- Helmstedt (district)
Infobox German district noregbez
name=Helmstedt
state=Lower Saxony
capital=Helmstedt
area=674
population=98,277
population_as_of=2005
density=146
carsign=HE
url=http://www.helmstedt.deHelmstedt is a district in
Lower Saxony ,Germany . It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the district of Wolfenbüttel, the City of Braunschweig, the District of Gifhorn, the City ofWolfsburg and the State ofSaxony-Anhalt (districts ofBörde and Harz).Geography
The district is bounded by the Elm (a hill chain) in the west and the Lappwald (a riparian forest) in the east. Large parts of the district are part of the Elm-Lappwald Nature Park.
History
In the Elm
limestone was mined in medieval times; limestone from the region was used for the tomb ofHenry the Lion as well as for the imperial cathedral ofKönigslutter . In the Middle Ages Königslutter was among the most wealthy cities of theHoly Roman Empire . In 1576 theUniversity of Helmstedt was founded, which was the largest university of protestant Germany.The Duchy of Brunswick (deriving from Brunswick-Lüneburg) created administrative districts ("Kreise") in 1833; the District of Helmstedt was one of those districts. It was subdivided into the Ämter of Calvörde, Königslutter, Helmstedt, Schöningen, and Vorsfelde.In 1944, the Amt of Calvörde, which formed an
exclave , was moved to the District of Haldensleben,Province of Saxony . During the administrative reforms of the 1970s, northern areas of the district were moved to the District of Gifhorn and to the City ofWolfsburg ; the district gained areas in the west from the District of Gifhorn and the District of Brunswick (seeList of territorial changes to the District of Helmstedt ).During the 20th century, the area between Helmstedt and
Schöningen was used forlignite mining by theBraunschweigische Kohlebergwerke AG. Several villages (Alversdorf ,Büddenstedt andRunstedt ) were destroyed bysurface mining ; their inhabitants moved to Helmstedt, Schöningen and to the newly built village ofNeu Büddenstedt , later on renamedBüddenstedt .Coat of arms
Towns and municipalities
External links
* [http://www.helmstedt.de/ Official website] (German)
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