Itzehoe

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Coordinates: 53°55′N 9°31′E

Itzehoe
Country	Germany
State	Schleswig-Holstein
District	Steinburg
Population	33,285 (2005)
Area	28.03 km²
Population density	1,187 /km²
Elevation	22 m
Coordinates	53°55′ N 9°31′ E
Postal code	25501-25524
Area code	04821
Licence plate code	IZ
Mayor	Rüdiger Blaschke
Website	itzehoe.de

Itzehoe [ɪtsəˈhoː] is a town in Germany, in the Bundesland of Schleswig-Holstein, the capital of Kreis Steinburg.

It is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km northwest of Hamburg and 24 km north of Glückstadt. The population is about 34,900.

The church of St Lawrence, dating from the 12th century, and the building in which the Holstein estates formerly met, are noteworthy. The town has a convent founded in 1256, many schools, a hospital and other benevolent institutions. Itzehoe is a busy commercial place.

Itzehoe is the oldest town in Holstein. Its nucleus was a castle, built in 809 by Egbert, one of Charlemagne's counts, against the Danes. The community which sprang up around it was variously called Esseveldoburg, Eselsfleth and Ezeho. In 1201 the town was destroyed, but it was restored in 1224. The new town was granted the Lübeck rights by Adolphus IV in 1238, and the old town in 1303. During the Thirty Years' War Itzehoe was twice destroyed by the Swedes, in 1644 and 1657, but was rebuilt on each occasion. It passed to Prussia in 1867, with the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein.

Germany's lowest elevation is to be found a short distance from Itzehoe, in the Wilstermarsch, which reaches 3.54 m below sea level.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.