Soltau
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Soltau (German pronunciation: [ˈzɔltaʊ]) is a mid-sized town in the Lüneburg Heath in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has around 22,000 inhabitants. The city is centrally located in the Lüneburg Heath and is known nationwide especially for its tourist attractions like the Heide-Park and the Soltau-Therme.
Soltau | |
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 Old town hall | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Soltau within Heidekreis district <imagemap>File: Soltau_in_HK.svg | 240x240px rect 336 144 461 276 Heidekreis rect 32 21 609 557 Lower Saxony poly 223 2121 269 2082 361 2059 407 2049 428 1993 475 1975 589 2017 618 1990 612 1959 543 1807 507 1720 346 1724 338 1703 294 1701 265 1755 187 1769 166 1721 226 1694 203 1681 181 1665 211 1633 180 1616 150 1605 180 1568 117 1558 127 1439 87 1436 78 1481 26 1479 5 1457 6 2139 Nienburg (district) poly 228 2144 264 2117 393 2083 471 2006 614 2070 659 2000 642 1935 675 1899 735 1887 747 1960 764 1983 799 1998 810 2016 846 2026 832 2065 866 2130 915 2136 977 2134 1003 2123 1025 2068 1019 2026 1052 2024 1224 2128 1226 2137 1242 2146 1282 2140 1287 2124 1357 2131 1346 2147 237 2148 Hanover (district) poly 7 1379 32 1383 18 1420 38 1438 63 1445 62 1410 93 1392 136 1393 158 1424 162 1439 167 1499 170 1527 205 1502 223 1481 214 1439 177 1409 180 1378 218 1350 269 1360 285 1373 308 1342 311 1337 285 1306 373 1182 373 1155 359 1134 403 1095 431 1081 442 1068 465 1045 470 1030 443 967 489 922 460 861 477 822 435 775 295 844 214 825 246 778 212 735 160 740 4 663 Verden (district) poly 3 662 114 690 158 741 224 736 245 758 255 786 220 817 290 831 323 835 352 803 404 793 425 769 487 822 475 864 488 890 496 908 496 948 470 961 474 1006 537 997 556 995 564 963 603 948 647 946 685 966 694 1007 699 1029 744 1015 758 977 759 922 840 902 879 896 897 871 858 793 871 765 914 733 904 716 878 695 844 698 810 684 792 662 775 639 760 579 830 543 833 504 827 472 819 427 794 392 818 351 831 334 840 326 836 314 848 291 859 292 893 308 900 322 903 317 895 290 897 229 985 247 1024 236 1039 232 1032 217 1009 188 992 168 980 155 975 120 942 115 947 86 907 62 914 52 801 20 613 7 609 559 0 556 Rotenburg (district) poly 795 0 804 21 1026 65 1057 91 1074 114 1148 136 1168 150 1230 115 1237 84 1282 69 1300 98 1355 125 1407 188 1454 194 1506 167 1573 165 1600 184 1590 239 1662 247 1667 253 1698 263 1729 309 1749 319 1763 340 1767 345 1777 329 1829 246 1831 195 1884 185 1891 171 1950 143 1959 125 1968 127 1993 152 2088 114 2090 70 2050 24 1998 3 Harburg poly 1781 354 1846 415 1827 483 1750 528 1765 564 1718 574 1694 559 1692 572 1697 595 1723 605 1764 617 1929 611 1905 588 1953 518 2008 498 2027 501 2021 531 2037 543 2048 502 2081 505 2087 492 2075 474 2120 465 2148 466 2146 5 2060 6 2114 69 2108 127 2031 179 1986 174 1961 149 1903 175 1890 192 1843 202 1839 249 Lüneburg (district) poly 1930 682 1928 727 1984 732 1999 717 2018 727 2032 724 2048 739 2055 747 2059 811 2075 841 2070 923 2095 980 2119 996 2148 1063 2147 479 2037 551 2062 595 2050 636 2058 693 2033 691 2018 679 2002 676 Uelzen (district) poly 1053 2012 1269 2137 1281 2112 1382 2124 1405 2150 1415 2141 1935 2141 2143 2145 2146 1079 2097 1004 1861 1077 1863 1117 1841 1131 1757 1105 1617 1191 1552 1231 1504 1202 1485 1151 1413 1154 1372 1143 1327 1160 1280 1214 1301 1249 1333 1320 1273 1372 1253 1478 1268 1569 1275 1642 1097 1691 1114 1741 1050 1771 1075 1868 1085 1946 Celle (district) poly 864 2021 1012 2019 991 2129 894 2126 857 2062 856 2015 Lindwedel poly 890 1878 923 1844 998 1849 1072 1900 1084 1959 1045 2006 966 2020 924 1978 886 1911 Buchholz poly 767 1876 757 1858 724 1844 718 1813 768 1796 767 1766 812 1773 823 1795 887 1896 891 1925 950 2007 859 2019 773 1969 778 1945 747 1924 754 1880 Schwarmstedt poly 885 1885 858 1864 833 1848 813 1805 829 1781 866 1780 888 1786 930 1701 1014 1671 1023 1713 1092 1688 1109 1740 1052 1753 1035 1774 1047 1794 1058 1812 1058 1844 1046 1866 1046 1879 974 1846 933 1845 Essel poly 771 1740 763 1766 804 1761 805 1780 833 1782 862 1778 889 1783 930 1717 896 1687 876 1717 856 1724 815 1729 786 1740 Hademstorf poly 513 1707 678 1722 702 1726 696 1738 626 1740 612 1753 653 1760 696 1756 702 1740 736 1748 745 1766 765 1775 749 1802 703 1809 715 1841 760 1856 759 1876 650 1899 638 1934 614 1930 607 1896 587 1888 584 1862 557 1856 591 1792 517 1773 Gilten poly 558 1709 625 1650 679 1637 698 1604 701 1597 713 1630 730 1628 733 1671 741 1693 735 1711 746 1716 749 1743 705 1739 700 1753 656 1754 624 1753 636 1733 673 1744 703 1729 701 1717 668 1720 549 1705 Grethem poly 738 1664 824 1644 834 1624 852 1634 876 1649 891 1660 897 1680 886 1700 873 1715 849 1720 818 1728 774 1734 768 1741 759 1735 749 1717 745 1707 745 1689 740 1678 Eickeloh poly 677 1558 710 1626 737 1631 735 1664 770 1655 821 1648 838 1613 806 1610 838 1580 764 1492 736 1493 746 1473 735 1471 690 1522 694 1539 Hodenhagen poly 674 1553 697 1539 683 1522 729 1470 697 1456 670 1459 648 1463 622 1446 461 1458 379 1432 358 1483 366 1488 359 1514 370 1537 405 1549 430 1535 451 1549 454 1580 470 1581 465 1561 471 1540 488 1540 525 1544 540 1552 551 1561 564 1554 589 1550 613 1548 630 1532 647 1524 Böhme poly 226 1441 261 1446 273 1463 286 1478 300 1492 328 1471 339 1474 360 1477 376 1446 378 1434 374 1432 339 1362 315 1353 272 1394 244 1375 228 1379 221 1410 217 1423 Häuslingen poly 481 1699 502 1599 508 1556 546 1574 574 1554 646 1525 703 1606 671 1638 629 1643 549 1709 482 1702 Ahlden poly 353 1696 381 1709 426 1717 480 1702 508 1594 492 1588 485 1563 476 1545 467 1578 449 1581 436 1543 418 1541 399 1565 372 1546 347 1543 340 1575 353 1613 Frankenfeld poly 895 892 858 918 825 928 824 945 773 935 775 980 745 1037 686 1043 685 996 667 988 670 969 638 951 573 965 574 1000 495 1022 457 1073 374 1135 380 1198 341 1222 342 1240 310 1263 297 1295 320 1323 330 1363 346 1358 370 1433 420 1439 460 1459 545 1446 619 1443 706 1456 753 1477 783 1521 793 1510 809 1553 835 1588 818 1609 849 1627 879 1608 903 1608 880 1640 901 1689 936 1710 970 1683 1015 1671 1004 1637 1018 1629 1011 1573 978 1509 956 1506 962 1433 940 1421 951 1332 904 1299 892 1277 909 1265 913 1220 944 1193 960 1163 950 1146 977 1130 976 1083 1015 1074 1002 1047 987 1041 989 1012 1016 1001 986 962 997 938 970 932 944 911 Walsrode poly 819 396 927 415 1033 467 1129 573 1137 671 1119 732 1088 762 927 817 887 809 876 798 933 738 914 707 872 688 852 683 795 656 774 595 820 580 815 565 848 516 850 453 827 442 Neuenkirchen poly 188 1729 200 1748 245 1758 294 1678 363 1694 362 1633 335 1583 339 1526 359 1532 359 1490 322 1467 298 1490 257 1459 222 1459 247 1491 236 1505 250 1534 223 1560 212 1550 229 1524 207 1540 196 1544 175 1605 209 1612 225 1624 206 1669 236 1671 238 1714 192 1731 216 1747 Rethem poly 1134 644 1170 650 1164 676 1186 670 1237 625 1278 631 1306 646 1351 640 1415 548 1467 508 1445 454 1458 391 1432 361 1385 355 1365 304 1319 282 1304 243 1386 235 1393 248 1415 232 1421 220 1454 222 1458 193 1407 198 1359 126 1292 104 1279 73 1243 91 1173 151 1129 126 1092 120 1055 96 1041 72 1017 57 924 47 927 66 958 81 962 112 989 117 984 150 1001 158 1006 180 1044 213 1096 221 1093 228 1020 258 945 257 907 240 904 291 915 332 894 334 880 313 849 301 857 317 867 331 849 360 826 357 813 401 902 412 919 423 943 430 964 463 1008 451 1067 458 1068 468 1038 469 1046 486 1069 493 1068 517 1100 559 1129 566 Schneverdingen poly 1259 1635 1016 1701 996 1628 1011 1586 956 1497 958 1434 939 1419 964 1301 998 1284 1015 1265 1216 1041 1290 1028 1364 998 1415 1034 1431 1107 1424 1137 1428 1154 1379 1145 1353 1102 1326 1120 1321 1168 1271 1210 1271 1237 1295 1252 1306 1319 1260 1354 1231 1516 1249 1520 Osterheide poly 911 1222 901 1264 887 1283 948 1326 960 1298 1000 1287 1006 1267 1232 1039 1272 1043 1281 1024 1312 1033 1306 1020 1267 1001 1244 995 1219 1010 1207 996 1177 988 1090 978 1058 929 987 941 989 965 1008 985 1020 1008 984 1018 988 1033 1003 1043 1017 1072 979 1082 981 1131 955 1146 965 1171 946 1190 908 1225 901 1263 890 1277 Bad Fallingbostel poly 1312 1022 1307 1010 1329 1004 1331 978 1355 947 1457 933 1458 881 1661 844 1681 902 1752 930 1774 1045 1757 1102 1709 1132 1603 1199 1549 1228 1507 1197 1492 1143 1416 1156 1418 1122 1438 1090 1409 1027 1366 993 1333 1019 Wietzendorf poly 893 891 927 822 956 814 999 796 1101 757 1125 732 1140 644 1163 644 1161 671 1179 673 1236 628 1266 628 1299 644 1347 638 1407 549 1473 514 1520 580 1521 618 1553 635 1539 666 1596 753 1617 751 1665 842 1465 879 1453 938 1342 948 1321 997 1329 1014 1302 1017 1238 994 1217 1008 1200 995 1091 977 1055 928 992 928 899 884 Soltau poly 1760 1092 1851 1110 1844 1059 1931 1050 1942 981 2006 1011 2004 1035 2099 986 2054 744 1925 724 1920 677 2016 672 2055 689 2056 579 2031 542 2010 547 2010 511 1948 523 1927 582 1942 638 1909 645 1898 617 1736 624 1681 574 1516 585 1524 613 1549 634 1545 667 1664 842 1682 899 1749 925 1773 1033 1754 1088 Munster poly 1303 247 1454 223 1466 186 1509 169 1594 193 1595 248 1652 254 1664 270 1691 263 1841 424 1800 453 1805 474 1731 539 1750 538 1755 532 1755 558 1724 568 1688 544 1675 570 1523 582 1462 504 1459 396 1447 366 1392 354 1370 306 1316 283 Bispingen desc bottom-right </imagemap> | |
  Soltau  Soltau | |
| Coordinates: 52°59′N 9°50′E / 52.983°N 9.833°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Heidekreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2021–26) | Olaf Klang[1] (Ind.) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 203.25 km2 (78.48 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 57 m (187 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 21,808 |
| • Density | 110/km2 (280/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 29614 |
| Dialling codes | 05191 |
| Vehicle registration | HK |
| Website | www.soltau.de |
Etymology
The name Soltau comes from Solt (salt) and au (meadow).
Geography
Location
Soltau lies between Bremen, Hamburg and Hanover in the Lüneburg Heath on the rivers Soltau and Böhme.
Subdivisions
The municipality of Soltau has 16 Stadtteile (population in brackets as at 1 July 2003):[3]
Climate
| Climate data for Soltau (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) |
4.9 (40.8) |
8.8 (47.8) |
14.4 (57.9) |
18.6 (65.5) |
21.3 (70.3) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.4 (74.1) |
19.0 (66.2) |
13.5 (56.3) |
7.7 (45.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
13.6 (56.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.5 (34.7) |
1.9 (35.4) |
4.6 (40.3) |
9.0 (48.2) |
13.1 (55.6) |
16.0 (60.8) |
18.1 (64.6) |
17.6 (63.7) |
13.8 (56.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
5.2 (41.4) |
2.4 (36.3) |
9.4 (48.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.8 (30.6) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
0.7 (33.3) |
3.6 (38.5) |
7.3 (45.1) |
10.4 (50.7) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.4 (54.3) |
9.1 (48.4) |
5.6 (42.1) |
2.4 (36.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
5.2 (41.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 75.7 (2.98) |
59.8 (2.35) |
58.8 (2.31) |
43.0 (1.69) |
57.4 (2.26) |
65.5 (2.58) |
82.8 (3.26) |
71.1 (2.80) |
62.6 (2.46) |
64.9 (2.56) |
62.9 (2.48) |
77.0 (3.03) |
786.3 (30.96) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 18.8 | 16.7 | 15.5 | 13.2 | 13.1 | 14.5 | 15.4 | 15.7 | 13.9 | 16.4 | 18.0 | 19.3 | 191.3 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 87.8 | 84.3 | 79.0 | 71.3 | 70.0 | 72.4 | 72.9 | 75.0 | 80.9 | 85.5 | 89.2 | 89.5 | 79.8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 41.9 | 66.5 | 116.0 | 174.8 | 210.4 | 200.4 | 213.1 | 196.8 | 150.0 | 106.7 | 47.0 | 33.0 | 1,539 |
| Source: World Meteorological Organization[5] | |||||||||||||
History
Middle Ages
The region of the Lüneburg Heath had already been settled by the start of the New Stone Age about 4,000 years ago. The Soltau area was initially occupied by a few individual farms. The parish of Soltau was probably founded around 830 and the first wooden church Sante Johannis Baptista (St. John the Baptist) was built.[6]
The first written record of Soltau was in the year 936 as Curtis Salta ("farm on the salt meadow"). King Otto the Great granted the estate to Quedlinburg Abbey. Within a span of almost 600 years the village of Soltouwe emerged from Curtis Salta. It was located in the area between St. John's Church and the Waldmühle mill.
In 1304 the Vogtei of Soltau was sold to the cathedral chapter of Verden. Between 1383 and 1388 the village was established by order of the duke as protection against robber barons at the confluence of the rivers Böhme and Soltau near Hagen and Burg, which today is in the town centre. Subsequently, it was decided to demolish the castle there as part of the peace treaty at the end of the Lüneburg War of Succession; at the same time Soltau was given town rights on 15 July 1388 by way of compensation. In 1400 the letters patent for the guild was issued, which entitled the town to trade. In 1440 another letters patent was specifically conferred on blacksmiths, tailors, cobblers, linen and cloth-makers.
The consequences of the war of succession in Soltau can clearly be traced and prevented the rapid growth of the new town; conditions were miserable and many farms were ruined. Moreover, Soltau was a long way from the centres of power, so did not receive much direct support and there were no local lords who felt an association with it.[citation needed]
In 1479 Soltau became part of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and an Amtsvogtei was established. In 1511 the town was totally destroyed by fire.
The last known cavalry battle took place in June 1519 on the 'Wiehe Holt' near Soltau and is known as the Battle of Soltau, which represented the high point of the Hildesheim Abbey Feud. According to long tradition it was only thanks to a ruse by the Soltau townsman, Harm Tyding, who pretended to the advancing Brunswick troops that he knew the whereabouts of a large Lüneburg army and led them on a detour, that the town was not destroyed again.[7]
The Reformation saw little conflict in Soltau as a result of the firm stand taken by the Lüneburg duke, Ernest I and his commitment to introducing the Protestant-Lutheran faith in 1527.
Modern era
In 1533 the town hall was established in an old chapel in Marktstraße but it was destroyed in a fire. In 1567 another great fire destroyed large parts of the town. In 1588 the first school building was erected, although the first records of school teaching go back to as early as 1563. The plague raged in 1626 and the population dwindled dramatically. Before 1620 there were several years of legal disputes about the acquisition of building land outside the town wall.
In the Thirty Years' War Soltau was once again entirely destroyed. All that remained was a great ruin in the landscape and only one building from that time remains. It was a long time before the town recovered from the war's consequences. The traces of the war and the area's occupation by Swedish troops, which began in 1632, is still documented today by the Ellinger Grenzstein ("Ellingen Boundary Stone").
Market rights and therefore the right to host two fairs a year and a horse market were conferred in 1668. The Old Town Pharmacy (Alte Stadtapotheke) was opened in 1796, the first chemist in Soltau.[8]
Soltau first became a garrison town in 1712, a year when the first cloth factory was built. Napoleonic troops occupied the town in 1803 and turned it into a French border town for the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1810. Soltau belonged to the Canton of Harburg in the Department of Bouches-de-l'Elbe. In 1813 the Lützow infantry and cossacks ended ten years of occupation. In 1826 the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) was built on Poststraße.
In 1873 the first railway through Soltau was opened, the line which linked Bremen and Berlin. It was followed in 1901 by the Heath Railway between Hamburg and Hanover and, in 1912, the lines of the East Hanoverian Railways to Celle and Lüneburg. In 1885 Soltau became a district town (Kreisstadt). In 1896 the gas works was built and, two years later, the gymnasium and shooting hall.
On Christmas Eve 1906 a fire destroyed St. John's Church which had been mentioned in the records since 1464. It was then rebuilt and is still standing today. In 1911 the Lutheran Church was consecrated, the second Protestant church to be founded, and in 1915 the Catholic Church of St. Mary's followed. A royal officers' riding school was founded in 1913.
Soltau Camp (Lager Soltau), the largest German prisoner-of-war camp of the First World War was built in 1914. In the same year the mining of potassium salts (Kalisalz) began at the Heinrichssegen Shaft; it had to be halted only four years later as a result of the war, after having reached a depth of just six metres. From 1934 several Wehrmacht units were quartered at Wolterdingen Camp (Lager Wolterdingen) and after the end of the Second World War it was used to house refugees and forced labourers until about 1960. In April 1945, the town was partly destroyed by air raids, in which there were many more civilian victims than military ones.
That same month, prisoners from concentration camps were able to escape from a railway train that had been stopped in Soltau as the result of an Allied air attack. The prisoners were hunted down by members of the Wehrmacht, SS and Hitler Youth, with the help of several townsfolk, and 92 of them were shot dead. A few townspeople, by contrast, risked their own lives by providing the escapees with food and clothing. The post-war trials of those who took part ended in acquittals due to the lack of evidence. Consequently, all that could be recorded were several confirmed killings, but not murders.
Post WW-II
In 1949 Soltau became a British garrison during the Cold War and home of Headquarters 7th Armoured Brigade. They were based at the former SS Riding School on the outskirts of town (Reitschule). The base was the home of 207 Signal Squadron and 11 Ordnance Company. It was the most northerly posting for any British serviceman in BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), excluding minor outposts like Dannenberg, Hamburg and Kiel, in what was known as West Germany. Armoured vehicles were regularly seen on the streets on their way to the military training area at Lüneburg and the HQ was responsible for the nearby Soltau-Lüneburg Training Area and its associated hutted camp at Reinsehlen. The signal squadron had three troops, two of which were armoured, using variants of the FV432 for telecommunication purposes. The soldiers were given the freedom of the town on 18 September 1982, and again after returning from the first Gulf War in 1991. They marched through the town to mark the occasion.
The site of the British barracks was the first in Germany to be turned over to private hands in 1993, one year after the withdrawal of British troops. Today the old barracks is a business centre, used for doctors' practices and social institutions. It is also home to the Alte Reithalle ("Old Riding Hall") Event Centre which has become an important indoor event location after its finished restoration in 2003.
In 1972 Soltau became a state-recognised spa and in 1987 was designated as a "state-recognised town with brine cure facilities". In the administrative reforms of 1974 16 surrounding villages were incorporated into the new municipality. In 1977 the districts of Soltau and Fallingbostel merged into the district of Soltau-Fallingbostel; Soltau lost its status as the district administrative seat.
The Heide Park was opened in 1978; today it is the largest amusement park in North Germany. Other tourist attractions include the Soltau Thermal Baths, which opened in 1990 and the North German Toy Museum which followed in 1994. In 1988 the Showpalast ("Show Palace") was founded at the Soltau secondary modern school (Hauptschule); it remains Germany's only schoolchildren's cabaret.
In 1998 a retail park opened in the Alm industrial estate. From 1996 there were discussions in Soltau about the construction of a 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft) outlet store. The town failed several times in the courts, the last time in 2006 at the Federal Administrative Court of Germany. Protests were led by the surrounding towns of Verden, Rotenburg and Lüneburg]. In 2006 proceedings were begun to obtain permission to deviate from a planning objective which would enable the construction of an outlet centre in spite of the latest rejection. With a change to the state regional development programme in 2008 the establishment of a factory outlet centre in the tourist region of the Lüneburg Heath was finally granted. For the purposes of the town of Soltau, the town of Bad Fallingbostel and the municipality of Bispingen regional proceedings were begun. In February 2009 this process was concluded by the supreme state planning department (State Ministry of Economics) producing a positive outcome for Soltau and a negative one for its two competitors.[9] Construction was due to start in 2010 despite Bispingen launching an appeal. It was due to open in spring 2012.[needs update]
On 20 October 2004 an earthquake shook the region. It had a strength 4.5 on the Richter Scale and its epicentre was in Neuenkirchen. There had been a previous earthquake of strength 4 with an epicentre in Soltau on 2 June 1977.
Since the beginning of 2005 there have been discussions about a memorial of eight representative steles from the Berlin Holocaust Memorial for "all victims of the Nazi dictatorship". However an internet survey by the newspaper, the Böhme-Zeitung showed that a majority of those who responded were against the memorial. This caused a furore nationally and gave those in favour of a memorial reason to accuse the opponents of having Nazi sentiments.[10] Nevertheless, plans to erect the monument in central locations such as immediately in front of the station could not be carried out. This monument appeared from autumn 2006 to March 2007 in the vicinity of the remote site of the killings in the forest of Sibirien (today a hospital stands on the exact spot). The massive opposition from long-time residents of Soltau is frequently put down by them to the lack of commemoration of the many civilian and military victims from their own ranks, because they are not obviously included in the memorial.
In March 2007 a concept for the transformation of the town centre was proposed. The Schaper Market, which had been built in the 1970s and lain empty since 2004, a footbridge (locally called the Fenner-Kringel) and a multi-storey car park were demolished in 2008 and the theatre moved to Hagen, so that a new building could be built with a total sales floor of about 4,000 m2 (43,000 sq ft). The new shopping centre was opened in March 2009.
Demographics
The oldest list of townsfolk in the town book of 1452 enumerates 42 households in Soltau, this represents a good 200 inhabitants based on the conditions of the time. Around 1600 there were about 100 households in Soltau, this corresponds to some 500 inhabitants who lived in about 70 houses. The black death raged in 1626 and caused the population to plummet dramatically. After that, the number of inhabitants rose slowly at first; accelerating from 1940. In 1821 Soltau had 1.024 inhabitants.[11] The large increase in 1974 is due to the regional reform and the incorporation of 16 surrounding villages. Following a short drop in the numbers the population grew again in the 1990s and reached its maximum in 2005 at 22,044. According to internal censuses the town has even greater numbers, e.g. in 2001 23,508, but this is mainly due to the inclusion of those with second homes. Since then the numbers have dropped slowly. This trend should stop in the next few years according to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation. For 2025 the study forecasts a population of 21,614.[12]
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¹ Population censuses
Culture and places of interest
Churches
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Soltau churches include St. John's, which was first mentioned in 1464 and rebuilt after a fire in 1908.[13] The Lutheran Church was the second Protestant church to be built in Soltau (in 1911) after St. John's had burnt down in 1906 and only a small replacement was built.[14] Other religious buildings are the Catholic St. Mary's Church with a tower built in 1915 and a nave dating from 1975. The Holy Spirit Church in Wolterdingen is an old heath church which was built in a brick gothic style and mentioned in 1396, and when it was renovated from 1998 to 2001 medieval wall paintings were discovered.[15] The Heidenhof Chapel was built in 1349, and the Zion Church of the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church dates from 1888.
Museums and leisure facilities
Opposite the Old Town Hall in the centre of the town is the building housing the North German Toy Museum with 600 m2 (6,500 sq ft) of exhibition floor.[16] The Soltau Museum in a half-timbered house dating from 1830 which was renovated in 1988 and 2002 demonstrates the history of the town.[17] It also traces the (pre-)history of Soltau up to 200,000 years ago. The Salt Museum was founded in one of the oldest houses in Soltau.[18]
In the surrounding region, the Heide Park amusement park is very well known. Other facilities are the Soltau Thermal Springs (Soltau-Therme) and the Hof Loh golf course. Breidings Garten is a municipal park with an artificial ruin in the town centre which was created in 1850.[19]
Other sights are the Hagen with its drawbridge and the so-called Marriage Well (Heiratsbrunnen), which was built in 1978 by Karlheinz Goedtke, the Waldmühle Library and the Ratsmühle.
Parks, nature reserves and cemeteries
Near the centre of town is the Breidingsgarten, a landscaped park that is under heritage protection. It was laid out around 1850 along English lines and covers an area of 11 hectares (27 acres). Within the garden, next to a villa built in the Italian style is a ruined building, an old farmstead and fish and ornamental ponds. It is currently in private hands but may still be visited.
Other open spaces in the town include the Böhme Park and the Röders' Park am Halifax. Nearby recreation areas are the Wacholder Park, an area of heath with a sheep shed, the Ahlftener Flatt, a lake from the last ice age, which is popular for ice skating in winter, and the Kuhbach Forest. Around Soltau there are various woods belonging to the Soltau Abbey Forest (Klosterforst) covering a total of 14,500 hectares (36,000 acres) which is managed by the Soltau Abbey Forestry Department.
In Soltau's vicinity are several nature reserves: the Böhmetal bei Huckenrieth, Ehbläcksmoor and the Schwarzes Moor near Dannhorn.
Soltau has two cemeteries, the town cemetery and the forest cemetery. There are also the ruins of a Jewish cemetery in which people were interred from 1721 to 1926.
Culture
The Soltau Cultural Society and the Culture Initiative organise readings and concerts in the town on the Böhme river. Since 2008 the cultural week Zwischenspiel - Das Zelt has taken place annually, with readings, concerts, cabaret and theatre performances in a circus tent. There are also events by the Soltauer Gespräche ("Soltau Talks") and the Soltau Artists House that has admitted writers, painters or musicians since 1995. The Waldmühle Library takes part in the Summer Reading Club Project which is part of the Cultural Secretariat of NRW (Kultursekretariats NRW).
Sports
The oldest sports club in Soltau is MTV Soltau, which was founded in 1864. Today it offers 16 different activities, of which football is the largest with four men's, a women's, four girls' and 15 boys' teams of all ages.
The second oldest club is SV Soltau, founded in 1912. Here, too, the main activity is football, but there are also many other activities. In 2002 a third football club, SG Inter Soltau, was started, but it disbanded after a few years.
The oldest tennis club is TC Blau-Weiß Soltau. Founded in 1952, it opened the first tennis courts in Soltau. There is also a second tennis club, TVC Soltau. In 1993 a table tennis club was started, TTC 93 Soltau.
Pool has been played in Soltau since 1987 at the Pool Billiard Sport Club Triangel. The club plays in the highest Lower Saxon league and takes part in several German tournaments.
There is also a Schützenverein (shooting club), the Schützengilde Soltau Stadt und Land, which held its first Schützenfests in the 15th century and, since 1741, has had a Schützenfest almost every year.
Soltau has another 20 or so smaller clubs offering around 30 different types of sport.
Sports facilities include an indoor and open-air swimming pool, six sports fields, eight sports halls, a riding hall, a golf course, three tennis courts, four nine-pin bowling alleys, a ten-pin bowling alley, squash courts, an inline skating facility, a polo field, a group of ponds for anglers and 2000 m2 of indoor sports hall, the Heidewitzka.
The finals of the German water polo championships took place between 1960 and 1971 in Soltau. In addition since 2004 the Heide Park has been the annual venue for the canoe white water sprint as part of the Germany Cup. The Heide Park has also hosted, in April 2003, the World Wide Championship of LAN Gaming finals and in September 2006 the German qualifiers for the World Cyber Games 2006 in electronic sports and between 1997 and 2003 the annual pole-sitting world cup.
Economy
Industry
Many industrial and trading companies have settled in Soltau. There is a wide range of firms in the metalworking and mechanical engineering sphere including: Röders-Tec (high-speed cutting milling machines, blow moulding, pewter), G.A.Röders (die casting, injection moulding, toolmaking), Röhrs AG (plant manufacturing, industrial building, power plant services), Saxlund International (hauling engines, pumps), Nortec (mechanical engineering) and Colt International (technical building protection).
In the food industry are firms like Harry-Brot (bread, cakes and pastries) and H&S Tee Pack Service (teabag packers) and in textiles: Gebr. Röders AG (felt) and Breiding (bedsprings) (founded 1836). In addition the firm of MVG Mathé-Schmierstofftechnik makes lubricants and the Greenpeace Energy Windpark generates electricity.
Trade
Soltau is the headquarters of hagebau (purchasing cooperative for building materials, wood and tile dealers) and JAWOLL (special deals market) and a distribution centre for the firm of Deichmann (shoes).
The building industry cooperative, ZEUS, has its main headquarters in the town as do the cattle and meat merchants of Raiffeisen Viehvermarktung Zentralheide and the SLC Container Terminal with 250,000 containers for Hamburg Harbour. From 1923 to the mid-1990s the headquarters of the Edeka Group was in Soltau; it has now moved to Minden.
Banks
Soltau is the base for the Kreissparkasse Soltau bank and, until 2008, for the Volksbank Lüneburger Heide. When the latter merged with the Volksbank Lüneburg, the head office moved to Lüneburg. There are also branches of Deutsche Bank and Postbank.
Education
The first recorded school teaching took place in 1563 in the verger's living room. In 1588 the first school building was built by the church in Marktstraße, the first state school followed in 1844. The building in Mühlenstraße still houses the Freudenthal Primary School today. In 1894 townsfolk founded a higher private school. In 1923 a middle school was established.
Today Soltau has three primary schools (Grundschulen), a grammar school (Gymnasium) with just under 1,400 children, a middle school (Realschule), a secondary modern school (Hauptschule) and a special needs school (Förderschule). In addition the charity Lebenshilfe Soltau supports a special needs centre, a kindergarten for children with speech difficulties, a remedial kindergarten and a creche for early learners.
The Soltau Vocational School (Berufsbildende Schule or BBS) is a combined school with four different streams of education under one roof. There is a grammar stream specialising in economics, a technical high stream (Fachoberschule) for technology and economics, and numerous vocational courses in economics, information technology, technology, home economics, careworking, cosmetics, gastronomy, agricultural science, construction, woodwork, metalwork or hairdressing. About 2,400 schoolchildren attend.
The adult education centre (Volkshochschule) Heidekreis is based in Soltau and Walsrode and currently offers about 930 courses.
The Waldmühle Library is the largest in the district. The Heidekreis music school is also based in Soltau.
Media
The Böhme-Zeitung daily newspaper has been going since 1864 with a print run of 12,116 copies (2nd quarter 2008). In addition there is the weekly free newspaper, the Mittwoch aktuell, with a circulation of 29,000 and the twice-weekly Heide-Kurier with 44,000 copies.
Infrastructure
Transport
Rail
Soltau's station, which is still called Soltau (Hannover) (abbreviated to Soltau (Han)) by the Deutsche Bahn belongs to the Hanover Railway Division and lies on the Uelzen–Langwedel railway (KBS 116), part of the America Line, from Bremen to Uelzen and on the Heath Railway (Heidebahn) (KBS 123) from Buchholz (Nordheide) to Bennemühlen(-Hanover). There are two other stops - Soltau Nord and Wolterdingen - on the Heath Railway.
Soltau also has a goods station (Soltau Süd) in the OHE network with goods traffic links to Celle, Uelzen and Lüneburg. These routes also used to have regular passenger services. The Lüneburg Transport Society (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Verkehrsfreunde Lüneburg) occasionally runs passenger trains on these lines to Celle and Lüneburg under the name Heath Express (Heide-Express).
In summer there is also the Ameisenbär ("Anteater"), a historic Wismar railbus from 1937 that runs from Soltau via Bispingen to Döhle and back.
The old Soltau–Neuenkirchen railway has now been dismantled. Between 1998 and 2001 there was a roadrailer shuttle from Soltau-Harber to Verona in Italy which used to run several times a week for the firm of 'alli-Frischdienst' that used to be based in Soltau. The halt of Harber is now just used as a passing loop.
Roads
Since 1959 Soltau has had the motorway exits of Soltau-Süd and Soltau-Ost on the A 7 or E 45 autobahn. Other major roads include the Bundesstraßen B 3, B 71 and B 209 and the Landesstraße, L 163.
As well as the regular regional bus services run by the 'Verkehrsgemeinschaft Heidekreis', which links Soltau with the surrounding towns and villages, there is a free "experience bus" (Erlebnisbus) between July and October through the Lüneburg Heath, which links the numerous tourist sights in the region. The two routes of the Erlebnisbus have several stops in Soltau and at the Heide Park. In addition the coach line from Berlin to Cuxhaven via Magdeburg and Bremen operated by the 'Berlin Linien Bus-Gesellschaft' stops at the town every day. In the summer there are also direct bus links to the Heide Park from Hamburg, Hanover, Lüneburg and Celle.
Cycling
The long distance cycle paths RFW 4 (Leine-Heath Cycle Path) and RFW 15 (Heath Cycle Path or Heide-Radweg) on the Lower Saxon long distance cycle network intersect in Soltau.[20] In 2003 a cycle path concept was developed and implemented. For example, cycle boxes were erected at the station and the cycle network was expanded. In Soltau there are four Bett & Bike ("bed and bike") places that are recommended by the ADFC as especially "cycle-friendly".
Governance
Town council
The town council of Soltau comprises 34 councilors. As of the 2016 elections the councilors belong to the following parties or groups:
- CDU: 12 seats
- SPD: 9 seats
- Bürgerunion (Townsfolk's Union): 4 seats
- The Greens: 3 seats
- AfD: 3 seats
- dps (independents): 2 seats
- FDP: 1 seats
Mayor
Soltau has a directly elected mayor (Bürgermeister). The office is currently held by Olaf Klang (independent), elected in 2021.[1]
Elections
For elections to the Landtag of Lower Saxony, Soltau is part of the constituency of Soltau together with the towns of Munster and Schneverdingen and the villages of Bispingen and Neuenkirchen.
For Bundestag elections Soltau belongs to various Bundestag constituencies:
| Bundestag election | Constituency number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1949, 1953, 1957, 1961 | 36 | Harburg - Soltau |
| 1965, 1969, 1972, 1976 | 30 | Soltau - Harburg |
| 1980, 1983 | 30 | Soltau-Fallingbostel - Rotenburg |
| 1987, 1990, 1994, 1998 | 30 | Soltau-Fallingbostel - Rotenburg II |
| 2002, 2005 | 36 | Soltau-Fallingbostel - Winsen L. |
| 2009 | 36 | Rotenburg I - Soltau-Fallingbostel |
Town twinning
Soltau is twinned with:
Coldwater, Michigan, USA (since 1971)
Laon, France (since 1972)
Osterburg, Germany (since 1991)
Myślibórz, Poland (since 1997)
Grünberg in Schlesien/Zielona Góra, Poland, (since 1997)
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Soltau shows the lion of the Welf dynasty behind a red city gate. The lion was part of the original town seal from around 1400 as the town belonged to the Dukes of Lüneburg, of the House of Welf. Later the lion was depicted lying on the town gate, since the 19th century it has been depicted behind the gate.[21]
Notable people
- Christian Benbennek (born 1972), German football coach
- Klaas Dijkhoff (born 1981), Dutch legal scholar
- Philipp Eggersglüß (born 1995), German football player
- Maximilian C. Jehuda Ewert (born 1974), German composer and violinist
- Marcel Gebers (born 1986), German football player
- Lars Klingbeil (born 1978), German politician (SPD)
- Klaus Lage (born 1950), German singer
- Marleen Lohse (born 1984), German actor
- Dieter Möhrmann (born 1948), politician (SPD)
- Thomas Ostermeier (born 1968), German theatre director
- Friedemann Schulz von Thun (born 1944), German psychologist
- Marcus Wedau (born 1975), German football player
- August Wöhler (1819–1904), German railway engineer
- Herbert Kappler, German war criminal
References
- ^ 1.0 1.1 "Direktwahlen in Niedersachsen vom 12. September 2021" (PDF). Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen. 13 October 2021.
- ^ "LSN-Online Regionaldatenbank, Tabelle A100001G: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, Stand 31. Dezember 2022" (in German). Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ 2003 statistics for the town of Soltau Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Geoklima 2.1
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ Zusammenfassung aus Die Siedlung Soltau in der Niedersächsischen Geschichte: Band I. Von der germanischen Siedlung bis zum Dreißigjährigen Krieg von Wolfgang Bargmann Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Informationen über die Schlacht bei Soltau und Harm Tyding
- ^ Informationsbroschüre der Stadt Soltau aus dem Jahr 2005[permanent dead link]
- ^ Presseinformation des niedersächsischen Landwirtschaftsministerium zum FOC Soltau, 3 February 2009 (accessed 04.09.2009)
- ^ Bericht über das Soltauer Holocaust-Mahnmal auf www.spiegel.de dated 7 February 2005 (retrieved 04.09.2009)
- ^ Dr. Max Broesike: Neumanns Orts- und Verkehrslexikon, Bd. 2, S. 1016. Leipzig 1905
- ^ Bevölkerungsprognose der Bertelsmann Stiftung Wegweiser Kommune Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Erlebniswelt Lüneburger Heide GmbH: Mein Heidekreis - Kultur & Kunst, p. 23. Soltau 2023
- ^ Erlebniswelt Lüneburger Heide GmbH: Mein Heidekreis - Kultur & Kunst, p. 24. Soltau 2023
- ^ Erlebniswelt Lüneburger Heide GmbH: Mein Heidekreis - Kultur & Kunst, p. 23. Soltau 2023
- ^ Erlebniswelt Lüneburger Heide GmbH: Mein Heidekreis - Kultur & Kunst, p. 10. Soltau 2023
- ^ Erlebniswelt Lüneburger Heide GmbH: Mein Heidekreis - Kultur & Kunst, p. 13. Soltau 2023
- ^ Erlebniswelt Lüneburger Heide GmbH: Mein Heidekreis - Kultur & Kunst, p. 13. Soltau 2023
- ^ Erlebniswelt Lüneburger Heide GmbH: Mein Heidekreis - Kultur & Kunst, p. 34. Soltau 2023
- ^ Karte des niedersächsischen Radfernwegenetzes
- ^ Erläuterungen zum Soltauer Wappen auf www.ngl.nl (Engl.)
External links
- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata. (in German)
- North German Toy Museum, Soltau (in German)