Boizenburg () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, west of Ludwigslust, northeast of Lüneburg and east of Hamburg. It is, via its district, a part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Boizenburg's historical old town is located on the Boize, a tributary of the Elbe to which the town is connected by a harbour. With a well preserved old town, Boizenburg offers heritage baroque timberframe and brick architecture.
During the Cold War, Boizenburg was part of East Germany, being located only about east of the Inner German Border (Iron Curtain).
Etymology The German name Boyceneburg was first documented in 1158. The written form changed to Boiceneburg (1171) and then Boizeneburg (1195). The old Low German name for the town and river (Boize) likely stems from the Slavic boj for war.
Boizenburg is, since 17 March 1939, officially called Boizenburg/Elbe to differentiate it from other settlements with similar names, primarily Boitzenburg in the Uckermark region.
Geography The town has an area of and comprises 9 ortsteile: Bahlen, , , , , , , , .
Boizenburg is situated on the Boize river, with the old town being located between the Old and New Boize with a former moat. To its north is mainland Mecklenburg while to its south lies the Elbe floodplain and, after the Sude canal, the Elbe itself.
The town borders Nostorf to the west, Schwanheide to the north-west, Gresse to the north, Neu Gülze and Teldau to the east, and Bleckede in the state of Lower Saxony to the south (mostly across the Elbe river). The municipality of Teldau has an exclave to Boizenburg's south, resulting in the town only sharing a land border of only around instead of with Bleckede.
Transport Boizenburg lies on the Berlin-Hamburg railway and is serviced by the RE1 between Hamburg and Rostock via the Boizenburg (Elbe) station. The town is bypassed by the B5 to the north and the B195 federal road passes through the eastern part of the town, near the train station, from north to south. The A24 federal highway is located roughly north of Boizenburg.
Climate
History Boizenburg suffered during the Thirty Years' War, and its old castle was burnt down by Swedish troops in 1628. In 1709, the church and 160 or more medieval dwellings were incinerated by a fire. The Town Hall was rebuilt in 1712, and the layout of the town was redesigned by Prussian architects sent from Schwerin. They focused on incorporating efficiency of movement with fire-resistance, better sanitation, and public space.
During the Napoleonic Wars, French troops were quartered in Boizenburg in 1807. A battle was fought with the retreating French army near Boizenburg in 1813.
From 1815 to 1918, Boizenburg was part of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1826, a highway was built, connecting Hamburg, Berlin, and subsequently Boizenburg (Highway "B5"). In 1846, the railway between Berlin and Hamburg was constructed. Boizenburg was included with its own train station along this important route.
The shipbuilding yard Lemmsche founded in 1793 became highly industrialized in 1852 and produced many wooden and steel ships. The shipbuilders Thomsen & Co supported the German war effort during World War II. In 1973 the SED reactivated the shipbuilding facilities for the production of smaller inland ships for the USSR. After being privatized in 1989, the yard was declared bankrupt in 1997. Smaller, independent companies are active in the old shipyard.
The Boizenburg Tile Factory established by Hans Duensing in 1903, became Europe's largest tile manufacturer by 1937. After being re-established in 1991, it remains one of the town's main employers. Artistic impressions of the tile work produced in Boizenburg—particularly in the Art Nouveau style - can be found at the Erstes Deutsches Fliesen Museum.
Until 30 April 1945 a Nazi concentration camp was established in Boizenburg. The camp was a subcamp to the Neuengamme concentration camp.The camp is listed as No. 150 Boizenburg, Kreis Hagenow in the official German list.
On 12 March 1953 a Royal Air Force Avro Lincoln heading to Berlin was shot down over Boizenburg by two Soviet Air Forces MiG-15 aircraft.
During the communist East German era, residents of Boizenburg were kept under close scrutiny by the Stasi. Many deemed "politically untrustworthy" had their property confiscated during a state-sponsored terror campaign code-named Operation Vermin.
Politics Boizenburg is, despite not being a part of it itself, the seat of the nearby Amt Boizenburg-Land.
City council Boizenburg's city council regularly consists of 25 members but decreased to 21 members after the most recent 2024 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern local elections, held on 9 June 2024, because the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won five seats but only had one candidate, resulting in vacant seats and a decreasing council size. The 2024 city council election yielded the following results: PartyVotesShareSeats%+/-AwardedFilled+/–Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)4,31028.79 3.6977 1Alternative for Germany (AfD)2,75518.40New51 5Citizen for Boizenburg e. V. (BfB)2,64317.66 3.7044 1Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)2,58717.28 2.5344 1The Left1,73711.60 6.2733 2Home and Identity (HuI)5063.38New11 0Ind. Christine Dyrba4322.89New11 1Total14,970100.02521 4Valid votes14,97095.74Invalid/blank votes2181.39Total votes15,188100.0Turnout5,21255.09 6.83Eligible voters9,461
Mayor
1990-1996: Uwe Wieben 2000–2022: Harald Jäschke (independent) since 2022: Rico Reichelt (SPD)
Twin towns Boizenburg is twinned with:
Czersk, Poland Lauenburg, Germany
Sights One of the advantages of Boizenburg's isolation during the Cold War is the pristine natural landscape of the Elbe Valley region stretching to the north, south and east. Much of the architecture and infrastructure in the old city remained 'perfectly untouched' during the DDR regime. In addition to significant restoration projects, new installations such as the modern redesign of the harbor and the addition of a topiary garden have greatly added to the old town's charm.
Notable people Georg Christian Benedict Ackermann (1763–1833), theologian and teacher Hermann Burmeister (1849–1935), jurist, 40 years (1879-1919) mayor of Boizenburg, since 1922 honorary citizen Leonhard Adelt (1881–1945), bookseller, writer and journalist (1892–1972), Evangelical theologian (born 1955), chemist
Notes
References Official German list of concentration camps Verzeichnis der Konzentrationslager und ihrer Außenkommandos