Wolfsburg (Eastphalian: Wulfsborg) is the fifth-largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It lies on the river Aller, 75 km east of Hanover and 230 km west of Berlin.
Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's headquarters and, until it was overtaken by Tesla Gigafactory Texas in 2022, the world's biggest car plant. The Autostadt is a visitor attraction next to the Volkswagen factory that features the company's model range: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, MAN, Neoplan, Porsche, Scania, SEAT, Škoda Auto and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Wolfsburg is one of the few German cities built during the first half of the 20th century as a planned city. From its founding on 1 July 1938 as a home for workers producing the KdF-Wagen until 25 May 1945, the city was called Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben. In 1972, the population first exceeded 100,000. In 2019, the GRP was €188,453 per capita.[2]
History
The "Wolfsburg" Castle was first mentioned in 1302 in a document as the domicile of the noble lineage of Bartensleben. Originally a keep next to the Aller, it was protected by a moat some centuries later. In 1372, the first documentary reference to the Burg Neuhaus ("castle of Neuhaus") near Wolfsburg appeared. After the extinction of the Bartensleben line in 1742, the property and its Schloss Wolfsburg (Wolfsburg castle) passed on to the Counts of Schulenburg. The communal manor was an important employer for the nearby settlements Rothenfelde and Heßlingen.
Some of today's urban districts, including Vorsfelde and the villages transferred to Wolfsburg from the county of Helmstedt, belonged to the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Fallersleben and other villages belonged to the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, which later developed into the Kingdom of Hanover and became a Prussian province in 1866. Other urban districts, including Heßlingen, belonged to the Prussian Duchy of Magdeburg. In 1932, these districts were detached from the Prussian Province of Saxony and integrated into the Province of Hanover.
Wolfsburg was founded on 1 July 1938 as the Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben, ("City of the Strength Through Joy car at Fallersleben), a planned town centred around the village of Fallersleben, built to house workers of the Volkswagen factories erected to assemble what would be later known as the Volkswagen Beetle.[3]
Geography
Wolfsburg is located at the Southern edge of the ancient river valley of the Aller at the Mittellandkanal (lit. 'middle land canal'). It is bordered by the districts of Gifhorn and Helmstedt.
Climate
The total annual precipitation is about 532 mm which is quite low as it belongs to the lowest tenth of the measured data in Germany. Only 7% of all observation stations of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (German weather service) record lower measurements. The warmest month is July and the driest month is April, while the wettest are July and August.
Culture and attractions
The centre of Wolfsburg is unique in Germany. Instead of a medieval city centre, Wolfsburg features a new and modern attraction called the Autostadt. The old part of the city Alt Wolfsburg (de) shows some manor buildings in traditional framework style. Atop a hill by the River Aller is the Wolfsburg Castle.
The Autostadt is an open-air museum-theme park dedicated to automobiles owned and operated by Volkswagen. In the center of the park are the pavilions featuring Volkswagen's major brands: Volkswagen and Audi to the north, further south are SEAT, Škoda Auto, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, and the Premium Clubhouse. Right next to the lagoon is the Porsche pavilion. The striking Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles pavilion is in the south-east of the park. The Autostadt also includes a planetarium, a Ritz-Carlton hotel, the Phaeno Science Center, the largest hands-on science museum in Germany, a water skiing resort, and a private art museum (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg) specialising in modern and contemporary art.
Another major attraction is the Wolfsburg Water Show, the world's largest water-flame-laser-video fountain show with its up to 70-meter high fountains which was in the Autostadt complex in 2014. The event sometimes can be seen when there are special events in the complex.
Population
From about 1,000 inhabitants in 1938, the population of the city increased to 25,000 in 1950 and doubled to 50,000 until 1958. On 1 July 1972, the population of Wolfsburg first went beyond the mark of 100,000 because several adjacent suburbanized villages were incorporated into the city with the "Wolfsburg law" which made Wolfsburg a major city ("Großstadt"). In 1973, the population reached its highest level: 131,971. At the end of December 2010, 121,451 people were registered with their principal residence in Wolfsburg.
Braunschweig-Salzgitter-Wolfsburg Area
The three cities form a Oberzentren and a sub-metropolitan area. The area is primarily dependent on the Steel, Automotive and R&D industries. The population of the area is a over 1 million (1,014,477) as of 2023. The three main cities have a total population of 512,600, where over half the population lives. The area has 40.6% of the population with a migration background and is aiming to progressively increase the foreign population in the upcoming years. The area contributes highly to the economy of the country especially due to Volkswagen, Siemens, Salzgitter AG and other companies. The area has one of the highest GDP per Capita in the whole of Europe with Wolfsburg having the highest in the whole country and Braunschweig having one of the highest. Though the area faced debt, mass amounts of destruction, and a population decline after World War 2, the area strived back due to high demand of car manufacturing and need for research and development. [13]
Immigration
Wolfsburg is cosmopolitan and recognized as a highly diverse city with people from over 150 nations residing there. By the end of 2012, this number had climbed to 123,144 and by 2030 the population is projected to be around 135,000 with around 50% of the population having a foreign background. 44.0% of Wolfsburg had a migration background in the year 2024 making it the second highest percentage of people with a foreign background in Lower Saxony after Salzgitter.
The largest Italian community in Lower Saxony is in Wolfsburg and the city also has one of the largest Tunisian, Cameroonian and Mexican communities in Germany. The parts of the city having the highest shares are Westhagen (71.2%), Rothenfelde (Wolfsburg) (64.6%), Stadtmitte (Wolfsburg) (59.4%), Heßlingen (Wolfsburg) (55.5%), Hohenstein (Wolfsburg) (51.2%), Köhlerberg (Wolfsburg) (51.2%), and Schillerteich (51.0%).[14]
Organization
The city of Wolfsburg is organized into 41 districts. One or more districts make up one of the total of 16 localities which are represented by their own councils. Every council has a local official as its mayor.
First the councils were only established in the 11 localities annexed in 1972. They partly took over the functions of the former city councils of each of the districts. In 1991 and 2001 some of the localities were split into smaller areas so that today there are 16 localities, each with its own council which are directly elected by the citizens.
The only exception from this organization is the Allerpark (Aller Park), a local recreation area surrounding the Allersee lake, and the area of the Volkswagen factory which are both located in the central city area.
The administrative area of Wolfsburg includes six nature reserves. Five of them are located in the ancient Aller river valley.
Politics
The first mayor of the young Stadt des KdF-Wagens was the government assessor Karl Bock, on enactment #145 of the chief president of the government of Lüneburg effective from 1 July 1938. His allies were also deployed by the government.
In 1946, the military government of the British zone of occupation established a communal constitution following the British example. After this, citizens voted for a council that elected a volunteer mayor/lord mayor as the city's leader and representative. After 1946, the council elected a full-time director to lead the city council. In 2001, the city council's dual leadership was abolished. It is led by a full-time lord mayor who is also the city's representative. Since 2001, citizens directly elect the lord mayor. The council still has its own chairperson elected by the council's constitutive conference after every local election. The current Bürgermeister (mayor) of Wolfsburg is Dennis Weilmann.
The city has been described as a "social democratic utopia".[17]
City council
The city council is made up of the fractions of the different parties (47 seats) and the lord mayor with one seat. The lord mayor is head of administration, thus the superior of all employees of the city council. The lord mayor is supported by four departmental heads who are voted in by the council on his suggestion. Together, they make up the board of directors of the city administration where the most important decisions concerning administration are deliberated weekly.
Architecture
Historical castles
- The Schloss Wolfsburg (castle of Wolfsburg), a Weser renaissance castle of the 13th century, was first documented as the domicile of the noble lineage of Bartensleben in 1302. As the city is named after this castle, it is Wolfsburg's landmark.
- The Burg Neuhaus (castle of Neuhaus) is a medieval moat from the 14th century which has been owned by the city government since 1981.
- The Schloss Fallersleben (castle of Fallersleben) was completed in 1551. Since 1991 it has housed the Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben-Museum.
Museums
- The Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (Art museum Wolfsburg) is internationally renowned and has shown contemporary and modern international art since 1994.
- The Städtische Galerie (Municipal Gallery), located in the Schloss Wolfsburg, shows multifarious pieces of contemporary art.
- The AutoMuseum Volkswagen was opened in an old textile factory in Heßlingen in 1985.
Sport
The most famous professional sports club in the city is VfL Wolfsburg, established in 1945. The men's football team won the Bundesliga in 2009, the DFB-Pokal in 2015 and the DFL-Supercup in 2015. The women's football team has been even more successful, winning six Bundesliga titles and seven DFB-Pokal titles. The women's team has also succeeded in winning the UEFA Women's Champions League in two consecutive years, 2013 and 2014.
Wolfsburg is also the home of the ice hockey team Grizzlys Wolfsburg, which since 2007 has made it to a leading position in the first-tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga, where it was runner-up in 2011, 2016 and 2017.
Also based in city is the tennis tournament Volkswagen Challenger, which has been held annually in Wolfsburg since 1993.
Twin towns – sister cities
Wolfsburg is twinned with:[19]
- 🇫🇷 Marignane, France (1963)
- 🇮🇹 Province of Pesaro and Urbino, Italy (1975)
- 🇩🇪 Halberstadt, Germany (1989)
- 🇷🇺 Tolyatti, Russia (1991)
- 🇵🇱 Bielsko-Biała, Poland (1998)
- 🇨🇳 Jiading (Shanghai), China (2007)
- 🇹🇳 Jendouba, Tunisia (2010)
Friendly cities
Notable people
- August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798–1874), poet, writer of the German national anthem.[20]
- Hanns Kerrl (1887–1941), politician (NSDAP), Reich Ministry for Church Affairs
- Hartwig Hohnsbein (born 1937), political scientist, retired pastor, author
- Rolf-Dieter Postlep (born 1946), economist, president of the University of Kassel in 2000–2015
- Günter Lach (1954–2021), politician, member of the Bundestag and mayor of Vorsfelde and Wolfsburg.
- Gabriele von Lutzau (born 1954), artist and sculptor, stewardess on Lufthansa Flight 181, kidnapped in 1977
- Wolfgang Müller (born 1957), artist, musician and writer
- Peter Bialobrzeski (born 1961), photographer
- Edward Berger (born 1970), film director and screenwriter
See also
- Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg
External links
References
- Stichwahlen zu Direktwahlen in Niedersachsen vom 26. September 2021 Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen, 13 October 2021^
- Kreise mit höchstem Bruttoinlandsprodukt je Einwohner Statista, retrieved 2022-08-22^
- City history