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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox German location
|type               = Stadt
|image_coa            = Wappen Hitzacker.svg
|image_photo = Hitzacker 3982.jpg
|image_caption = View from the ''Weinberg'' over the old town
|coordinates       = {{coord|53|8|N|11|3|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Hitzacker (Elbe) in DAN.svg
|state        = Niedersachsen
|district         = Lüchow-Dannenberg
|Samtgemeinde      = Elbtalaue
|elevation              = 12
|area            = 58.44
|postal_code               = 29456
|area_code           = 05862, 05858 (OT Pussade), 05861 (OT Kähmen)
|licence               = DAN
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 03 3 54 009
|divisions        = 12 parishes
|website           = [http://www.hitzacker.de/ www.hitzacker.de]
|mayor     = Holger Mertins
|party            = FDP
}}

'''Hitzacker''' is a town in the [[Lüchow-Dannenberg]] district of [[Lower Saxony]], [[Germany]]. It is situated on the river [[Elbe]], approx. 8&nbsp;km north of [[Dannenberg (Elbe)|Dannenberg]], and 45&nbsp;km east of [[Lüneburg]]. The 2007 population of Hitzacker was 4,982, and its postal code is 29456. The mayor is Holger Mertins. The town is located on the [[German Timber-Frame Road]] and is part of the ''[[Samtgemeinde]]'' ("collective municipality") of [[Elbtalaue]].

The famous library now in [[Wolfenbüttel]] was founded here by [[Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (who died in 1666) and was moved to its present location in 1643.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Hitzacker|volume=13|page=540}}</ref>

== Geography ==

=== Location ===
Hitzacker is situated at the confluence of the [[Jeetze (river)|River Jeetzel]] with the [[Elbe]]. While the so-called Elbe Heights (''Elbhöhen'', also ''Klötzie''), at the southeastern foot of which Hitzacker lies, belong to the natural region of the [[Lüneburg Heath]] (cf. the [[Drawehn]]), the lowland areas of the old town belong to the Elbe valley water meadows (''Elbtalaue'').

Its height varies from {{Höhe|11.00|DE-NN}} at the Jeetzel confluence to {{Höhe|83.00|DE-NN}} on the hill of ''Weinberg'' in the [[Drawehn|''Klötzie'']]. Further down the Elbe, the hill of ''Kniepenberg'' near Drethem attains {{Höhe|86.00|DE-NN}} and offers a panoramic view over the Elbe valley depression.

== Town divisions ==
Since the municipal reform of 1972, the borough of Hitzacker has consisted of the town itself and the 11 villages listed below.

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* Bahrendorf
* Grabau
* Harlingen
* '''Hitzacker'''
* Kähmen
* Nienwedel
* Pussade
* Seerau
* Tießau
* Tiesmesland
* Wietzetze
* Wussegel
{{div col end}}

Other settlements in the borough are:

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* Dötzingen, manor
* Hagen, manor
* Leitstade
* Marwedel
* Meudelfitz, manor
* Meudelfitz, settlement
* Posade, forest house (''Forsthaus'')
* Sarchem
* Schmessau
* Schmardau
{{div col end}}

Before 1972, Pussade and Posade Forsthaus belonged to the municipality of Harlingen, Dötzingen Manor, Hagen Manor, Marwedel, Meudelfitz Manor, Meudelfitz and Sarchem to the town of Hitzacker and Leitstade to Wietzetze. The manors of Dötzingen, Hagen and Marwedel are located today within the town of Hitzacker.

== History ==
Man had already settled by around 3000 B.C. at the lake of ''Hitzackersee'' and the region has been continuously settled for over three thousand years.

On the ''Weinberg'' next to the present old town (''Altstadt'') [[Slavs]] built a castle in the eighth century. As a result, Hitzacker became an important trading centre even before its receiving [[town rights]]. Its actual foundation as a town took place in 1258, whereupon the castle lost its significance and was allowed to fall into ruins.<ref>[http://archaeo-centrum.de/azhdeutsch/ ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616183833/http://archaeo-centrum.de/azhdeutsch/ |date=16 June 2008 }}</ref>

A manuscript referring to Hitzacker dating to 20 January 1376 states the following:<ref>Sudendorf, Hans, Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Herzöge von Braunschweig und Lüneburg und ihrer Lande, Fünfter Teil (1374–1381), Hanover, 1865, p. 79.</ref>

:"The dukes, [[Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg|Wenceslas]] and [[Albert of Saxe-Wittenberg, Duke of Lüneburg|Albert of Saxony and Lüneburg]] and Duke [[Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Bernard of Brunswick of Lüneburg]] allow the council of the town of Lüneburg to add the 30 marks of the [[Lot (unit)|lot]] which Lord Ludolf von Tzellenstede undertook to pay on the town's behalf on 13 April next, and the 150 marks of the lot which he also agreed to pay on the following 25 December, as well as the 100 marks of the lot the council paid on behalf of Lords Ordenberg and Siegfried Bock, i.e. 280 marks of the lot and the interest due to be added to the pledge for the castles of [[Bleckede]] and Hitzacker and the taxes from Lüneburg and Hitzacker, in the event that the lords do not repay the council on the said days, and vow also not to relieve the council from the pledges before they have repaid the sum pledged and the above money."

In 1548, on the Friday after [[Jubilate Sunday]], a conflagration reduced the village of Hitzacker to ashes apart from the church and one house.<ref>Blazek, Matthias, ''Das Löschwesen im Bereich des ehemaligen Fürstentums Lüneburg von den Anfängen bis 1900'', Adelheidsdorf: 2006, p. 89.</ref>

In 1610 a number of people in Hitzacker and the surrounding area were accused of witchcraft and sorcery.<ref>Grässe, Johann Georg Theodor, Sagenbuch des preußischen Staats, Hildesheim, New York 1977, S. 907; Blazek, Matthias, "Aberglaube und Hexenverfolgung", in ders.: Hexenprozesse – Galgenberge – Hinrichtungen – Kriminaljustiz im Fürstentum Lüneburg und im Königreich Hannover, Stuttgart 2006, p. 62 ff.</ref>

On the third day of Christmas in 1668 the church, vicarage and eight houses burned down.<ref>Blazek, Löschwesen, a. a. O., p. 102.</ref>

In the [[Polabian language|Polabian]] ("Wendish") language of the region that died out in the 18th century Hitzacker was called ''Ljauci'' (''Lgautztgi'').

The borough of Hitzacker was created as part of the municipal reform in 1972 from ten hitherto independent parishes.

== Politics ==
The town of Hitzacker belongs to state constituency No. 48 – Elbe and federal constituency No. 38 – Lüchow-Dannenberg – Lüneburg.<ref name="Landtagswahlkreiseinteilung">''Landtagswahlkreise ab 16. Wahlperiode. Wahlkreiseinteilung für die Wahl zum Niedersächsischen Landtag.'' Anlage zu §&nbsp;10 Abs.&nbsp;1 NLWG, p.&nbsp;4. ([http://www.nls.niedersachsen.de/file/LWWahlkreis2005.pdf pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725194345/http://www.nls.niedersachsen.de/file/LWWahlkreis2005.pdf |date=25 July 2011 }}; 87&nbsp;kb).</ref><ref name="Bundestagswahlkreiseinteilung">''Beschreibung der Wahlkreise.'' Anl. zu §&nbsp;2 Abs.&nbsp;2 Bundeswahlgesetz. In: ''Achtzehntes Gesetz zur Änderung des Bundeswahlgesetzes.'' Anl. zu Artikel&nbsp;1. Bonn 18.&nbsp;März&nbsp;2008, p.&nbsp;325. ([http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/bundestagswahlen/BTW_BUND_09/wahlkreiseinteilung/wahlkreisbeschreibung.pdf pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725042228/http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/bundestagswahlen/BTW_BUND_09/wahlkreiseinteilung/wahlkreisbeschreibung.pdf |date=25 July 2011 }}; 200&nbsp;kb).</ref>

=== Council ===
The [[town council]] of Hitzacker has 17 councillors.
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width:60%;"
|-  style="background:#eee; text-align:center;"
| || [[Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands|CDU]] || [[Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands|SPD]] || [[Freie Demokratische Partei|FDP]] || [[Freie Wähler|Initiativ für Hitzacker / INI]] || '''Total'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| 2006 || 5 || 5 || 4 || 3 || 17 seats
|}
<small>as at: [[local elections]] of 10 September 2006</small>

=== Mayor ===
The Mayor (''Bürgermeister'') of Hitzacker is Holger Mertins.

=== Partnerships ===
The town used to be partnered with the municipality of [[Wisch (Gelderland)|Wisch]] in the [[Netherlands]].

== Culture and places of interest ==
[[File:Hitzacker2.jpg|thumb|The market place in Hitzacker]]
[[File:Hitzacker1.jpg|thumb|''Am Markt'' in Hitzacker]]
* Town roundabout with timber-framed houses and the 1589 customs house (''Zollhaus'')

=== Museums ===
* [[Hitzacker Archaeological Centre]]
* The Old Customs House Museum (''Das Alte Zollhaus'')
* Hunting Lodge and Forest Museum in [[Göhrde]]

=== Buildings ===
* Katemin Mill (''Kateminer Mühle'')

=== Other ===
* Excavations at the Hitzacker See
* Sacrifice stone (''Opferstein'') near Pudripp
* Wildlife enclosure (''Wildgehege'') in Hitzacker
* Prince's Graves (''Fürstengräber''), Marwedel
* [[Megalithic tomb]]s and [[tumuli]] near Pussade
* The ''Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellschaft'' or ''Wifo'': former Nazi underground fuel depot in the Dötzingen Forest outside Hitzacker
* Hitzacker's shooting guild, the '''Schützengilde von 1395 zu Hitzacker (Elbe)'', is one of the oldest in Europe.

== Economy and infrastructure ==

=== Tourism ===
Hitzacker has a long tradition as a tourist destination. For instance, the Local History Working Group of Lüchow-Dannenberg (''Heimatkundliche Arbeitskreis Lüchow-Dannenberg'' or HALD) held a conference in 1983 with the title "100 Years of Tourism in Hitzacker – 50 Year Old Local History and Museum Society".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hak-ld.de/herbsttagungen.html |title=HALD - Herbsttagungen - HALD |publisher=Hak-ld.de |access-date=2011-12-01 |archive-date=22 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322200701/http://www.hak-ld.de/herbsttagungen.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Around the turn of the century, holidaymakers from the Hamburg and Hanover regions came to the spa hotel on the Weinberg hill. The hotel had its own spring used as a drinking fountain and for bathing by those taking the ''Kur''. Day excursions on the river, along the Elbe, took place, and it had its own shipping line: Hamburg-Lauenburg-Dömitz. Today tourism has experienced a change. The health business has been replaced by "wellness" and beauty facilities. Hitzacker has since become a recognised climatic spa. Many of its hotels offer so-called wellness treatments and there is a spa area with a Kneipp basin and barefoot path. Hitzacker is the venue for musical events like the Hitzacker Summer Music Days ([[Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker]])<ref>[http://www.musiktage-hitzacker.de/ 62. Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker<!-- Automatisch generierter titel -->].</ref> under the artistic direction of Dr. Markus Fein, and Hitzacker Music Week (''Musikwoche Hitzacker'')<ref>[http://www.musikwoche-hitzacker.de/ Musikwoche Hitzacker<!-- Automatisch generierter titel -->].</ref> under the direction of [[Ludwig Güttler]]. There are three museums, including the [[Archaeological Centre, Hitzacker|Archaeological Centre]] with a [[Bronze Age]] open-air museum.<ref>[http://www.archaeo-centrum.de/:: AZH – Archäologisches Zentrum Hitzacker::.. ARCHAEO-CENTRUM.DE<!-- Automatisch generierter titel -->]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> On the Weinberg, vines have been cultivated for several centuries, and once a year the vintage is celebrated by the officiating wine queen. Hitzacker takes part in various marketing initiatives; for example the town is on the [[German Timber-Frame Road]], the [[Lower Saxon Asparagus Road]] and a partner in the German-Dutch [[Orange Route]].

=== Transport ===
[[File:Fähre Hitzacker-pjt.jpg|thumb|Passenger ferry Hitzacker - Bitter]]

Hitzacker has a railway link to Dannenberg and Lüneburg on the [[Wittenberge–Lüneburg railway|Wendland Railway]]. Another station on the same line is located in the local village of Leitstade. There are bus links to Lüneburg, Uelzen and Dannenberg as well as the county town of Lüchow. In Hitzacker there is a passenger ferry over the Elbe.

=== Education ===
There are three schools in Hitzacker:
* Hitzacker Primary School
* Bernhard Varenius School
* Hitzacker Free School

== Notable townsfolk ==
[[File:Prince Claus of the Netherlands 1986.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Prince Claus of the Netherlands]], 1986]]
* [[Bernhard Varenius]] (1622–1650), physician and geographer.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Varenius, Bernhardus |volume= 27 |page= 905 |short=1}}</ref>
* [[:de:Ferdinand Wohltmann|Ferdinand Wohltmann, (DE Wiki)]] (1857–1919), agronomist
* [[:de:Hans Georg Ahrens|Hans Georg Ahrens, (DE Wiki)]] (born 1944), German opera singer
* [[:de:Rudi Müller-Glöge|Rudi Müller-Glöge, (DE Wiki)]] (born 1951), German lawyer and vice-president of the Federal Labour Court
=== Aristocracy ===
* [[Augustus II, Duke of Brunswick]] (1579–1666), [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]], lived locally age 25 to age 87
* [[Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel]] (1627–1704), [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]
* [[Sibylle Ursula von Braunschweig-Lüneburg]] (1629–1671), member of the [[House of Welf]], a translator and writer.
* [[Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick]] (1633–1714), [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]], writer and art lover
* [[Baroness Gösta von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen]] (1902–1996), mother of [[Prince Claus of the Netherlands|Prince Claus]], moved back to Dötzingen in 1963. 
* [[Prince Claus of the Netherlands]] (1926–2002), German diplomat and Prince of the Netherlands

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
*Johann Parum Schultze; Reinhold Olesch (ed.): ''Fontes linguae Dravaenopolabicae minores et Chronica Venedica J. P. Schultzii''. (=&nbsp;Slavic Research; Vol. 7). Böhlau, Köln and Graz 1967
*Christian Hennig von Jessen: ''Vocabularium Venedicum (oder Wendisches Wörter-Buch)'' (1705). Reprint by Reinhold Olesch. – Cologne [''inter alia'']: Böhlau 1959 (source for Pastor C. Hennig von Jessen was the Polabian-speaking farmer, Johann Janieschge from Klennow)

== Sources ==
* Berndt Wachter: "Die Fortführung der Grabung auf dem Weinberg bei Hitzacker (Elbe) im Jahr 1971". In: ''NNU 41'' (1972), p. 227 ff.
* Berndt Wachter: "Eine slawische Wallanlage – Die Grabung auf dem Weinberg in Hitzacker (Elbe) im Jahre 1972". In: ''NNU 42'' (1973), p.&nbsp;300 ff.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Hitzacker (Elbe)}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Hitzacker}}
* [http://www.elbtalaue.de Website of the Elbtalaue municipality]
* [http://www.hitzacker.de Official website]

{{Cities and towns in Lüchow-Dannenberg (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lüchow-Dannenberg]]
[[Category:Populated riverside places in Germany]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Elbe]]