DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Niedersachsen	Lower Saxony
Landkreis: Heidekreis

map →

Walsrode is situated at an elevation of 49 m in the southern part of the Lüneburger Heide (Lüneburg Heath) region of Lower Saxony. The municipality is one of the largest in area of Germany and comprises not only the town of Walsrode proper but also the borroughs Altenboitzen, Benzen, Bockhorn, Düshorn, Ebbingen, Fulde, Groß Eilstorf, Hamwiede, Hollige, Honerdingen, Hünzingen, Idsingen, Kirchboitzen, Klein , Eilstorf, Krelingen, Nordkampen, Schneeheide, Sieverdingen, Stellichte, Südkampen, Vethem and Westenholz. The municipality has a population of about 24,000 (2010).

Walsrode was first mentioned in a document of AD 986, which refers to the foundation of the monastery Walsrode. Although it was destroyed in 1381 by troops from Bremen, it was chartered as a town only two years later by the Duke of Braunschweig and Lüneburg. Further destructions occurred in 1626 (during the Thirty Years's War) and in 1757. During the Napoleonic Wars Walsrode became part of the Département des Bouches du Weser in 1811 and thus became a border town between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Westphalen. Three years later, in 1814, the Congerss of Vienna re-allocated Walsrode to the Kingdom of Hannover. Together with Hannover it became part of Prussia after the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. In 1890 Walsrode was connected to the railway line from Bremervörde to Walsrode, and later to the line Hannover–Schwarmstedt–Walsrode. The communities of Vorbrück and Worwalsrode were incorporated in 1929. In 1973 the community was officially recognised as a resort town. In 1974, 22 neighbouring communities were incorporated into the municipality and in 1984 Walsrode obtained the official status of an 'independent municipality' by the government of Lower Saxony. Plans to merge Walsrode with Bad Fallingbostel and Bolitz into a common city, which was planned to be named Böhmetal, were scrapped after a referendum in 2008, in which only the population of Walsrode and Bomlitz but not the population of Bad Fallingbostel agreed to the plan.

The Town Hall [left, no. 2689: top] was built in 1758 in place of previous buildings that had been built in 1468 and 1660, respectively. Today, the building is privately owned.

Walsrode Abbey [left, no. 2689: bottom left] is one of the historic monasteries on the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany which are collectively known as the 'Lüneklöster'. Today it is a Lutheran convent that is maintained by the Hannover monastic chamber (Klosterkammer Hannover). The monastery was founded in 986 by Count Wale and his wife Odelint according to a decree by King (996 Emperor) Otto III and is by far the oldest in the former Principality of Lüneburg. Its patron saint is John the Baptist. In 1482 a large part of the monastery burned down following a lightning strike. The introduction of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century into all six Lüneburg monasteries took several decades. In 1626, during the Thirty Years' War, it was plundered by Tilly's troops. During the period 1812–1815 the convent was closed and the monastery was occupied by Napoleon for 3 years. Due to its chequered history many art treasures and the original structure of the building were destroyed, so that today it mainly comprises buildings from the 18th century, like the well-known Long House (Langes Haus) of 1720. The impressive refectory was an endowment from the last German emperor, Wilhelm II and his empress.

The Monument for Crown Prince Ernst August of Hannover [left, no. 2689: bottom right] was erected in 1863 when Ernst August reached the age of majority. Ernst August, son of King Georg V, was the last crown prince of Hannover and also held the titles Prince of Great Britain and Ireland, Prince of Hannover, Prince of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, and 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale.

The picture on glass no. 2690 [right] shows a view of the Mercantile Recreation Home (Kaufmännisches Erholungsheim (58er)).

[Texts adapted from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walsrode, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walsrode_Abbey, http://www.bildindex.de/obj32055299.html, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_August,_Kronprinz_von_Hannover]