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Gifhorn

Coordinates: 52°29′19″N 10°32′47″E / 52.48861°N 10.54639°E / 52.48861; 10.54639
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Gifhorn
Town
Gifhorn Castle
Gifhorn Castle
Coat of arms of Gifhorn
Coat of arms
Location of Gifhorn within Gifhorn district
SchwülperVordorfDidderseAdenbüttelHillerseMeineWasbüttelRötgesbüttelLeiferdeIsenbüttelRibbesbüttelCalberlahWagenhoffMeinersenOsloßBokensdorfUmmernWesendorfMüden (Aller)SassenburgGifhornSchönewördeWahrenholzWahrenholzGroß OesingenSteinhorstHankensbüttelSprakensehlObernholzDedelstorfWeyhausenTappenbeckJembkeBarwedelBergfeldTiddischeRühenParsauGiebel (unincorporated area)ParsauTülauBromeEhra-LessienWittingenGifhorn (district)Lower SaxonyWolfsburgBraunschweigHelmstedt (district)Peine (district)Hanover RegionCelle (district)Uelzen (district)Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt
Gifhorn is located in Germany
Gifhorn
Gifhorn
Gifhorn is located in Lower Saxony
Gifhorn
Gifhorn
Coordinates: 52°29′19″N 10°32′47″E / 52.48861°N 10.54639°E / 52.48861; 10.54639
CountryGermany
StateLower Saxony
DistrictGifhorn
Subdivisions6 districts
Government
 • Mayor (2019–24) Matthias Nerlich[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total
104.86 km2 (40.49 sq mi)
Highest elevation
68 m (223 ft)
Lowest elevation
50 m (160 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total
43,625
 • Density420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
38501–38510, 38516, 38518
Dialling codes05371
Vehicle registrationGF
Websitewww.stadt-gifhorn.de

Gifhorn (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɪfhɔʁn] ⓘ) is a town and capital of the district of 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 more industrial and commercially important cities nearby, Brunswick and Wolfsburg. Further, Gifhorn is part of the Hanover-Brunswick-Göttingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region. The Municipality Gifhorn includes the villages of Gamsen, Gifhorn, Kästorf, Neubokel, Wilsche and Winkel.

Sights

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Gifhorn is home to the International Wind- and Watermill Museum, which contains a comprehensive collection and working replicas of the world's most common windmills. The castle in the town centre was built in a Weser Renaissance style from 1526 to 1533.[3] Kavalierhaus (Cavalier House) is a renaissance building dating from 1546. Saint Nicolai Church is a baroque aisleless church which was built from 1734 to 1744. Around the Market Place various well-preserved half-timbered houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries can be visited, e.g. the Old Town Hall with impressive wood sculptures dating from 1562.[4] Some houses have interesting bay windows. House no. 2 in Steinweg street, called Höfersches Haus and dating from 1570, is considered to be one of the oldest houses in town.

Geography

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Gifhorn lies at the confluence of the Rivers Ise and Aller. Gifhorn is situated about 20 km (12 mi) north of the city of Brunswick and about 15 km (9 mi) west of Wolfsburg. In the city, the Bundesstraße 4 and 188 meet. At the northern end of the city, the Lüneburg Heath starts.

History

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Old Town Hall
St. Nicolai Church and Kavalierhaus (1546)
Höfersches Haus dating from 1570

The oldest verifiable source attests the existence of the city in the year 1057.[5] It was located at the crossing of two then important merchant routes: the salt street (German: Salzstraße) being a main trading route for salt between Lüneburg and Brunswick, and the grain street (German: Kornstraße) transporting grain between Celle and Magdeburg. Market rights were certified by John, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1275. Gifhorn was destroyed in the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud (1519-1523) and rebuilt afterwards. During the Thirty Years' War it suffered again severe destruction. The southern part of Gifhorn, a densely populated area, was devastated by a fire in 1669, and the northern part in 1725. Afterwards Gifhorn was rebuilt keeping an appropriate distance between the buildings. Gifhorn obtained town privileges in 1852 when it had about 2,500 inhabitants.[6] During World War II the town remained undamaged.

Education

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Schools in Gifhorn include the Humboldt Gymnasium, the Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium, Fritz-Reuter-Realschule, Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Realschule, Albert-Schweitzer-Hauptschule and the Berufsbildenden Schulen I and II. Alfred-Teves-Schule, which was called Volksschule Süd between 1954 and 1958, was open between 1954 and 2010.

Transport

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Market Place
Gifhorn Stadt Station

The Gifhorn railway station where trains from and to Hanover and Wolfsburg stop is in the southern part of the town. A smaller railway station, "Gifhorn Stadt" station with direct connections to Uelzen and Brunswick, is in the centre on the Brunswick–Uelzen railway line.

In the city, the Bundesstraße 4 and 188 meet.

The Bells Palace

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Glocken-Palast, or The Bells Palace, is a monument and large building in Gifhorn. It was completed after 16 years of construction, combining various Russian timber building styles. Its cornerstone was laid by former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev in 1996.[7]

It was built as a centre to promote cultural exchange across Europe, following the fall of the Iron Curtain.[8]

The Bells Palace will host events and exhibitions celebrating peace, freedom and cultural diversity.

Twin towns – sister cities

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Gifhorn is twinned with:[9]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ "Verzeichnis der direkt gewählten Bürgermeister/-innen und Landräte/Landrätinnen". Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen. April 2021.
  2. ^ "LSN-Online Regionaldatenbank, Tabelle A100001G: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, Stand 31. Dezember 2022" (in German). Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen.
  3. ^ Hans Pusen: Harz, Hannover, Lüneburger Heide, p. 41. 9th edition, München 1972
  4. ^ Karl Baedeker: Deutschland 2000, p. 818. Ostfildern 2000
  5. ^ Hans Pusen: Harz, Hannover, Lüneburger Heide, p. 41. 3rd edition, München 1972
  6. ^ Dr. M. Broesike: Neumanns Orts- und Verkehrslexikon, Vol. I, p. 310. Leipzig 1903
  7. ^ "Bells palace". www.manager.co.th. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  8. ^ Leonid, Louneev. "Russian palace completed in Germany after 16 years". BBC News. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Unsere Partnerstädte in Europa". stadt-gifhorn.de (in German). Gifhorn. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
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Media related to Gifhorn at Wikimedia Commons

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