Vienenburg

Geschichte

Vienenburg is a borough of Goslar, capital of the Goslar district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former town was incorporated on 1 January 2014.GeographyIt is situated in the north of the Harz mountain range and east of the Harly Forest on the Oker River near its confluence with the Radau, about 10km northeast of the Goslar town centre. Neighbouring municipalities are Bad Harzburg in the south and Schladen-Werla in the north.The former township consisted of Vienenburg proper and the surrounding villages Immenrode, Lengde, Weddingen, Lochtum and Wiedelah, all incorporated in 1972. Situated in a mainly agricultural area, it is known for the Harzer cheese, although the production was transferred to Saxony in 2004.HistoryThe Harlyberg hill (256m/840 ft) north of the town was the site of a castle built in 1203 by the Welf king Otto IV of Germany to threaten the trade route to Goslar, as its citizens supported his Hohenstaufen rival Duke Philip of Swabia. After Otto's death in 1218 the castle became a property of the Welf Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a thorn in the side of the Bishops of Hildesheim, while the garrisons of the castle were notorious for permanently robbing bypassing merchants. Therefore, Prince-bishop Siegfried II of Hildesheim declared war against Duke Henry I of Brunswick and in 1291 took and slighted the castle. Some moats are still visible today. A modern observation tower stands nearby.