Höxter

Höxter
Town hall
Höxter
Location of the town of Höxter within Höxter district
Coordinates	51°46′N 9°22′E / 51.76667°N 9.36667°E / 51.76667; 9.36667Coordinates: 51°46′N 9°22′E / 51.76667°N 9.36667°E / 51.76667; 9.36667
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Detmold
District	Höxter
Town subdivisions	13
Mayor	Alexander Fischer (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	157.89 km2 (60.96 sq mi)
Elevation	96 m  (315 ft)
Population	31,089 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	197 /km2 (510 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	HX
Postal codes	37651–37671
Area codes	05271, 05531, 05275, 05277, 05278
Website	www.hoexter.de

Höxter (German pronunciation: [ˈhœkstɐ]) is the seat of the Höxter district, and a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands. The main town's population as of 2006 is 15,558, and with outlying centres, 34,487.

Constituent communities

As part of North Rhine-Westphalia's municipal reforms, the collective municipality of Höxter came into being on 1 January 1970, formed out of the eleven communities of the former Amt of Höxter-Land, the main town, and the community of Bruchhausen from the former Amt of Beverungen. The communities in question voluntarily merged to pool their resources and bring about a unified administration. These constituent communities are:

• Albaxen
• Bosseborn
• Bödexen
• Brenkhausen
• Bruchhausen
• Fürstenau
• Godelheim
• Lüchtringen
• Lütmarsen
• Ottbergen
• Ovenhausen
• Stahle

History

Höxter (Latin Huxaria) in the time of Charlemagne was a villa regia, and was the scene of a battle between his forces and the Saxons. Under the protection of the monastery of Corvey it gradually increased in prosperity, and became the chief town of the principality of Corvey. Later it asserted its independence and joined the Hanseatic League. It suffered severely during the Thirty Years' War. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 it was united with Brunswick; in 1802 it passed to Nassau and in 1807 to the Kingdom of Westphalia, after the dismemberment of which, in 1814, it came into the possession of Prussia.

In 2005 an explosion within a house in the historic town centre damaged the town hall and many other significant buildings and resulted in three deaths. Work has started on the rebuilding of the damaged area but is expected to continue for many years.^[2]

Albaxen

Albaxen had its first documentary mention, under the name Albachtessen, on the occasion of the neighbouring Corvey Abbey's founding in 822, and by 900 it was already known by its current name. The Albaxen parish church was likewise first mentioned in the 9th century. The Tonenburg, a mediaeval building complex near Albaxen – not truly a castle as the name suggests – was built in 1350 by the Corvey Abbey.

Lüchtringen

In 854, Lüchtringen was first mentioned under the name Lutringi (12 different spellings, including Luhtringi and Luchtringi) in the Corvey Abbey's annals and beginning in 1230 it belonged to the fourth archdeaconate of Höxter-Corvey of the Bishopric of Paderborn. Before it became Prussian in 1813, Lüchtringen belonged to the Principality of Orange-Nassau in Fulda from 1803. In 1970, Lüchtringen lost its independence and became a constituent community of Höxter.^[3]

Lüchtringen is, among other things, North Rhine-Westphalia's easternmost community.

Main sights

Half-timbering at the Haus Litto, Marktstraße 13

Höxter has a medieval town hall and interesting houses with high gables and carved façades from the 15th and 16th centuries. Many of the buildings in this area were damaged or destroyed by the great explosion in 2005. The most interesting of the churches is the Protestant church of Saint Kilian, with a pulpit dating from 1595 and a font dating from 1631. The Weser is crossed here by a stone bridge about 150 m in length, erected in 1833.

On the Brunsberg abutting the town is an old watchtower, said to be the remains of a fortress built by Widukind's brother Bruno.

Also to be found in Höxter are the following:

• The extensively preserved mediaeval town structure is made up of half-timbered buildings, among which are found a few examples of the Weser Renaissance style. Particularly worth mentioning are the Adam-und-Eva-Haus on Stummrige Straße and the old Dechanei (Deacon's House) on the marketplace, where over 60 carved rosettes can be admired, no two of which are alike.
• On Höxter's outskirts lies the Corvey Monastery right on the Weser. The monastery church has a Carolingian crypt as well as an imposing westwork. Furthermore, Hoffmann von Fallersleben, who among other things wrote Das Lied der Deutschen is buried here; his grave is beside the church.
• Around Höxter are opportunities to go rowing, skydiving or hiking or to engage in watersports. The 18 km-long hiking loop offers outstanding lookouts such as the Köterberg (mountain).
• As part of the Erlebniswelt Renaissance ("Renaissance Adventure World"), there is in Höxter a unique town walk with the theme "market", on which the visitor may solve a murder case from 1617.
• The Obermühle Höxter ("Höxter Upper Mill") is a former watermill that once belonged to the Corvey Monastery. Today it houses the Mühlencafé.
• The Tonenburg (see History above)

Politics

Town council

Town council's 44 seats are apportioned as follows, in accordance with municipal elections held on 30 August 2009^[4]:

• CDU 17 seats
• SPD 14 seats
• Greens 3 seats
• FDP 4 seats
• DIE LINKE 1 seat
• UWG 5 seats

Note: UWG is a citizens' coalition.

Mayor

Alexander Fischer, SPD (since 2009)

Coat of arms

Höxter's oldest known seals date from the 13th century, the same century during which the town was granted town rights. The current arms, showing an ecclesiastical structure, have been used since the 19th century, and are modelled after the second seal, known from 1285. The arms were granted once again in 1970.[1]

Sport

There are many sport clubs in Höxter. The biggest club is the Höxter Handball and Athletics Club (HLC Höxter), which furthermore offers fitness courses, swimming, aquajogging, back gymnastics, badminton and judo. There is also the Höxter-Weserbergland Football Arena. There, on two indoor courts on artificial turf, the year round, the newest generation of football can be played.

Culinary specialities

Regular culinary events in Höxter are "Höxter Kulinarisch" and the "Fischer- und Flößertage" ("Fishermen's and Raftsmen's Days"). At these events, gastronomy and the advertising community get together and present culinary delights.

Economy and infrastructure

The town's main manufactured products are linen, cotton, cement and gutta-percha latex, and there is also a considerable shipping trade.

Transport

Höxter itself has at its disposal a halt and a railway station for train travel. For historical reasons, the halt is called Höxter Rathaus ("Höxter Town Hall"). On the line run by the NordWestBahn runs the Egge-Bahn towards Paderborn and Holzminden. In Holzminden, one can transfer to trains bound for Kreiensen and Braunschweig. At the station in Höxter-Ottbergen is a connection with the railway line to Lauenförde, Bodenfelde, Göttingen and Northeim. There is also a halt on this line at Höxter-Godelheim.

All public transport in Höxter can be used on the integrated fare system within the Paderborn-Höxter Local Transport Association (Nahverkehrsverbund Paderborn-Höxter).

Education

• Höxter is one of the four locations of the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (German:Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe).
• Secondary education in Höxter includes the König-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, the Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben-Realschule and the Hauptschule as well as a sales school (kaufmännische Schule, a vocational and economics Gymnasium).

Famous people

• Hans Christoph Becker-Foss, conductor and organist
• Thomas von Heesen, football trainer for Arminia Bielefeld
• Jacob Pins, artist, born in Höxter
• Klaus Töpfer, retired federal minister (born in Silesia, came to Höxter as a child)
• Carl von Wedelstaedt (born 14 June 1864 in Höxter), 1919-1928 Oberbürgermeister of Gelsenkirchen
• James Richard Donnachie, artist
• Anja Niedringhaus, reporter

Town partnerships

Höxter maintains partnership links with the following places:

• Corbie, France, since 1963-1964
• Sudbury, United Kingdom, since 1979-1980

References

Much of this article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.

1. ^ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. 31 December 2010. http://www.it.nrw.de/statistik/a/daten/amtlichebevoelkerungszahlen/index.html. 
2. ^ Kampschulte, Chronik der Stadt Höxter (Höxter, 1872)
3. ^ Lüchtringen - Geschichte einer Ortschaft, published by Heimat- und Verkehrsverein e. V. Lüchtringen, first edition, 1998
4. ^ http://www.wahlergebnisse.nrw.de/kommunalwahlen/2009/Gem_raete/c762020kw0900.html

External links

• Official website
• Erlebniswelt Renaissance
• "Höxter entdecken, erleben, erfahren"
• www.kwg.hoexter.de König-Wilhelm-Gymnasium