Online-Card - Buxtehude
Buxtehude is known as the town where the dogs bark with their tails and where the hare and the hedgehog race against each other. Yet, he who believes that Buxtehude is only a fairy-tale place is making a big mistake. The town has been a reality for more than a 1000 years. It all began with the rural settlement of Buxtehude, whose first historical references date back to 959 AD Archbishop Giselbert of Bremen founded the town of Buxtehude in 1285 A.D. Lying one and a half kilometres north of the original settlement in Moorstreifen between moor and march , it was the first German town to be developed in a structured way around a harbour basin. It was, therefore, the most modern harbour of its time in Germany. Within the confines of Hanseatic waterways it provided for a convenient crossing of the Elbe and developed into a lively Hanseatic town.
38,500 people live today in the central area of Buxtehude, before the gates of Hamburg and on the outskirts of Altes Land with its beautiful, blossoming fruit trees. The historical old-town centre with its pedestrian shoppping zone, canal facility, moat, Marschtor military lookout post and beautiful town houses is a special attraction for visitors from far and near. The St. Petri Church is the most important old-style building; a three-storey, gothic, redbrick basilica built around 1300 A.D.
Street festivals are held often and celebrated with great enthusiasm in these charming surroundings. The “Old-Town Festival”, the “Wine Festival” and the “Christmas Market” consistently fill the streets and alleyways with merry-makers. Cultural life is indeed very much alive in Buxtehude. The “Buxtehuder Bulle”; one of the most respected literature awards for young people and the Buxtehude museum for regional history and art provide strong evidence of this.
Buxtehude, with its healthy mixture of industry and commerce, can be proud of its economic achievements; internationally renown names such as: Babcock Materials Handling, Bacardi, K.I.D. systems, Malteser Kreuz Aquavit, NSB Niederelbe Shipping Company, National Rejectors, Pioneer Hi-Bred and the Unilever subsidiary Lever Fabergé are ample proof of this. All in all, well-over 15,000 people earn their living in Buxtehude.
Further plus points for Buxtehude as an economic base include its University of Applied Sciences for north-east Niedersachen which specialises in architecture, real estate management and civil engineering, the Technology-Centre which offers start-up support for young entrepreneurs, and a number of highly-attractive commercial areas near the centre. The strong performance of its retail outlets in the historical town centre has turned Buxtehude into a popular spot for shopping and tourism.
