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{{Infobox German location
 | type              = Stadt
 | image_photo       = Kaiserdom Königslutter.jpg
 | image_caption     = Old town and monastery church (''Kaiserdom'')
 | image_coa         = Wappen Koenigslutter.PNG
 | coordinates       = {{coord|52|15|N|10|49|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 | image_plan        = Königslutter am Elm in HE.svg
 | state             = Niedersachsen
 | district          = Helmstedt
 | elevation         = 134
 | area              = 130.58
 | postal_code       = 38154
 | area_code         = 05353
 | licence           = HE
 | Gemeindeschlüssel = 03 1 54 013
 | divisions         = 18 [[Stadtteil]]e
 | website           = [http://www.koenigslutter.de/ www.koenigslutter.de]
 | mayor             = Alexander Hoppe<ref name=mayor>{{cite web|url=https://www.statistik.niedersachsen.de/download/169156|title=Verzeichnis der direkt gewählten Bürgermeister/-innen und Landräte/Landrätinnen|date=April 2021|publisher=[[Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen]]}}</ref>
 | leader_term       = 2019&ndash;24
 | party             = SPD
 | year_of_first_mention = 1135
}}

'''Königslutter am Elm''' is a [[List of cities and towns in Germany|town]] in the district of [[Helmstedt (district)|Helmstedt]] in [[Lower Saxony]], [[Germany]].

==Geography==
[[File:Kaiserdom Königslutter 2.jpg|thumb|left|''Kaiserdom'']]
It is located on the northeastern slopes of the [[Elm (hills)|Elm]] hill range, within the [[Elm-Lappwald Nature Park]], about {{convert|23|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]], {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of the district capital [[Helmstedt]], and {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Wolfsburg]].

The town has access to the [[Brunswick–Magdeburg railway]] at the Königslutter railway station, served by [[Regionalbahn]] trains to Brunswick and Helmstedt, and is traversed by the [[Bundesstraße]] 1 federal highway. The [[Bundesautobahn 2]] runs about {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of the town centre. Königslutter is a stop on the [[German Timber-Frame Road]] (''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'') tourist route.

In its current form, the township with about 16,000 inhabitants was created in a 1974 administrative reform by joining the following 18 municipalities:
{{div col}}
* [[Beienrode (Königslutter)|Beienrode]]
* [[Boimstorf]]
* [[Bornum am Elm]]
* [[Glentorf]]
* [[Groß Steinum]]
* [[Klein Steimke]]
* Königslutter
* [[Lauingen, Lower Saxony|Lauingen]]
* [[Lelm]]
* [[Ochsendorf]]
* [[Rhode, Lower Saxony|Rhode]]
* [[Rieseberg]]
* [[Rotenkamp]]
* [[Rottorf]]
* [[Scheppau, Lower Saxony|Scheppau]]
* [[Schickelsheim]]
* [[Sunstedt]]
* [[Uhry (Königslutter)|Uhry]]
{{div col end}}

==History==
[[File:20170902_KoenigslutterKaiserdom_Hauptschiff_A_DSC05489_Rectilinear_03_PtrQs.JPG|thumb|left|Church interior]]
A village called ''Lûtere'' in the [[Duchy of Saxony]] was first mentioned in an 1135 deed, when Emperor [[Lothair II, Holy Roman Emperor|Lothair III]] established a [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery here, centered on the Sts Peter and Paul Church, a prominent [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] [[basilica]] where he and his consort [[Richenza of Northeim]] as well as his son-in-law, the [[House of Welf|Welf]] duke [[Henry X, Duke of Bavaria|Henry the Proud]] are also buried. The place was named after the nearby [[karst spring]] of the [[Lutter (Schunter)|Lutter]] (from [[Middle High German]]: ''lauter'', "pure") stream in the Elm hills.

A [[water castle]] was erected around 1200 and in 1318 the surrounding settlement was documented as a [[market town]]. Around 1400 the [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Dukes of Brunswick]] granted the citizens of ''Luttere'' [[German town law|town privileges]]. From the late 14th century onwards, the place was called ''Konnigesluttere'', referring to late Emperor Lothair III, [[King of the Romans]].

Located on the trade route from Brunswick to [[Magdeburg]] (the present-day Bundesstraße 1), [[beer]] brewing and Elm [[limestone]] mining and cutting were its main industries in early modern times, while the monastery developed as a [[pilgrimage]] destination. Not until 1924, the monastery complex and the adjacent settlement of ''Oberlutter'' were incorporated into the town. The monastery church is known for its sculptural art and the tomb of the emperor.

==Politics==
[[File:Königslutter Kirche.jpg|thumb|St Sebastian Church and town hall]]
Seats in the town's assembly (''Rat'') as of 2011 local elections:
* [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU): 15
* [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD): 14
* [[Free Voters]]: 2
* [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP): 1
* [[Alliance 90/The Greens]]: 1
In 2013 the assembly has voted to enter in merger negotiations with neighbouring Wolfsburg.

=== Mayors ===
Since November 2011 Alexander Hoppe (SPD) is the mayor of Königslutter. 
Former mayors:

# Walter Lüders (1948–1949)
# Friedrich Schmook (1949–1953)
# Karl Köhler (1953–1954)
# Friedrich Schmook (1954–1956)
# Karl Köhler (1956–1968)
# Otto Schwarzbach (1968–1972)
# Frieda Fricke (1972–1973)
# Gustav Uhde (1973–1974)
# Helmut Albrecht (1974–1976)
# Alfred Küchenthal (1976–1981)
# Helmut Albrecht (1981–1986)
# Alfred Küchenthal (1986–1996)
# Arnulf Baumann (1996–2001)
# Margot Albrecht (2001–2002)
# Ottomar Lippelt (2002–2011)
# Alexander Hoppe (since 2011)

==Twin towns==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Königslutter is [[town twinning|twinned]] with the following towns:
* {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Gommern]], [[Germany]], since 1990
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Taunton]], [[England]], since 1992
* {{flagicon|Poland}} [[Opalenica]], [[Poland]], since 1998

==Notable people==
[[File:Samuel Hahnemann 1841.jpg|thumb|upright=0.56|Samuel Hahnemann in 1841]]
* [[Werner Schrader]] (1895–1944), teacher, officer and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime
* [[Samuel Hahnemann]] (1755–1843), physician and pioneer of [[homeopathy]], who lived in Königslutter from 1796 to 1799
* [[Thilo Maatsch]] (1900–1983), [[Bauhaus]] artist, spent his retirement here

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Königslutter am Elm}}
{{wikivoyage-inline|Koenigslutter}}
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Königslutter |volume=15 |short=x}}
* [http://www.koenigslutter-am-elm.de/ Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050819083655/http://www.koenigslutter-am-elm.de/ |date=2005-08-19 }}

{{Cities and towns in Helmstedt (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Helmstedt (district)]]
[[Category:Duchy of Brunswick]]