Wennigsen

Wennigsen
Coat of arms of Wennigsen Coat of arms
Wennigsen
Location of Wennigsen within Hanover district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Hanover
Government
• Mayor	Christoph Meineke (Ind.)
Area
• Total	53.78 km2 (20.76 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	13,933
• Density	260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	30974
Dialling codes	05103, 05109, 05105, 05045
Vehicle registration	H
Website	www.wennigsen.de

Wennigsen is a municipality in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Deister hills, approx. 15 km southwest of Hanover.

Geography

Wennigsen borders on (from north and clockwise) Gehrden, Ronnenberg, Springe and Barsinghausen. The highest elevation is the Bröhn, the highests hill of the Deister with 405 meters.

History

The founding date of Wennigsen is unknown. It possibly dates back to 5th to 8th century. The first dated occurrence (1199 to 1206) is a copy of a certificate from bishop Hartbert of Hildesheim. At this time there was a settlement of Bernhard, earl of Poppenburg, in Wennigsen. He had three roses each with five leaves in his coat of arms. Today Wennigsen bears one of them in its coat of arms.

During the Thirty Years' War Wennigsen was near to be completely destroyed.

Duke George William of Hanover (later of Brunswick-Lüneburg) split the Großvogtei Calenberg and founded a new Amt Calenberg in which Wennigsen became court place. The Magistrates' Court of Wennigsen still exists.