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Braunschweig [ˈbraunʃvaik] (English: Brunswick) is a city of 239,855 people (as of December 31, 2001), located in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the furthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser.
The date and circumstances of the town's foundation are unknown. Legend says, that Brunswick was founded by Bruno II (died before 1017 AD), a saxonian count. A wik was a place, where merchants rested and stored their goods. Brunswick = Bruno's wik was an ideal resting-place, as it lay by a ford across the Oker River.
Duke Henry the Lion (German: Heinrich der Löwe, born 1129/ 30, died 06.08. 1195) made B. the capital of his state and built Brunswick Cathedral. He got so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, which led to his condemnation and fall.
Brunswick was a member of the Hanseatic LeagueThe foundations of the Hanseatic League an alliance of trading cities that for a time in the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period maintained a trade monopoly over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, can be seen as early as the 12th century. from the 13th12th century 13th century 14th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. Events Fourth through eighth crusades of western European kingdoms against Islam Fall of to the middle of the 17th century16th century 17th century 18th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601- 1700. During this period, the power of England and the United Provinces increased; while that of. In the 18th century17th century 18th century 19th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701- 1800; however, historians will sometimes specifically refer to the 18th Century as 1715- 89, Brunswick was not only a political, but also a cultural centre. Emilia Galotti by Lessing and GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced ['go t]) ( August 28, 1749 March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. As a writer, Goethe was one of the paramount figures of German literature and European Romanticism dur's FaustFaust is the protagonist of a popular German tale that has been used as the basis for many different fictional works. It concerns the fate of a learned gentleman, Faust, who summons the Devil, who in the tale is usually called Mephistopheles, and offers t were played for the first time in Brunswick.
Brunswick was a duchy until 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long)., and afterwards a state within the Weimar Republic. It achieved an inglorious fame by making Adolf Hitler a German citizen, which allowed him to candidate for the German Reichstag and become leader of the state (Reichskanzler). Hitler was employed by the Brunswick State Government in February 1932 and thereby got the German citizenship. The later site selection of the Volkswagen plant in nearby Wolfsburg (Fallersleben) was likely a thank-you gift for this grant of citizenship.
During World War II Brunswick was severely damaged by aerial attacks. The attack on October 15, 1944 destroyed most of the city of Brunswick, which consisted of timbered houses, and also most of the churches. Only Brunswick Cathedral, which was changed into a National shrine (German: Nationale Weihestätte) by the Nazi-Government, withstood the bombs. After the war, Brunswick Cathedral was turned into a Protestant church again. A small section of the old centre of town did survive the bombing, and is quite distinctive.