# Elze

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elze
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{{other uses}}
{{Infobox German location
|type               = Stadt
|image_coa            = Wappen-Elze.png
|coordinates       = {{coord|52|7|N|09|44|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Elze in HI.svg
|state        = Niedersachsen
|district         = Hildesheim
|elevation              = 79
|area            = 47.81
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 03254014
|postal_code       = 31008
|area_code         = 05068
|licence           = HI
|website           = [http://www.elze.de/ www.elze.de]
|mayor             = Wolfgang Schurmann<ref name=mayor>{{cite web|url=https://www.statistik.niedersachsen.de/download/169156|title=Verzeichnis der direkt gewählten Bürgermeister/-innen und Landräte/Landrätinnen|date=April 2021|publisher=[Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen](/source/Landesamt_f%C3%BCr_Statistik_Niedersachsen)}}</ref>
|leader_term       = 2020&ndash;25
|party             = CDU
}}
'''Elze''' ({{IPA|de|ˈɛltsə|-|De-Elze.ogg}}) is a town in the [district of Hildesheim](/source/Hildesheim_(district)), in [Lower Saxony](/source/Lower_Saxony), [Germany](/source/Germany). It is situated on the river [Leine](/source/Leine), approximately {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of [Hildesheim](/source/Hildesheim). The municipality of Elze also comprises the villages of ''Esbeck, Mehle, Sehlde, Sorsum, Wittenburg'' and ''Wülfingen''.
thumb|left|St Peter and Paul
thumb|left|Town hall
Elze is one of the oldest settlement in the area, as its name stems from {{langx|la|aula caesaris}}, a castle of [Charlemagne](/source/Charlemagne) which he had established about 800 in the [Saxon](/source/Duchy_of_Saxony) estates after his victory over duke [Widukind](/source/Widukind) in the [Saxon Wars](/source/Saxon_Wars). The emperor also founded a missionary diocese here, dedicated to [Saints Peter and Paul](/source/Feast_of_Saints_Peter_and_Paul) which became the origin of the [Bishopric of Hildesheim](/source/Bishopric_of_Hildesheim). King [Louis the Pious](/source/Louis_the_Pious) relocated the episcopal see to Hildesheim in 815, however the [Lutheran](/source/Lutheranism) parish church is still devoted to Peter and Paul and the saints are also depicted in the town's coat of arms.

The village of ''Wittenburg'' is the site of a former [Augustininan](/source/Augustinians) [canons regular](/source/canons_regular) monastery, established in the 14th century in the place of a former castle, maybe erected by members of the [Billung](/source/Billung) dynasty as early as 805. The abbey decayed in the course of the [Protestant Reformation](/source/Protestant_Reformation), while the [Gothic](/source/Gothic_architecture) monastery church is preserved.

In 1856 the [Kingdom of Hanover](/source/Kingdom_of_Hanover) opened the [Hanoverian Southern Railway](/source/Hanoverian_Southern_Railway) (''Hannöversche Südbahn'') from [Hanover](/source/Hanover) to [Kassel](/source/Kassel) with a station in Elze. After the annexation by [Prussia](/source/Kingdom_of_Prussia) in 1866, the town became an important railway junction with the building of the [Elze–Löhne railway](/source/Elze%E2%80%93L%C3%B6hne_railway) (''Weserbahn'') to [Löhne](/source/L%C3%B6hne) in [Westphalia](/source/Province_of_Westphalia) by entrepreneur [Bethel Henry Strousberg](/source/Bethel_Henry_Strousberg), finished in 1875. Elze is also the junction of the [Bundesstraße 1](/source/Bundesstra%C3%9Fe_1) and [Bundesstraße 3](/source/Bundesstra%C3%9Fe_3) federal highways.

==Notable people==
* [Justus Gesenius](/source/Justus_Gesenius) (1601-1673), Lutheran theologian
* [Johann Heinrich Louis Krüger](/source/Johann_Heinrich_Louis_Kr%C3%BCger) (1857-1923), mathematician
* Philipp Furtwängler, (1800-1867), organ builder, 
* [Philipp Furtwängler](/source/Philipp_Furtw%C3%A4ngler), (1869-1940), mathematician (number theorist)
* [Günter Halm](/source/G%C3%BCnter_Halm), (born 1922), bearer of the [Knight's Cross](/source/Knight's_Cross_of_the_Iron_Cross) and [Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany](/source/Order_of_Merit_of_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany)

==Twin town==

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}

*{{flagicon|FRA}} [Écouché](/source/%C3%89couch%C3%A9), [France](/source/France) since 1971.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecouchelesvallees.fr/jumelage.html|title=Jumelage - Commune d'Écouché-les-Vallées - Site officiel|website=www.ecouchelesvallees.fr}}</ref>

{{clear}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{commons category|Elze}}

{{Cities and towns in Hildesheim (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Towns in Lower Saxony
Category:Hildesheim (district)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elze](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elze) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elze?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.