Visselhövede

Visselhövede (German pronunciation: [ˌfɪsl̩ˈhøːvədə] ^ⓘ) is a town in the district of Rotenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Nearby towns include the district capital Rotenburg, Walsrode and Verden. Larger cities within a 100 km radius are Bremen, Hanover and Hamburg. On 30 April 2024 Visselhövede had 10.116 inhabitants.^[3]

Visselhövede
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Visselhövede within Rotenburg (Wümme) district
Visselhövede Show map of Germany Visselhövede Show map of Lower Saxony
Coordinates: 52°58′N 9°35′E
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Rotenburg (Wümme)
Government
• Mayor (2021–26)	Gerald Lutz[1] (Ind.)
Area
• Total	159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi)
Elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	9,457
• Density	59/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	27374
Dialling codes	04262
Vehicle registration	ROW
Website	www.visselhoevede.de

Visselhövede belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, established in 1180. In 1648 the Prince-Bishopric was transformed into the Principality of Verden, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown - interrupted by a Danish occupation (1712–1715) - and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown. The Kingdom of Hanover incorporated the Principality in a real union and the Princely territory, including Visselhövede, became part of the new Stade Region, established in 1823.

Sights

The most famous building is St. Johannis-Kirche, a protestant church named after John the Baptist. It was built of bricks in a gothic style and consecrated in 1358.^[4] The wooden clock tower measuring 23 metres in height was built in 1799.^[5] The church houses various masterpieces of art, e.g. a baroque altar dating from 1771 and a baroque organ from 1779, a baptismal font and wall paintings from the Middle Ages and a pulprit dating from 1641.^[6] The source of river Vissel can be visited in a small park behind the church. The Town Hall in the Market Place was built around 1796.^[7] In Burgstrasse, the oldest street in town, the Heimathaus, a half-timbered house which was renovated in 1999, is worth a visit.^[8] It is the cultural centre of Visselhövede.

Bürgerpark Visselseen is a public park with four lakes where two historical store houses, which had been dismantled at the former site, were reconstructed in 2006.

• 
  Main Street and clock tower
• 
  Protestant Church with clock tower
• 
  Market Place with Town Hall
• 
  Source of River Vissel
• 
  Reconstructed store houses
• 
  Cultural centre Heimathaus
• 
  Lake in Bürgerpark Visselseen
• 
  Railway station

See also

• Visselhövede station