Itzehoe

Itzehoe is a town in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9 mi) north of Glückstadt. The population is about 32,530.
History
Itzehoe is the oldest town in Holstein. Its nucleus was a castle, built in 809 by Egbert, one of Charlemagne's counts, against the Danes. The community that sprang up around it was variously called Esseveldoburg, Eselsfleth and Ezeho. In 1201 the town was destroyed but it was restored in 1224. The new town was granted the Lübeck rights by Adolphus IV in 1238 and the old town in 1303. During the Thirty Years' War Itzehoe was twice destroyed by the Swedes, in 1644 and 1657, but was rebuilt on each occasion. It passed to Prussia in 1867, with the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein.
Itzehoe was listed as a garrison depot (Wehrkreis X (Hamburg)) of the former 225th Infantry Division, which was implicated in the 1940 Vinkt Massacre in Belgium.
During World War II, Itzehoe was not initially a primary target for the Allied strategic bombing campaign, but was hit by an Allied bombing raid very late in the war, when Allied carpet bombing on 2 May 1945 (just two days before the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath) caused 22 fatalities in the city.
Climate
Sights
The Church of St. Laurentii and the building in which the Holstein estates formerly met are noteworthy. The town has a convent founded in 1256, many schools, a hospital and other benevolent institutions.
Itzehoe is also the location of the Wenzel Hablik Museum.
Transport
Itzehoe is situated at the Marsh Railway and offers connections to Hamburg and the island of Sylt.
During the period up to and including the Wacken Open Air festival many festival goers depart for the festival from Itzehoe using the 'Metal Shuttle Bus’, which leaves from near Itzehoe station. During this time the town can become very overcrowded and inundated with traffic.
Twin towns – sister cities
Itzehoe is twinned with:
Cirencester, England, United Kingdom
La Couronne, France
Pasłęk, Poland
Notable people
Joachim Irgens von Westervick (1611-1675), Dano-Norwegian official and estate owner, one of the most important financial magnates and entrepreneurs
Carl Julian (von) Graba (1799–1874), German lawyer and ornithologist who visited and studied the Faroe Islands
Carl Johann Heinrich Leschen (1808 – 1900), Music composer and organist
Bruno Adler (1896–1954), Bishop of the German Christians
Hans-Joachim Newiger (1925–2011), philologist
H. G. Francis (1936–2011), writer
Sabine Sinjen (1942–1995), actress
Jerzy Janeczek (1944–2021), Polish actor
Antje Blumenthal (born 1947), politician
Sylvia Convey (born 1948), Latvian-Australian artist
Olaf Berner (born 1949), teacher and handball player
Heiger Ostertag (born 1953), historian
Thomas Gerull (born 1962), fencer, Olympic medalist
Sven Butenschön (born 1976), ice hockey player
Lisa Tomaschewsky (born 1988), actress
References
External links
Itzehoe Notgeld (emergency banknotes) depicting the inflation of staple prices in Germany between 1913 and 1921
Towns in Schleswig-Holstein
Steinburg
Towns in Germany