Ratzeburg

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For the prince-bishopric, see Bishopric of Ratzeburg.

Ratzeburg
Coat of arms	Location
Image:Ratzeburg Wappen.png	Image:Karte Deutschland.png Image:Red pog2.svg
Administration
Country	Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
State	Schleswig-Holstein
District	Lauenburg
Mayor	Rainer Voß
Basic statistics
Area	30.29 km² (11.7 sq mi)
Elevation	36 m (118 ft)
Population	13,671 (31/12/2004)
- Density	451 /km² (1,169 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	RZ
Postal code	23909
Area code	04541
Website	www.ratzeburg.de Coordinates: 53°42′06″N 10°45′24″E / 53.70167, 10.75667

Image:Ratzeburg Cathedral.jpg

Ratzeburg Cathedral

Ratzeburg (IPA: [ˈʁatsəbʊʁk]) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated in the middle of four lakes which leave narrow access paths to the town. It is the capital of the Kreis (district) of Lauenburg and has a population of 12,300 (1999).

1 History
2 Notable residents
3 Twin cities and towns
4 Sources and references
5 External links

[edit] History

Image:Ratzeburg 1590.jpg

Ratzeburg, ca. 1590.

The town was founded in the 11th century as Racisburg. The name is traditionally derived from the local Wendish ruler, Prince Ratibor of the Polabians, who was nicknamed Ratse. In the year 1044 Christian missionaries under the leadership of the monk Ansverus came into the region and built a monastery. It was destroyed in a pagan rebellion in 1066; the monks were stoned to death. Today monuments to the missionaries in two of the town's churches commemorate these events. Ansverus was canonised in the 12th century and his relics were entombed in the Ratzeburg cathedral.

Henry the Lion became the ruler of the town in 1143 and established a bishopric in 1154. Later it became a Prince Bishopric, whose ruler was sovereign and as such had a vote at the Imperial Diet. The Bishopric of Ratzeburg was the last Catholic state in north Germany. After the 1550 death of its ruler Prince-Bishop Georg von Blumenthal, who feuded with Thomas Aderpul, the bishopric converted to Lutheranism in 1554.

The town of Ratzeburg itself was not within the territory of the Bishopric of Ratzeburg, becoming instead part of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg after the downfall of Henry the Lion. The town was almost completely destroyed in 1693, when Christian V of Denmark shot Ratzeburg to ashes. After this event it was rebuilt in Baroque style.

Ratzeburg briefly was part of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded to Denmark in the Congress of Vienna. After being annexed in the Second Schleswig War (1864), the town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia's Province of Schleswig-Holstein. The cathedral quarter finally became part of the town of Ratzeburg with the 1937 Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz.

From 1945 to 1989 the Iron Curtain ran just east of the town, putting it on the border with the German Democratic Republic.

Ratzeburg is known for its Olympic champion Ratzeburg Rowing Club. The grave of Ernst Barlach is located in one of Ratzeburg's cemeteries.