Itzehoe

Coordinates: 53°55′30″N 9°30′59″E / 53.92500°N 9.51639°E / 53.92500; 9.51639
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Itzehoe
Center of the town
Center of the town
Coat of arms of Itzehoe
Location of Itzehoe within Steinburg district
Itzehoe is located in Germany
Itzehoe
Itzehoe
Itzehoe is located in Schleswig-Holstein
Itzehoe
Itzehoe
Coordinates: 53°55′30″N 9°30′59″E / 53.92500°N 9.51639°E / 53.92500; 9.51639
CountryGermany
StateSchleswig-Holstein
DistrictSteinburg
Government
 • MayorRalf Hoppe (Ind.)
Area
 • Total28.03 km2 (10.82 sq mi)
Elevation
22 m (72 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[1]
 • Total32,258
 • Density1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
25501−25524
Dialling codes04821
Vehicle registrationIZ
Websitewww.itzehoe.de

Itzehoe (German: [ɪtsəˈhoː] ; Low German: Itzhoe) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany.

As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9 mi) north of Glückstadt. The population is about 32,530.

History[edit]

16th-century view of Itzehoe

Itzehoe is the oldest town in Holstein. Its nucleus was a castle, built in 809 by Egbert, one of Charlemagne's counts, against the Danes. The community that sprang up around it was variously called Esseveldoburg, Eselsfleth and Ezeho. In 1201 the town was destroyed but it was restored in 1224. The new town was granted the Lübeck rights by Adolphus IV in 1238 and the old town in 1303. During the Thirty Years' War Itzehoe was twice destroyed by the Swedes, in 1644 and 1657, but was rebuilt on each occasion. It was under Danish rule until the Second Schleswig War of 1864, when it was occupied by Austria. In 1867, it passed to Prussia,[2] and in 1871 it became part of the newly established German Empire.

Itzehoe was listed as a garrison depot (Wehrkreis X (Hamburg)) of the former 225th Infantry Division, which was implicated in the 1940 Vinkt Massacre in Belgium.

Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, it was the location of the Oflag X-A prisoner-of-war camp for Polish officers, which was eventually relocated to Sandbostel in 1941.[3] During the war, Itzehoe was not initially a primary target for the Allied strategic bombing campaign, but was hit by an Allied bombing raid very late in the war, when Allied carpet bombing on 2 May 1945 (just two days before the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath) caused 22 fatalities in the city.[4]: 436 

Climate[edit]

Itzehoe has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification).

Climate data for Itzehoe (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1988–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.7
(58.5)
18.1
(64.6)
22.5
(72.5)
26.9
(80.4)
32.2
(90.0)
33.6
(92.5)
36.9
(98.4)
34.9
(94.8)
30.9
(87.6)
26.4
(79.5)
20.2
(68.4)
14.6
(58.3)
36.9
(98.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.1
(39.4)
4.9
(40.8)
8.3
(46.9)
14.1
(57.4)
17.7
(63.9)
20.8
(69.4)
23.0
(73.4)
22.6
(72.7)
19.1
(66.4)
13.8
(56.8)
8.6
(47.5)
5.6
(42.1)
13.5
(56.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.0
(35.6)
2.3
(36.1)
4.3
(39.7)
8.7
(47.7)
12.5
(54.5)
15.5
(59.9)
17.7
(63.9)
17.5
(63.5)
14.2
(57.6)
10.3
(50.5)
6.1
(43.0)
3.4
(38.1)
9.5
(49.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −0.7
(30.7)
−0.8
(30.6)
0.2
(32.4)
3.2
(37.8)
6.6
(43.9)
10.0
(50.0)
12.2
(54.0)
12.1
(53.8)
9.4
(48.9)
6.2
(43.2)
3.1
(37.6)
0.9
(33.6)
5.2
(41.4)
Record low °C (°F) −14.0
(6.8)
−18.2
(−0.8)
−21.3
(−6.3)
−5.9
(21.4)
−3.1
(26.4)
0.5
(32.9)
5.4
(41.7)
3.1
(37.6)
0.3
(32.5)
−7.9
(17.8)
−9.7
(14.5)
−15.7
(3.7)
−21.3
(−6.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 85.9
(3.38)
63.3
(2.49)
53.7
(2.11)
33.4
(1.31)
61.3
(2.41)
76.5
(3.01)
99.9
(3.93)
94.0
(3.70)
70.3
(2.77)
74.8
(2.94)
75.4
(2.97)
87.5
(3.44)
883.9
(34.80)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 19.5 16.4 15.3 13.1 14.2 15.3 16.5 17.8 15.3 17.1 18.8 20.7 201.0
Average relative humidity (%) 89.2 86.2 81.3 74.7 73.6 75.3 76.2 78.6 82.7 86.3 90.0 91.0 82.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 40.3 66.6 123.1 193.9 227.1 218.4 225.1 191.4 154.8 110.7 52.3 33.3 1,630.7
Source 1: World Meteorological Organization[5]
Source 2: DWD (extremes)[6]

Sights[edit]

The Church of St. Laurentii and the building in which the Holstein estates formerly met are noteworthy. The town has a convent founded in 1256, many schools, a hospital and other benevolent institutions.[2]

Itzehoe is also the location of the Wenzel Hablik Museum.

Transport[edit]

Itzehoe is situated at the Marsh Railway and offers connections to Hamburg and the island of Sylt.

During the period up to and including the Wacken Open Air festival many festival goers depart for the festival from Itzehoe using the 'Metal Shuttle Bus’, which leaves from near Itzehoe station. During this time the town can become very overcrowded and inundated with traffic.

Twin towns – sister cities[edit]

Itzehoe is twinned with:[7]

Notable people[edit]

Joachim Irgens von Westervick painting by M L Gräff)
Hans Peder Pedersen-Dan, 1901

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden in Schleswig-Holstein 4. Quartal 2022" (XLS) (in German). Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein.
  2. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Itzehoe". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 87.
  3. ^ Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
  4. ^ Irmisch, Rudolf (1960). "Die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus (1933–1945)". Geschichte der Stadt Itzehoe. Itzehoe: Gruner & Sohn. pp. 424–439.
  5. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Extremwertanalyse der DWD-Stationen, Tagesmaxima, Dekadenrekorde, usw" (in German). DWD. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". itzehoe.de (in German). Itzehoe. Retrieved 2021-02-15.

External links[edit]

  • Itzehoe Notgeld (emergency banknotes) depicting the inflation of staple prices in Germany between 1913 and 1921