Hohne is a municipality

Municipalities of Germany

Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...

 in the state of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, east of the county town of Celle

Celle

Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...

. It includes the three former parishes of Hohne, Helmerkamp and Spechtshorn

Spechtshorn

Spechtshorn is a village in the municipality of Hohne in the collective municipality of Lachendorf in Celle district, in the German state of Lower Saxony.- Geography :Spechtshorn lies east of the River Wiehe, a right-hand tributary of the Schwarzwasser....

. It should not be confused with the British Army camp of Hohne (German: Lager Hohne) near Belsen

Belsen (Bergen)

Belsen is a village within the German borough of Bergen in the northern part of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony. It lies about southwest of Bergen and has 331 inhabitants . The Belsen concentration camp was named after it...

 about 30 km to the northwest.

Geography

Hohne lies on the River Wiehe, a right-hand tributary of the Schwarzwasser, which itself flows into the River Aller

Aller

The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...

 near Schwachhausen.

History

The Hohne Village History Society (Arbeitskreis Hohner Dorfgeschichte) has researched all records on individual villages in the area and has discovered the earliest record of the place: on Ascension Day in 1313 Bere de Hone inherited the fief of a farm at Hohne from the St. Aegidien Monastery in Brunswick. This monastery was founded before 1115 by Gertrud von Braunschweig, the margravine of Meissen, last heiress of the Brunonen

Brunonen

The Brunonen were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries, who owned property in Eastphalia and Frisia....

 family.

Religion

The majority of inhabitants in Hohne are Lutheran protestants and belong to the parish of the Church of the Ascension (Himmelfahrtskirche). Also in the parish of Hohne are the villages of Helmerkamp, Hahnenhorn, Spechtshorn, Pollhöfen and Ummern

Ummern

Ummern is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany.The airfield Ummern is located about 3km north of the town....

.

Shield

A plough or, share and cutter argent in a fesse vert, on a chief or a cock courant sable, crested and wattled gules

Notable buildings

The ploughed-over ruins of a motte and bailey (Turmhügelburg) are situated north of Hohne on the Glindmoor towards Hohnhorst, in a field on the Hohne Manor estate (Rittergut Hohne). It was probably an earth mound on which a wooden tower formerly stood. To date only wooden remains have been found.

These structures were built across Europe from western France to present-day eastern Poland in the 9th and 10th centuries, sometimes even as late as the early 13th century. One archaeologist has suggested that it could be part of a defensive network extending outwards from Beedenbostel

Beedenbostel

Beedenbostel is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany....

. More detailed research into the age of the palisade

Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...

 stakes that have been found on the site has not yet been possible due to financial constraints. As a result it can only be surmised that the castle was built before AD 995, perhaps together with the stone tower in Beedenbostel or at the same time as the Mundburg. The Mundburg itself was built by the old confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 of the rivers Aller and Oker near Wienhausen

Wienhausen

Wienhausen is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is known for Wienhausen Abbey, referenced in the municipal coat of arms....

.
The present-day 18th century Hohne Manor is partly built on the walls of the old castle that the young robber baron from Gifhorn

Gifhorn

Gifhorn is a town and capital of the district Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the industrial and commercially important cities nearby, Brunswick and Wolfsburg...

, Hendrik von Veltheim

Veltheim

Veltheim is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany....

, is believed to have destroyed on 11 July 1372 during the Lüneburg succession conflict. Areas of cobbles and large stone fragments of old foundations can still be found 0.7 metres (2.3 ft) under the present-day surface of the land (were embankments levelled out here?), which suggests that a small castle originally stood here. As at Hesleburg castle near Heeßel, and the castles of Depenau and Dachtmissen on the Aue in Flotwedel

Flotwedel

Flotwedel is a Samtgemeinde in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 10 km southeast of Celle. Its seat is in Wienhausen....

, the terrain was then wetter than today and inaccessible from Grethegau to the north.
In the 20th century part of the building was moved to other locations in the estate.

The 1913 neo-romanesque Church of the Ascension (Himmelfahrtskirche) in Hohne inherited the altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

, organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

, pulpit

Pulpit

Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...

 and font

Baptismal font

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

 of its predecessor church.

Hohne is also home to the "Hohne Ice House" (Hohner Kalthaus), which is run by one of the oldest ice house societies in Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, the Kalthausgemeinschaft Hohne von 1955 e. V., on behalf of the village.

Education

There is a primary school (catchment area: Ahnsbeck, Helmerkamp, Hohne, Spechtshorn) and a public library (Schulweg 1).

Since 1970 the German Red Cross

German Red Cross

The German Red Cross , or the DRK, is the national Red Cross Society in Germany.With over 4.5 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services within and outside Germany...

 has run Hohne kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

.

Educational trips are organised by the Hohne Countrywoman's Society (LandFrauenverein Hohne).

Sport

The sports club, TuS Hohne/Spechtshorn, is involved in various ball sports, track and field athletics, and judo, especially youth sports.

The Hohne/Spechtshorn Woodland Swimming Pool Society (Förderverein Waldbad Hohne/Spechtshorn) looks after the woodland swimming pool (the Waldbad), which is mainly used for youth sport. Youth swimming passes can be bought from the local branch of the German Lifeguard Association (Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft).

There are two shooting clubs: the Hohne Shooting Club (Schützengilde Hohne von 1708 e. V.) and the Spechtshorn Shooting Club (Schießgruppe Spechtshorn von 1978 e. V.)

Regular events

• The Hohne Shooting Club organises an annual shooting fair; the 2008 champion shot is Arne Heinrich, the youth champion is Yannik Müller.
• The Hohne Village History Society (Arbeitskreis Hohner Dorfgeschichte) has been putting together the village history since 2002 under the direction of Rainer Brammer. - The first two volumes were presented in 2006 at a well-attended event in the Church of the Ascension.

Public services

The equal rights representatives of the Lachendorf municipal association (Angela Barkus, Rathaus Lachendorf) act as women's representatives.

The Hohne Volunteer Fire Service (Freiwillige Feuerwehr Hohne) is a fire station with specialist roles in breathing equipment and dangerous goods and is part of the Celle district fire brigade.