Lüneburg

Lüneburg is a city in Lower Saxony in north Germany. It is about 50 km southeast of Hamburg. It is the capital of the District of Lüneburg. About 102,660 people live there.

Town
250px
Coat of arms
Location of Lüneburg within Lüneburg district 250px
Coordinates: 53°15′9″N 10°24′52″E
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Lüneburg
Subdivisions	14 districts
Government
• Lord mayor	Ulrich Mädge (SPD)
Area
• Total	70.34 km2 (27.16 sq mi)
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Population  (2006-12-31)
• Total	72,057
• Density	1,024.41/km2 (2,653.21/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	21335–21337–21339
Vehicle registration	LG
Website	www.lueneburg.de

The Ilmenau River, a tributary of the Elbe, flows through Lüneburg.

In the Middle Ages, it was Principality and the town was very rich due to the salt trade. Salt used to be transported along the Old Salt Route to the Baltic Sea from where it was sent by ship to other countries. There were salt mines near the town for a thousand years. Salt mining stopped in 1980. The salt mining caused a lot of deforestation. The countryside changed into heathland which is called the Lüneburger Heide (Lüneburg Heath).

On May 23, 1945, the Nazi war criminal Heinrich Himmler committed suicide in Lüneburg after he had been captured by the British Army. He swallowed a potassium cyanide capsule before his interrogation could begin.

Lüneburg is twinned with Scunthorpe, England.

• AmSande.jpg

  Am Sande

• Lueneburg KranKaufhaus.jpg

  Old crane and old store at the medieval Lüneburg harbour

• Rathaus2.jpg

  Town hall

• Skillshare, Alter Hafen Lüneburg.jpg

  Old harbour

Lüneburg Media

• Lüneburg Innenstadt Luftaufnahme 01.jpg

  Lüneburg Innenstadt Luftaufnahme 01

• Lüneburg Innenstadt Luftaufnahme 02.jpg

  Lüneburg Innenstadt Luftaufnahme 02

• Lueneburg BlickVomKalkberg2020.jpg

  View from the Kalkberg towards the east, with all three main churches

• Sachs weltchronik.jpg

  Miniature of Lüneburg in the Sächsische Weltchronik, 13th century

• Hans Borneman 001.jpg

  Hans Bornemann's The punishment of Aegeas (~1450). In the background a view of Lüneburg with St. Nicholas' Church

• Lueneburg StJohannes.jpg

  The slightly leaning spire of the church of St. John

• Karte Lueneburger Heide.png

  Map of Lüneburg Heath

• Lg Joh Kirche Innenstadt.jpg

  Aerial photograph of the south of the town centre

• Compass rose simple.svg

  A compass rose

Other websites

Media related to Lüneburg at Wikimedia Commons