Northeim

Northeim
Coat of arms
Northeim
Location of Northeim within Northeim district
Coordinates: 51°42′24″N 10°00′04″E / 51.70667°N 10.00111°E / 51.70667; 10.00111Coordinates: 51°42′24″N 10°00′04″E / 51.70667°N 10.00111°E / 51.70667; 10.00111
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Northeim
Government
• Mayor	Hans-Erich Tannhäuser (Ind.)
Area
• Total	145.67 km2 (56.24 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	28,920
• Density	200/km2 (510/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	37154
Dialling codes	05551
Vehicle registration	NOM, EIN, GAN
Website	www.northeim.de

Rittigau or County of Northeim
Rittigau or Grafschaft Northeim
Vassal of Holy Roman Empire
before 982 – 1147
Capital		Northeim
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	First documentary     mention of town	800
•	First documentary     mention of	982 the 8th century
•	First documentary     mention of town     as comital seat	1002
•	Stem duchy of Bavaria     in personal union	1061–70
•	Comital line extinct	1147
•	Northeim gained     town rights	1252
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Saxony County of Winzenburg
Today part of		Germany

Northeim (Eastphalian: Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road.

Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document recording a property transfer by a Frankish nobleman to the Abbey of Fulda. In the 10th century the surrounding region became a county, administered by the Counts of Northeim. The first of them, Siegfried is mentioned in 982. From 1061 to 1070 Count Otto II held the stem duchy of Bavaria as an Imperial fief, but lost it again because of his involvement in the Saxon plot against King Henry IV.

The monastery of St. Blasius was founded around 1100. In 1252 Northeim obtained town rights, and from 1384 to 1554 it was a member of the Hanseatic League. When protestantism was introduced in 1532 all the churches were allocated to the protestants. The town became part of the Kingdom of Hanover.

A part of Northeim was devastated by a fire in 1832 when the representative town hall dating from the Middle Ages and more than 40 houses burnt down. Further damage was caused by a fire in 1892 which destroyed several historic buildings in the Market Place.

After the railway from Hanover to Göttingen had been inaugurated in 1854 Northeim gained in importance and became a railway junction. The South Harz Railway was opened in 1868 and the Solling Railway in 1878. During the Second World War Northeim was hit by bombs in September 1944, February 1945 and in March 1945. The railway station, five factories and 18 houses were completely destroyed and 80 houses were damaged. Fortunately the historic centre did not suffer severe bomb damage.