Neumünster
Neumünster (German pronunciation: [nɔʏˈmʏnstɐ] (listen)) is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg).
Neumünster | |
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![]() City hall | |
![]() Flag ![]() Coat of arms | |
Location of Neumünster ![]() | |
![]() ![]() Neumünster ![]() ![]() Neumünster | |
Coordinates: 54°04′17″N 09°59′24″E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Schleswig-Holstein |
District | Urban district |
Subdivisions | 9 Stadtbezirke |
Government | |
• Lord mayor | Tobias Bergmann (SPD) |
Area | |
• Total | 71.57 km2 (27.63 sq mi) |
Elevation | 22 m (72 ft) |
Population (2020-12-31)[1] | |
• Total | 79,905 |
• Density | 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 24534 - 24539 |
Dialling codes | 04321 |
Vehicle registration | NMS |
Website | Official website |








History
The first historic record of the precursor village "Wippendorf" dates from 1127. The name refers to a new monastery "Novum Monasterium" built by the bishop Vicelinus. Since 1903 Neumünster is a so-called "independent city" (Kreisfreie Stadt) as it is not part of a district (Kreis).[2]
The Schleswig-Holstein NSDAP was founded in 1925 by Hinrich Lohse and received much support. On Kristallnacht in 1938, all Jewish men were arrested and sent to KZ Sachsenhausen.[3]
During World War 2, Neumünster was bombed multiple times by Allied forces in 1945, partly because of its importance as a railway junction and industrial city.[4][5] The British took control of the City in May 1945.[6]
In the fall of 1946, the state of Schleswig-Holstein was founded and post-war Neumünster held its first municipal election.[7]
Current situation
Neumünster station is a major railway junction with lines running in six (formerly seven) directions, including the important Hamburg-Altona–Kiel and Neumünster–Flensburg lines.
Near Neumünster at Ehndorf, there is a high-power medium wave transmission facility for transmitting the programmes of Deutschlandfunk, the Ehndorf transmitter, which is often named incorrectly as "Neumünster transmitter".
The city has an airfield[8] and a hospital.[9] The utility company, "Stadtwerke Neumünster" (SWN), also manages local inter-city bus routes. [10]
Geography
Neumünster is located at river Schwale, near the geographical center of Schleswig-Holstein, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Kiel, 65 kilometres (40 mi) north of Hamburg and 72 kilometres (45 mi) west of Lübeck. The Aukrug Nature Park is close to the town.
Politics
Mayor
The current mayor of Neumünster is Tobias Bergmann of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The most recent mayoral election was held on 9 May 2021, with a runoff held on 30 May, and the results were as follows:
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
Olaf Taurus | Independent (CDU) | 10,315 | 40.6 | 9,857 | 49.2 | |
Tobias Bergmann | Social Democratic Party | 6,834 | 26.9 | 10,194 | 50.8 | |
Sven Radestock | Alliance 90/The Greens | 5,649 | 22.3 | |||
Memet Celik | Independent | 1,799 | 7.1 | |||
Mark Proch | National Democratic Party | 786 | 3.1 | |||
Valid votes | 25,383 | 99.1 | 20,051 | 99.4 | ||
Invalid votes | 233 | 0.9 | 112 | 0.6 | ||
Total | 25,616 | 100.0 | 20,163 | 100.0 | ||
Electorate/voter turnout | 64,345 | 39.8 | 64,344 | 31.3 | ||
Source: City of Neumünster (1st round, 2nd round) |
List of mayors and Lord mayors
In 1870 Neumünster received the town privileges.[11]
- 1870–1894: Eduard Schlichting
- 1894–1919: Max Röer
- 1919–1933: Detlef Schmidt
- 1933–1945: Max Stahmer (NSDAP)
- 1945–1946: Gustav Bärwald (Oberstadtdirektor)
- 1946–1948: Ludolf Behnke (CDU)
- 1948–1950: Hugo Voß (SPD)
- 1950–1970: Walther Lehmkuhl (SPD)
- 1970–1988: Uwe Harder (SPD)
- 1988–1991: Franz-Josef Pröpper (SPD)
- 1991–2009: Hartmut Unterlehberg (SPD)
- 2009–2021: Olaf Tauras (CDU)
- 2021–present: Tobias Bergmann (SPD)[12]
City council
The Neumünster city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 6 May 2018, and the results were as follows:
Party | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 7,665 | 34.0 | ![]() |
15 | ![]() | |
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 6,163 | 27.4 | ![]() |
12 | ![]() | |
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 3,686 | 16.4 | ![]() |
7 | ![]() | |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,318 | 5.9 | ![]() |
2 | ![]() | |
Alliance for Citizens in Schleswig-Holstein (BfB) | 1,293 | 5.7 | ![]() |
2 | ±0 | |
The Left (Die Linke) | 959 | 4.3 | ![]() |
2 | ![]() | |
National Democratic Party (NPD) | 879 | 3.9 | ![]() |
2 | ![]() | |
Liberal Conservative Reformers (LKR) | 440 | 2.0 | New | 1 | New | |
Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) | 120 | 0.5 | ![]() |
0 | ![]() | |
Valid votes | 22,523 | 98.8 | ||||
Invalid votes | 263 | 1.2 | ||||
Total | 22,786 | 100.0 | 43 | ±0 | ||
Electorate/voter turnout | 64,839 | 35.1 | ![]() |
|||
Source: City of Neumünster[13][14][15] |
Population development
Year | Total population[16][17][18] | German citizens # | German citizens % | Other citizens # | Other citizens % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1803 | 2,588 | ||||
1835 | 3,732 | ||||
1871 | 8,628 | ||||
1875 | 10,100 | ||||
1880 | 11,600 | ||||
1885 | 13,659 | ||||
1890 | 17,539 | ||||
1895 | 22,489 | ||||
1900 | 27,335 | ||||
1905 | 31,439 | ||||
1910 | 34,555 | ||||
1916 | 31,658 | ||||
1917 | 31,034 | ||||
1919 | 36,173 | ||||
1925 | 39,844 | ||||
1933 | 40,332 | ||||
1939 | 54,094 | ||||
1945 | 57,473 | ||||
1946 | 66,185 | ||||
1950 | 73,481 | ||||
1956 | 72,134 | ||||
1961 | 75,045 | ||||
1965 | 74,542 | ||||
1970 | 86,013 | ||||
1975 | 84,777 | ||||
1980 | 80,145 | ||||
1985 | 78,280 | ||||
1987 | 79,771 | ||||
1990 | 80,743 | ||||
1995 | 82,028 | ||||
2000 | 79,831 | 73,959 | 92,6 % | 5,872 | 7,4 % |
2001 | 79,646 | 73,934 | 92,8 % | 5,712 | 7,2 % |
2002 | 79,544 | 73,945 | 93,0 % | 5,599 | 7,0 % |
2003 | 78,951 | 73,370 | 92,9 % | 5,581 | 7,1 % |
2004 | 78,555 | 73,086 | 93,0 % | 5,469 | 7,0 % |
2005 | 78,072 | 72,711 | 93,1 % | 5,361 | 6,9 % |
2006 | 77,936 | 72,493 | 93,0 % | 5,443 | 7,0 % |
2007 | 77,595 | 72,300 | 93,2 % | 5,295 | 6,8 % |
2008 | 77,100 | 72,291 | 93,8 % | 4,809 | 6,2 % |
2009 | 76,897 | 72,124 | 93,8 % | 4,773 | 6,2 % |
2010 | 76,830 | 72,087 | 93,8 % | 4,743 | 6,2 % |
2011 | 77,201 | 72,492 | 93,9 % | 4,709 | 6,1 % |
2012 | 76,951 | 72,437 | 94,1 % | 4,514 | 5,9 % |
2013 | 77,058 | 72,370 | 93,9 % | 4,688 | 6,1 % |
2014 | 77,588 | 72,107 | 92,9 % | 5,481 | 7,1 % |
2015 | 79,197 | 71,786 | 90,6 % | 7,411 | 9,4 % |
2016 | 79,680 | 71,182 | 89,3 % | 8,498 | 10,7 % |
2017 | 79,335 | 70,602 | 89,0 % | 8,733 | 11,0 % |
2018 | 79,487 | 70,271 | 88,4 % | 9,216 | 11,6 % |
2019 | 80,196 | 69,976 | 87,3 % | 10,220 | 12,7 % |
2020 | 79,905 | 69,382 | 86,8 % | 10,523 | 13,2 % |
The 10 largest groups of foreign residents by the end of 2018 are :
![]() | 1,760 |
![]() | 1,320 |
![]() | 995 |
![]() | 970 |
![]() | 875 |
![]() | 690 |
![]() | 515 |
![]() | 295 |
![]() | 250 |
![]() | 205 |
Twin towns – sister cities
Notable people
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- Vicelinus (1086–1154), Apostle of Holstein and Bishop of Oldenburg
- Ernst Eduard Hudemann (1811–1889), educator, philologist and classical historian
- Eduard Sachau (1845–1930), orientalist
- Rudolf Bülck (1880−1954), librarian
- Karl Schlabow (1891–1984), archaeologist, museum director and conservator
- Hans Schnoor (1893–1976), musicologist
- Eduard Müller (1911–1943), Catholic priest, one of the Lübeck martyrs
- Gerhard Wessel (1913–2002), President of the Federal Intelligence Bureau 1968–1978
- Herbert Martin Hagen (1913–1999), SS Stormbolder and convicted war criminal
- Horst Mittelstaedt (1923–2016), biologist cyberneticist and university lecturer
- Detlev Blanke (1941–2016), University lecturer for interlinguistics at the Humboldt-Universität Berlin
- Michael Simon (born 1958), theatre director, opera director and scenic designer
- Thomas Mohr (tenor) (born 1961), tenor and academic teacher
- Christine Haderthauer (born 1962), former CSU General Secretary and former Minister of State (Bavarian State Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Family and Women)
- Aminata Touré (born 1992), German Green Party politician and vice-president of the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag
Sport
- Wilf Smith (born 1946), English footballer
- Werner Bühse (born 1951), sports shooter
- Svenja Schlicht (born 1967), swimmer
- Dirk Urban (born 1969), shot putter
- Stefan Schnoor (born 1971), footballer
- Gabriel Silberstein (born 1974), Chilean tennis player
- Mona Barthel (born 1990), tennis player
References
- "Statistikamt Nord – Bevölkerung der Gemeinden in Schleswig-Holstein 4. Quartal 2020 (XLS-file)". Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein (in German).
- "Ort". Kollmeier Pflegeheime (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-20.
- "Neumünster", Wikipedia (in German), 2021-09-13, retrieved 2021-09-20
- "Luftangriffe auf Neumünster", Wikipedia (in German), 2021-02-08, retrieved 2021-09-20
- Ziehm, Rolf. "Zweiter Weltkrieg: Am 25. Oktober 1944 fielen die Bomben auf Neumünster | shz.de". shz. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
- "Befreiung Städte | Das Jahr 1945" (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-20.
- Norden, Lebensart im (2016-10-03). "Schwerer Start in die Demokratie". Lebensart im Norden (in German). Retrieved 2021-09-20.
- "Flugplatz Neumünster", Wikipedia (in German), 2020-10-16, retrieved 2021-09-20
- "Friedrich-Ebert-Krankenhaus Neumünster", Wikipedia (in German), 2021-07-22, retrieved 2021-09-20
- "Stadtwerke Neumünster", Wikipedia (in German), 2021-07-01, retrieved 2021-09-20
- Bürgermeister auf neumünster.de
- Lipovsek, Christian. "Anstoßen um Mitternacht: So sah der erste Arbeitstag von Oberbürgermeister Tobias Bergmann in Neumünster aus | shz.de". shz. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
- Bekanntmachung
- Sitzverteilung
- Ergebnis
- "Neumünster", Wikipedia (in German), 2021-12-13, retrieved 2021-12-24
- "Statistikamt Nord: Meine Region - Zeitreihe für Neumünster". region.statistik-nord.de. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- "Statistikamt Nord: Meine Region - Zeitreihe für Neumünster". region.statistik-nord.de. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- "Städtepartnerschaften und Patenschaften". neumuenster.de (in German). Neumünster. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neumünster. |
Neumünster travel guide from Wikivoyage
- (in German) Official website