Neuhaus (Oste)
Encyclopedia
Neuhaus an der Oste
Oste
The Oste is a river in northern Lower Saxony, Germany with a length of 153 km, left tributary of the Elbe. It flows through the districts of Harburg, Rotenburg, Stade and Cuxhaven and empties into the Elbe river near Otterndorf. Its drainage area is 1.711 km² and the decline between the...

(in High German, in Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon is a West Low German dialect.As such, it covers a great part of the West Low-German-speaking areas of northern Germany, with the exception of the border regions where Eastphalian and Westphalian are spoken...

: Neehuus)
is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (district)
Cuxhaven is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stade, Rotenburg, Osterholz and Wesermarsch, the city of Bremerhaven and the North Sea.- History :...

, 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...

, Germany.

History

The area of today's Neuhaus belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. In 1371 Prince-Archbishop Albert II
Albert of Brunswick and Lunenburg-Wolfenbüttel
Duke Albert of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Wolfenbüttel line was as Albert II Prince-Archbishop of Bremen in the years 1361–1395.-Before ascending to the See of Bremen:...

's bailiff in Vörde
Bremervörde
Bremervörde is a town in the north of the district Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the Oste river near the mid of the triangle, which is formed of the rivers Weser and Elbe respectively the cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Cuxhaven....

 erected the fortress Slikborch near today's Neuhaus at the mouth of the river Aue
Aue (Oste)
The Aue is a left, southwestern, tributary of the Oste in northern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is about long.- Geography :Before the construction of the Neuhaus-Bülkau Canal the Aue was the natural outlet of the Balksee lake in the southwest part of the parish of Wingst on the southern edge of the...

 into the Oste, shortly before it empties into the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...

, as a stronghold to wield power over the Land of Kehdingen
Kehdingen
Kehdingen is the name of a landscape in the north German district of Stade on the lower reaches of the River Elbe. It extends roughly from the mouth of the Oste in the north to the town of Stade in the south...

 and to gain a stake in the neighbouring Saxe-Lauenburgian exclave Land of Hadeln. In 1387 the free peasants from Hadeln and Kehdingen demolished the fortress Slikborch as a threat to their autonomy.

In 1404 Prince-Archbishop Otto II erected a new fortress on the right bank of the Aue, then named "dat Nygehus" (the new house), becoming the eponym for the place. However, the peasants again also destroyed this fortress in 1420. The peasants of the neighbouring municipalities forged an alliance against a new fortress in 1423. In 1435 Prince-Archbishop Baldwin II commissioned the construction of a new fortress now called castle or mansion, although his pre-predecessor had pledged not to erect another fortress. Peasants of Hadeln, Kehdingen, and Wursten attacked the fortress several times in the 15th and 16th c.

Under Prince-Archbishop Christopher the Spendthrift a number of villages tried to separate from the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen in favour of neighbouring Saxe-Lauenburgian Hadeln. This resulted in a war between Christopher and Duke Magnus I of Saxe-Lauenburg. However, Christopher successfully suppressed the separatists and Magnus and Christopher confirmed the status quo ante bellum
Status quo ante bellum
The term status quo ante bellum is Latin, meaning literally "the state in which things were before the war".The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no side gains or loses...

 of the villages by a treaty in 1516. Duke Magnus, however, broke the contract and ravaged villages in the prince-archbishopric, including the fortress in Neuhaus. The castle was soon restored but around 1540 Christopher the Spendthrift pawned it with all its dues to levy to Johann von Münchhausen for 4,000 gold guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...

s. In 1544 the estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...

 of the prince-archbishopric agreed to levy an extra tax to redeem the pawns in return for Christopher's moderation of his prodigality.

On 9 June 1547 Count Albrecht von Mansfeld, commander of the Protestant forces in the Smalkaldic War, captured the fortress. By this time the inhabitants adopted Lutheranism, also as a form of opposition against the spendthrift Prince-Archbishop Christopher, who broke contracts with the estates of the prince-archbishopric and acted against its constitution. However, in 1548 prince-archiepiscopal troops reconquered the castle, which now served as an important outpost of the ruler. A bailiff (first in , then Amtmann and at last Drost) represented the prince-archbishop in Neuhaus and its environs, including the parishes of Belum
Belum
Belum is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:Belum belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In the mid-16th c. the inhabitants adopted Lutheranism...

, Bülkau
Bülkau
Bülkau is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History: Bülkau belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, a territory of imperial immediacy established in 1180. In the mid-16th c. Bülkau adopted Lutheranism...

, Cadenberge
Cadenberge
Cadenberge is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.Cadenberge belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...

, Geversdorf
Geversdorf
Geversdorf is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.Geversdorf belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...

, Kehdingbruch (a part of today's Belum), Oberndorf
Oberndorf, Lower Saxony
Oberndorf is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.Oberndorf upon Oste belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...

, and Oppeln (a part of today's Wingst
Wingst
Wingst is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.Wingst belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown -...

).

During the Leaguist
Catholic League (German)
The German Catholic League was initially a loose confederation of Roman Catholic German states formed on July 10, 1609 to counteract the Protestant Union , whereby the participating states concluded an alliance "for the defence of the Catholic religion and peace within the Empire." Modeled...

 occupation under Tilly (1628–1630) in the course 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....

, the inhabitants of Neuhaus suffered from attempts of reCatholicisation. The war ended by 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...

 in 1648, by which the ecclesiastical Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the secular Duchy of Bremen, which was 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 crown – interrupted by a Danish occupation (1712–1715) – and from 1715 on by the House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

. In the 18th c. the fortress finally fell into decay and was torn down. Today its former site is indicated by a hill, now covered by the Schlosspark (castle park) with a war memorial.

In 1807 the ephemeric Kingdom of Westphalia
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...

 annexed the duchy, before France
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

 annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the duchy was restored to the Electorate of Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...

, which – after its upgrade to 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...

 in 1814 – incorporated the duchy 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...

 and the ducal territory, including Neuhaus, became part of the Hanoveran 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...

, established in 1823.
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