Wunstorf

Wunstorf (German pronunciation: [ˈvʊnsˌtɔʁf] ^ⓘ) is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi) west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen (with Idensermoor and Niengraben), Klein Heidorn, Kolenfeld, Luthe, Mesmerode, Steinhude, and Wunstorf.

Wunstorf
Town
Pedestrian zone in the town centre of Wunstorf
Coat of arms
Location of Wunstorf within Hanover district
Wunstorf Show map of Germany Wunstorf Show map of Lower Saxony
Coordinates: 52°25′39″N 9°25′46″E
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Hanover
Subdivisions	14 districts
Government
• Mayor (2021–26)	Carsten Piellusch[1] (SPD)
Area
• Total	125.74 km2 (48.55 sq mi)
Elevation	43 m (141 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	41,114
• Density	330/km2 (850/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	31515
Dialling codes	05031, 05033 (Steinhude and Großenheidorn), 05723 (Idensen-Niengraben)
Vehicle registration	H
Website	www.wunstorf.de

Nearby Wunstorf Air Base of the German Air Force, which participated in the Berlin Airlift and is home to Air Transport Wing 62 since 1978 that operates all German A400Ms, is named after Wunstorf. To the west of the city, Steinhude and Großenheidorn are located on the shores of Lake Steinhude.

Early history

The name Wunstorf derives from the early settlement of Wonherestorpe dating to around 700 CE. In 1181, Wunstorf was mentioned as a civitas, literally 'citizenry' in Latin and 'Bürgerschaft' in German.

Engraving of Wunstorf by Matthäus Merian, c. 1654^[3]

Population

• 1830 – c. 1,910
• 1840 – c. 2,300
• 1871 – 2,455
• 1885 – 2,963
• 1905 – 4,523
• 1949 – 11,610 (of this, 3,490 were refugees and displaced persons)^[4]
• 1998 – 40,848
• 2000 – 41,474
• 2005 – 42,215
• 2010 – 41,244

Local council

The local elections on 11 September 2016, had the following results:

• SPD: 16 seats
• CDU: 13 seats
• Alliance '90/The Greens: 6 seats
• FDP: 2 seats
• AfD: 4 seats
• Fraktionslos:(without party) 1 seat

Transport

Wunstorf has two exits on motorway A 2.

Wunstorf railway station has four trains per hour to Hanover (a mix of local and regional trains), and two trains per hour each to Minden and Nienburg. The local bus network is designed to allow connections with trains to and from Hanover.

The nearest commercial airport is the Hannover Airport about 25 kilometres (16 mi) via motorways A 2 and A 352.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Wunstorf is twinned with:^[5]

• Flers, France
• Wolmirstedt, Germany

Notable people

• Polykarp Leyser IV (1690–1728), Protestant theologian, philosopher, physician, jurist and historian
• Johann Dietrich Busch (1700–1753), an organ builder.
• Joost Schmidt (1893–1948), typographer, painter and teacher at the Bauhaus
• Ernst Jünger (1895–1998), writer, soldier, philosopher and entomologist; went to local school
• Hans Bosse (1938–2023), anthropologist, sociologist and social psychologist; also worked in Papua New Guinea
• Andreas Spengler (born 1947), psychiatrist and psychotherapist, medical director at local hospital
• Heinz-Joachim Barchmann (born 1950), politician (SPD), Member of Bundestag since 2009
• Nicolas-Gerrit Kühn (born 2000), footballer, played about 140 games

Gallery

• 
  Heritage-protected house at Georgstraße, Wunstorf
• 
  Half-timbered house at Stiftstraße, Wunstorf
• 
  Oak of peace (Friedenseiche) and war memorial (Kriegerdenkmal, literally 'warrior memorial')