trade routes. Salt from the salt-works south of the Elbe river was transported northward to Lübeck. The transport of salt was also the motive for constructing the oldest artificial waterway of Europe, the Stecknitz Canal (1398). It was replaced in 1900 by the Elbe-Lübeck Canal.

The landscape is characterized by numerous lakes, forming the Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park. The largest lake is the Ratzeburger See with an area of 16 km².

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

External links