Osterode am Harz

For the town in East Prussia formerly called Osterode, see Ostróda.

Osterode am Harz
Osterode am Harz
Location of the town of Osterode am Harz within Osterode am Harz district
Coordinates	51°43′43″N 10°15′8″E / 51.72861°N 10.25222°E / 51.72861; 10.25222Coordinates: 51°43′43″N 10°15′8″E / 51.72861°N 10.25222°E / 51.72861; 10.25222
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Osterode am Harz
Mayor	Klaus Becker (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area	102.46 km2 (39.56 sq mi)
Elevation	220 m  (722 ft)
Population	23,444 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	229 /km2 (593 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	OHA
Postal code	37520
Area code	05522
Website	www.osterode.de

Osterode am Harz often simply called Osterode, is a town in south-eastern Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It is the seat of government of the district of Osterode. The town is twinned with Scarborough, in the United Kingdom. Osterode is located on the German Framework Road.

Altes Rathaus, side view

Kornmarkt (grain market)

St Aegidien church

St Jacobi church

castle ruins

Geography

Altes Rathaus (former city hall), front view

Water

The Söse river flows through the town from the Sösetalsperre reservoir lake about 5 km upstream. The dam was built in 1931 and has a capacity of 25.5 million m³. The Harzwasserwerke water company pipes drinking water as far away as Bremen.

Districts

The following districts (mainly surrounding villages) are part of the borough of Osterode am Harz, with populations in brackets:

• Dorste (1,650)
• Düna (140)
• Förste (2,000)
• Freiheit (2,100)
• Kazenstein (1,200)
• Lasfelde (1,300)
• Lerbach (1,200)
• Marke (150)
• Nienstedt am Harz (440)
• Osterode am Harz (11,500)
• Petershütte (800)
• Riefensbeek-Kamschlacken (350)
• Schwiegershausen (1,800)
• Ührde (100)

Political

Local council

The Gemeinderat or council of Osterode has 34 members:

• SPD: 18
• CDU: 11
• Grüne: 2
• FDP: 2
• FW: 1

and one Bürgermeister (mayor). (local election on 10 September 2006)

Mayor

Klaus Becker has been Bürgermeister (mayor) of Osterode since 1 June 2004 He has no party affiliation.

Twinned towns

• Armentières, France (one of the bridges over the Söse is called "Armentieres Bridge").
• Ostróda, Poland, formerly had the same name "Osterode" and formerly in the German territory of Ostpreußen (in the of the town is a stone with the inscription: "Noch 826 Kilometer bis Osterode/ Ostpreußen" – "826 km to Osterode, East Prussia")
• Scarborough, England

Culture and attractions

Museums

The Museum im Ritterhaus displays documents from Osterode's history from the Middle Ages to the recent past, as well as occasional temporary exhibitions.

Architecture

In the environs of Osterode there are several castle ruins, and Lichtenstein Castle between Dorste and Förste.

The town granary built between 1719 and 1722 is one of the most imposing buildings, built to supply the mining villages in the Upper Harz with grain. Today after a comprehensive renovation it has become the town hall.

Recreation

Osterode is the starting point of the 100 km long Harzer Hexenstieg, a hiking trail to Thale.

Transport

The B 243 federal route, built as a divided highway, is the main western link between the northern and southern Harz area. B 241 and B 498 link Solling to the eastern Harz.

Osterode lies on the Herzberg–Seesen railway, with services to Brunswick. In November 2004 the city gained two new stations at a cost of about 1 million Euro, replacing two previous halts and providing a more central access to public transport.^{[citation needed]}

Educational institutions

• Tilman-Riemenschneider-Gymnasium (high school), Osterode am Harz
• Berufsbildende Schulen I des Landkreises Osterode am Harz
• Berufsbildende Schulen II
• Realschule Osterode
• Hauptschule Neustädter Tor

Notable natives

• Andreas Cludius (1555–1624), legal scholar, professor
• George William Alberti (1723-1758), essayist
• Paul Homeyer (1853–1908), concert organist
• Fritz Jorns (1837–1910), Reichstag delegate (1893–1907), owner of the Osteroder Kupferhammer
• Otto Wernicke (1893–1965), actor
• Renate Krößner (b 1945), actor
• Regina Seeringer (b 1949), politician (CDU)
• Ulrich Schreiber (b 1956), geologist, professor and writer
• Petra Emmerich-Kopatsch (b 1960), politician (SPD)
• Marco Bode (b 1969), footballer
• Tilman Riemenschneider (1460–1531), sculptor and artist

See also

• Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg

References

1. ^ "Bevölkerungsfortschreibung" (in German). Landesbetrieb für Statistik und Kommunikationstechnologie Niedersachsen. 31 December 2009. http://www1.nls.niedersachsen.de/statistik/html/parametereingabe.asp?DT=K1000014&CM=Bev%F6lkerungsfortschreibung. 

External links

• Official website
• Town history