Lilienthal, Lower Saxony
Encyclopedia
The municipality of Lilienthal belongs to the administrative district of Osterholz
, Lower Saxony
and borders Bremen
.
by the prince-archbishop Gerhard II. In 1232 construction was begun on a convent
of the Order of the Cistercians under the name of Vallis Liliorum (valley of lilies), and the finished building was sanctified in 1264. During the 15th century, the cloister enjoyed a time of prosperity. After the Reformation
, it became a Lutheran Women's Convent, and until the end of the Thirty Years' War
in 1648 it remained in deplorable conditions. In 1650, the city went through secularization
. The land once belonging to the monastery, which had become fragmented, developed into the small town of Lilienthal.
In 1648, according to the terms of the peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War (The Peace of Westphalia
), the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, ruled together with the Principality of Verden, which were first ruled in personal union
by the Swedish
Crown. Queen Christina
sent one of her commanders over, Graf Friedrich von Hessen-Eschwege, to the newly created barony (Herrschaft) of Osterholz, in which the charge of both Lilienthal and Osterholz were combined. After his early death in 1655, his wife Eleonora took over the government of the barony, with her seat in Osterholz, where she took an active role in the improvement of economic and sanitary conditions for the rural population. After her death in 1692, the barony fell back into the hands of the Swedish Royalty. Lilienthal remained a part of Swedish Bremen-Verden
until 1712 (which is why the coat of arms contains the blue and yellow of the Swedish Flag), at which time it came under Danish
occupation, and then in 1719 it fell under the sovereignty of the Electorate of Brunswick and Lunenburg (colloquially Electorate of Hanover), which ruled Bremen-Verden in personal union
.
In 1740, the monastery was destroyed.
In 1782, Johann Hieronymus Schröter became chief magistrate (or bailiff, Amtmann). In addition to this administrative office, he also played a large part in the advancement of astronomy
during his lifetime. On the grounds of his office in Lilienthal, he constructed an observatory
. In the following years, the Lilienthal Observatory would become the best equipped observatory in the world. One of its technological advances was the "Riesenteleskop" (giant telescope), a telescope with a 50.8 cm (20 inch) aperture
and an 8.25 m focal length
. Due to the telescope, Lilienthal became well-known and was sought out in matters of astronomy by government and military officials. Schröter remained in contact with many of the important astronomers of the time. Together with Wilhelm Olbers and other scholars, he founded the Astronomy Association in Lilienthal in 1800. The asteroid 3 Juno
was discovered September 1, 1804 by K. Harding at the Observatory. After Schröter's death in 1816, the observatory fell into disrepair. In 1850 the remaining structure was destroyed. A large part of the observatory was sent to the University of Göttingen before the demolition.
The Befreiungskrieg (a series of battles fought between 1813 and 1815 that ended the Napoleonic Wars
) hit Lilienthal hard. After an incident during a retreat, French troops set the entire town on fire. Only the church, a few houses, and the observatory escaped the flames (but the observatory was looted and important records were destroyed).
After the reconstruction, the then-municipality grew steadily. In 1939 there were 3,100 inhabitants, in 1974 12,500. After the incorporation of a neighbouring town in the same year, the population grew to 17,000.
In 1823 Bremen-Verden was united in a real union
with the Kingdom of Hanover
and its territory became part of the Stade Region
. In 1866, the kingdom of Hannover lost its independence. Lilienthal became Prussia
n, in 1885 the bailiwick of Lilienthal was dissolved and combined with that in Osterholz to form thenew district of Osterholz
.
Colonist Jürgen Christian Findorff, (1808)).
. In 1993, the city of Emerainville
in the vicinity of Paris was added.
Osterholz
Osterholz is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Wesermarsch, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg and Verden, and by the city of Bremen.-History:...
, 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...
and borders Bremen
Bremen (state)
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
.
History
Lilienthal belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. The history of the city of Lilienthal goes back to its founding as a monasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
by the prince-archbishop Gerhard II. In 1232 construction was begun on a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of the Order of the Cistercians under the name of Vallis Liliorum (valley of lilies), and the finished building was sanctified in 1264. During the 15th century, the cloister enjoyed a time of prosperity. After the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, it became a Lutheran Women's Convent, and until the end of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
in 1648 it remained in deplorable conditions. In 1650, the city went through secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
. The land once belonging to the monastery, which had become fragmented, developed into the small town of Lilienthal.
In 1648, according to the terms of the peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War (The Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
), the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, ruled together with the Principality of Verden, which were first ruled in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Crown. Queen Christina
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
sent one of her commanders over, Graf Friedrich von Hessen-Eschwege, to the newly created barony (Herrschaft) of Osterholz, in which the charge of both Lilienthal and Osterholz were combined. After his early death in 1655, his wife Eleonora took over the government of the barony, with her seat in Osterholz, where she took an active role in the improvement of economic and sanitary conditions for the rural population. After her death in 1692, the barony fell back into the hands of the Swedish Royalty. Lilienthal remained a part of Swedish Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden , were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained Imperial immediacy in 1180...
until 1712 (which is why the coat of arms contains the blue and yellow of the Swedish Flag), at which time it came under Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
occupation, and then in 1719 it fell under the sovereignty of the Electorate of Brunswick and Lunenburg (colloquially Electorate of Hanover), which ruled Bremen-Verden in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
.
In 1740, the monastery was destroyed.
In 1782, Johann Hieronymus Schröter became chief magistrate (or bailiff, Amtmann). In addition to this administrative office, he also played a large part in the advancement of astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
during his lifetime. On the grounds of his office in Lilienthal, he constructed an observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
. In the following years, the Lilienthal Observatory would become the best equipped observatory in the world. One of its technological advances was the "Riesenteleskop" (giant telescope), a telescope with a 50.8 cm (20 inch) aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
and an 8.25 m focal length
Focal length
The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light. For an optical system in air, it is the distance over which initially collimated rays are brought to a focus...
. Due to the telescope, Lilienthal became well-known and was sought out in matters of astronomy by government and military officials. Schröter remained in contact with many of the important astronomers of the time. Together with Wilhelm Olbers and other scholars, he founded the Astronomy Association in Lilienthal in 1800. The asteroid 3 Juno
3 Juno
Juno , formal designation 3 Juno in the Minor Planet Center catalogue system, was the third asteroid to be discovered and is one of the larger main-belt asteroids, being one of the two largest stony asteroids, along with 15 Eunomia. Juno is estimated to contain 1% of the total mass of the asteroid...
was discovered September 1, 1804 by K. Harding at the Observatory. After Schröter's death in 1816, the observatory fell into disrepair. In 1850 the remaining structure was destroyed. A large part of the observatory was sent to the University of Göttingen before the demolition.
The Befreiungskrieg (a series of battles fought between 1813 and 1815 that ended the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
) hit Lilienthal hard. After an incident during a retreat, French troops set the entire town on fire. Only the church, a few houses, and the observatory escaped the flames (but the observatory was looted and important records were destroyed).
After the reconstruction, the then-municipality grew steadily. In 1939 there were 3,100 inhabitants, in 1974 12,500. After the incorporation of a neighbouring town in the same year, the population grew to 17,000.
In 1823 Bremen-Verden was united in a real union
Real union
Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions as in contrast to personal unions; however they are not as unified as states in a political union...
with the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
and its territory became part of the Stade Region
Stade (region)
The Stade Region emerged in 1823 by an administrative reorganisation of the dominions of the Kingdom of Hanover, a sovereign state, whose then territory is almost completely part of today's German federal state of Lower Saxony...
. In 1866, the kingdom of Hannover lost its independence. Lilienthal became Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n, in 1885 the bailiwick of Lilienthal was dissolved and combined with that in Osterholz to form thenew district of Osterholz
Osterholz
Osterholz is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Wesermarsch, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg and Verden, and by the city of Bremen.-History:...
.
Schools
- Christoph-Tornée-School
- All-Day Lilienthal HauptHauptschuleA Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
- and RealschuleRealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and... - Falkenberg Primary School
- Frankenburg Primary School
- Seebergen Primary School
- Trupermoor Primary School
- Worphausen Primary School
- GymnasiumGymnasium (school)A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
Lilienthal -- http://www.gymnasium-lilienthal.de/ - Schroeterschule (Primary School)
Locality
Today, many former independent towns have been merged into Lilienthal. They include: Butendiek, Falkenberg, Feldhausen, Heidberg, Klostermoor, Lilienthal, Seebergen, St. Jürgen (itself made up of ten of its own communities: Frankenburg, Höftdeich, Kleinmoor, Mittelbauer, Moorhausen, Niederende, Oberende, St. Jürgen, Vierhausen, Wührden), Trupe, Truperdeich, Trupermoor and Worphausen (together with the previously merged villages of Lüningsee (1763), Lüninghausen (1764), Westerwede (1764), Moorende (1778), Mooringen (1778), Schrötersdorf (1805, named after J. H. Schröter) and Neu Mooringen, founded by the royal MoorBog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
Colonist Jürgen Christian Findorff, (1808)).
Twinned Cities
Since 1970, the municipality of Lilienthal has been twinned with the Dutch municipality of StadskanaalStadskanaal
Stadskanaal is a Canal, municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.The area is known for its peat mining.- Population centres :...
. In 1993, the city of Emerainville
Émerainville
Émerainville is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne département in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:** * *...
in the vicinity of Paris was added.