Herzogtum Lauenburg


Herzogtum Lauenburg is the southernmost Kreis, or district, of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bordered by the district of Stormarn, the city of Lübeck, the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the state of Lower Saxony, and the city state of Hamburg. The district of Herzogtum Lauenburg is named after the former Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg.

Geography

The district's territory comprises most of the former Duchy's territory north of the river Elbe, except of the Amt Neuhaus. All the former Saxe-Lauenburgian areas beyond the Elbe belong today to the Lower Saxon districts of Cuxhaven, Harburg and Lüneburg.
The district's area contains a number of historically important towns, e.g. Lauenburg/Elbe, Mölln and Ratzeburg. This importance was due to the Old Salt Route, one of the major medieval trade routes. Salt from the salt-works south of the Elbe river was transported northward to Lübeck. The transport of salt was also the motive for constructing the oldest artificial waterway of Europe, the Stecknitz Canal. It was replaced in 1900 by the Elbe-Lübeck Canal.
The landscape is characterised by numerous lakes, forming the Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park. The largest lake is the Ratzeburger See with an area of 16 km².

History

The district Herzogtum Lauenburg is named after the medieval Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, which was one of the remnants of the original Duchy of Saxony. The Duchy of Saxony was partitioned in a process started in 1269, nine years after in 1260 Albert II and John I had succeeded their father Albert I of Saxony. In 1269, 1272 and 1282, the brothers gradually divided their governing competences within the three territorially unconnected Saxon areas along the Elbe river, thus preparing a partition.
After John I's resignation in 1282, Albert II ruled with his still minor nephews Albert III, Eric I and John II, who by 1296 definitely partitioned the duchy providing Saxe-Lauenburg for the brothers, and Saxe-Wittenberg for their uncle Albert II. The last document, mentioning the brothers and their uncle Albert II as Saxon fellow dukes dates back to 1295. A deed of 20 September 1296, circumscribing Saxe-Lauenburg, mentions the Vierlande, Sadelbande, the Land of Ratzeburg, the Land of Darzing, and the Land of Hadeln as the joint territory of the brothers, separate of Saxe-Wittenberg.
Saxe-Lauenburg was also known simply as Lauenburg. While the territory of Saxe-Wittenberg changed drastically over the centuries, the Duchy of Lauenburg remained almost unchanged, until it lost its independence in 1689, when it was inherited by the Principality of Lüneburg. From 1815–1864 it was ruled in personal union by the Duke of Holstein, being simultaneously King of Denmark. In 1864 it fell to Prussia after the Second Schleswig War. For a short period Lauenburg was still an autonomous entity, but in 1876 it was incorporated as a district into the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein.
Lauenburg upon Elbe was the first capital and name-giving to the Duchy, before it moved in 1619 to Ratzeburg, which remained the capital also when the Duchy was downgraded to a district within Prussia. In 1937—by a territorial redeployment within the scope of the Greater Hamburg Act—the city of Geesthacht, some Mecklenburgian exclaves, including Ratzeburg's Cathedral immunity district, and some Lübeckian exclaves within the district territory, were incorporated into the district.
In May 1945 British forces captured the district territory, which in September 1944 had been determined in the London Protocol to become part of the British Zone of Occupation. On November 13, 1945 the British general Colin Muir Barber and the Soviet general major :de:Nikolai Grigorjewitsch Ljaschtschenko|Nikolay Grigoryevich Lyashchenko signed the :de:Barber-Ljaschtschenko-Abkommen|Barber Lyashchenko Agreement in Gadebusch, redeploying some municipalities of the Duchy of Lauenburg District and neighbouring Mecklenburg, then part of the Soviet Zone of Occupation. Thus some eastern suburbs of Ratzeburg, such as Ziethen in Lauenburg, Mechow, Bäk and Römnitz became part of the district, while the Lauenburgian municipalities of Dechow, Groß and Klein Thurow as well as Lassahn were ceded to Mecklenburg. The redeployment was accomplished on November 26, the respective occupational forces had until November 28 to withdraw to their respective new zonal territories.

Politics

Coat of arms

''District Administrator''

From 1873-82 the Hereditary Land Marshal was responsible for administration of the district and the appointment of offices. The landrat, as a Prussian official, dealt only with the national administration.
After October 1, 1882, the Landrat became responsible also for local administration, free from state control.
A change in government came about after the Second World War with the 1946 county statute issued by the British military government. The Landrat now temporarily functioned as an honorary head of the district council, which now dealt with the administration of the district directly. Later, however, the Landrat took over the district administration again.
The District President is the chairman of the district council and is selected from its members. The president chairs the meetings of the council and represents the district, together with the landrat, abroad.
Contrary to others in Schleswig-Holstein, this district is characterised by numerous relatively small municipalities, which practise direct democracy and citizens' participation. The administration most often takes place via offices, which are often of a very manageable size. To that extent, the scope of the planned Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Structure Law will be quite significant: according to the draft of the Ministry of the Interior, a minimum size of 8000 inhabitants was to be implemented for Ämter and independent municipalities as a regional reorganisation due 1 April 2007. Thus, the existence of six of the eleven Ämter of the district is threatened. However, a minimum size for municipalities belonging to an Amt has not yet been officially determined. Until the deadline, the possibility for voluntary unions exists, which, according to the draft, may as well cross district boundaries.
The economical emphasis of the district lies on the Hamburg bacon-belt, while the eastern parts in the Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park with their abundance of water cater more to tourism and are largely focused on agriculture. The district belongs to Hamburg Metropolitan Region.

Transportation