Schloss Ahrensburg

This is a test transmission of our upcoming website for Ahrensburg, near Hamburg, Germany.

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Welcome to Ahrensburg

Ahrensburg (German pronunciation: [ˈaːʁənsˌbʊɐ̯k]) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, situated in Stormarn. Population around 30,100 (2004).

Ahrensburg is situated in the Tunneltal, where Alfred Rust excavated many items dating back to the ice age.

Attractions

The Renaissance castle dating from 1595 is definately worth a visit. Other sights are the adjacent castle church with its "Gottesbuden" Almshouses.

The beautiful landscape around Ahrensburg with its many lakes is a major attraction. The Baltic Sea is about an hour's drive away.

Enjoy a swim in the open air Lido of the "Grossen See" or visit the small beach on the other end. There is also the Badlantic with several swimming pools indoors and outside.

Transport

Ahrensburg is easily accessible by car and train on the railway route between the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, as well as the Hamburg Metro. The Autobahn A1 passes nearby.

History

Middle Ages

The town dates back to the 13th Century, when the Counts of Schauenburg founded the village 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 into the possession of the Cistercian Reinfeld Abbey 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 reeves based in the castle in 1295 and 1304. In 1326, Count John III of Schauenburg had his reeve relocated to Trittau and abandoned the castle.

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 almshouses 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.

The Rantzau's 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 7 June 1867 the estate village 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" community once more succeeded in 1912.

The construction of the railway between Hamburg and Lübeck in the year 1865 made Ahrensburg a well loved destination for outings outside Hamburg and the number of inhabitants increased. By 1910, the population had reached 2750. 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 territory 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 city rights in 1949, the town had some 17 775 inhabitants - 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.

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.