Agathenburg

Agathenburg Agathenburg (German) Gothenborg (Low Saxon)
Agathenburg Castle
Coat of arms
Agathenburg
Location of Agathenburg within Stade district
Coordinates: 53°33′50″N 9°31′47″E / 53.56389°N 9.52972°E / 53.56389; 9.52972Coordinates: 53°33′50″N 9°31′47″E / 53.56389°N 9.52972°E / 53.56389; 9.52972
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Stade
Municipal assoc.	Horneburg
Government
• Mayor	Gerd Allers
Area
• Total	11.32 km2 (4.37 sq mi)
Elevation	16 m (52 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	1,180
• Density	100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	21684
Dialling codes	04141
Vehicle registration	STD

Agathenburg (in High German, in Low Saxon: Gothenborg) is a municipality in the district of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany.

Lieth, as it was originally named, belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, a territory of imperial immediacy established in 1180. In the mid-16th century the inhabitants of Lieth adopted Lutheranism. During the Leaguist occupation under Johan 't Serclaes, Count of Tilly, Lieth suffered from attempts of re-Catholicisation.

In 1648 the prince-archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown – interrupted by a Danish occupation (1712–1715) – and from 1715 on by the House of Hanover. In 1807 the ephemeric Kingdom of Westphalia annexed the duchy, before France annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy of Bremen was restored to the Electorate of Hanover, which – after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814 – incorporated the duchy in a real union and the ducal territory, including Agathenburg, became part of the Stade Region, established in 1823.

In 1655 the ducal Bremen-Verden general governor, Hans Christoff von Königsmarck erected a castle in Lieth and named it after his wife Agathe von Leesten. The name of the castle also became the toponym of the village Lieth.

The rapid transit system of Hamburg S-Bahn serves Agathenburg with a railway station.