Achim – at a glance

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u 1091 First official mention of Achim D Em i s i r - e 1257 First official mention of the St. Laurentius’ Church at F itz O -L c b i e k s k t t m Achim. Parts of the building even be older. e G e e n a n sw r a e - r E - 1574 The town burns down, except for the church. ks L n tr S . c a n

k t n s r . 1626 During the Thirty Years’ War the army of the Chris- . r d t t r s . s tian IV of Denmark makes camp in Achim. A wagon t A d Bahnhof r n . P . de n r

K r t a Ei a full of gunpowder explodes and sets the place on se s l n L u . b ah d n r l l B s fire. All the buildings burn down except for the stone e e b a l F h e e t n church and two houses. r s i h Achim g Tourist-Information Z r s f A . u o n 1648 At the end of the Thirty Years’ War (Treaties of West- t s de Visitor Information r m B r t E . r is G e . o n eth ba phalia) Achim passes into the hands of the Swedish A es hn tr. PointsSehens wofü interest:rdigkeiten: enweg c h ilosop Ph P h king, along with the Duchies of Bremen and Verden. a vi llo i Rathaus mit Generationenpark/

n st m 1 18 r. e The “Gohgrefe”, a freely elected sovereign, is repla- Pa r. r t Tourist-Information Rathauspark e B s

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u n or ced by a Swedish government official.

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b n e t a l 1712 The Duchies of Bremen and Verden are occupied by

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g s f o e 3 Stadtbibliothek Danish troops. 7 A s r s e

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. r. 1715/ The Elector of Hanover buys the duchies from the h

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Ansp 1719 Danes and the Swedes. Now Achim belongs to the

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e 5 r H Pforthaus Ac Toiletten: Electorate of Hanover. a erb n kerst Public toilets: ergstr. r. h s c tr. t 6 Speicher Scherf 1757 The French occupy Achim during the Seven Years’ S s r rn . 1 Toiletten Rathausplatz e b L O . und Alter Marktplatz War. r a O t . n b 4 r s

- t e 6 g 2 Toiletten Rathaus 1813 Achim belongs to the Electorate of Hanover again. n A 7 Lindemannsches Schloss,

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t Kreismusikschule 1847 Opening of the railway line Bremen – Wunstorf.

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1852 Separation of administration and judiciary in the

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V St. Laurentius-Kirche l mes the Office of Achim.

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s about As a reaction to customs regulations cigar producers

n t B r. 14 ergs Uesener Weserstr. 17 te tr. 11 Hexentreppe r s Vikarienstr. tr 1854 of Bremen shift their factories to within the borders . 2 Gieschens Hotel Berg e str. 12 „Altes Rathaus“, U E raß of the Kingdom of Hanover. The first cigar factories c k s t Obernstr. 12 Amtsgericht n H i are built at Achim. t ll e m 3 Landhaus Wesermarsch a O r n . n 13 Amtsgericht h s . r str. b 1878 Achim gets a newspaper of its own. r t t t e c s Verdener Str. 114 r s s B r . n n r n n 1885 Due to the transformation of the Prussian Offices a u s 14 Fassade a e t e r 4 Hotel Haberkamp lm . M g il s A Achim becomes the county seat. . n Riekes Honigkuchenfabrik r H r t s rs a Allhornstr. Uphusener Dorfstr. 1 e e m k t L M un r 1929 The neighbouring community of Borstel is merged m D . i R 15 Gymnasium am Markt,

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h a r c t into Achim. früher Marktschule l t e s A h 12 Zum Klümoor 7 n n r a h 1932 Achim loses the county seat to Verden. The counties s 16 Achimer Windmühle u u la t 6 Gasthaus Gerken Z s s r 18 i of Achim and Verden merge. . p 1 e 6 a 17 Haus Hünenburg Uphuser Heerstr. 55 + M dhofstr. r 1949 The Ministry of the Interior of Lower Saxony resol- San k 1 7 1 + ves that Achim will be allowed to refer to itself as a 3 Weser-Radweg “town”. 1972 Merging of Achim and the neighbouring communi- 19. KASCH – House of Culture “Alter Schützenhof” (Bergstraße 2) Mittelweser-Touristik GmbH ties of Baden, Bierden, Bollen, Embsen, Uesen, and Location for performances, exhibitions, theatre, cabaret, music and Tourist-Information Achim Uphusen into the new Town of Achim. movies. Found in 1990. Obernstraße 38, 28832 Achim 1989 Achim becomes an “Independant Town”. Hint: Baden hills at Achim-Baden Tel.: (04202) 29 49 1993 The completion of the new town hall in the pedest- In the 19th century the slope of the Weser was terraced. This ena- rian zone marks an important step in the town’s re- Fax: (04202) 91 05 16 bled wide views across the river. A unique panorama! construction. [email protected] www.achim.de 19 History of the town Achim – Sights With more than 30.000 inhabitants Achim is the made in Bremen increased when they were 3. Municipal library (Am Marktplatz) inscription in the beam across the “Grootdöör” 14. Rieke’s Honey-Cake Factory biggest town in the county of Verden. Achim im- exported to states belonging to the German This building from 1784 used to be the stab- (big door). The previous building was destroyed (Obernstraße) mediately adjoins the south-eastern outskirts of Customs Union. Cigar producers of Bremen les of the former Sheriff’s Court, dismantled in by fire in 1823. The farmstead belonged to the This lovingly restored façade of Bremen – the city boundary is simultaneously reacted to this disadvantage by shifting their 1976. Clüver family for several centuries. a bakery, established by Peter- the border between Lower Saxony and Bre- factories to within the borders of the Kingdom 4. Chimes (Am Marktplatz) 10. St. Laurentius’ Church (Pfarrstraße) Heinrich Rieke in 1862, is situ- men. of Hanover. This made Achim the stronghold of Built in 1997. With its 24 bells it is one of the This building, officially ated in the pedestrian precinct. Since the territorial reform of 1972 present-day cigar making until the early 20th century. biggest chimes in northern Germany. The bells mentioned for the first Over time this bakery grew into Achim consists of the municipal districts of Ba- Along with the railway the first tourists arrived chime daily at 10 a.m., 12 a.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. time in 1257, is the ol- an industrial plant that was well- den, Badenermoor, Borstel, Bierden, Bollen, at Achim, Baden, and Uphusen. Nice big res- and 7 p.m., on Saturdays also at 11 a.m. - con- dest construction in the known far beyond the Achim city Embsen, Uesen, Uphusen, and the municipali- taurants were built in the three towns to accom- cert during weekly market (about 10 minutes). town. The clock in the borders, until it closed in 1978. ty of Achim which was declared a town in 1949. modate the visitors. With its precipitous slope 5. “Pforthaus” (Am Marktplatz) steeple, mentioned in 15. Grammar School (Am Markt- The first official mention of the place dates back to the river Weser and the wide view into its Built in 1789, this building served writing in 1574, today is platz) 14 to the year 1091. But Achim may well be much valley, Baden especially grew into a popular as a prison and simultaneously as operated electrically of This school was built in north older and trace back to a Franconian estab- destination. the home of the prison guardian and course, but there still is German brick Gothic style by gate-keeper of the court-house. the ready for use clock- the young architect Meislahn in lishment in the 9th century approximately. The Today many cyclists reach Achim by the We- 5a. Weekly market (Obernstraße) work, made by Furt- 1894. name of the place is composed of the parts ser cycleway, one of the most popular long- 5/5a Wednesday 7 a.m. – 1 p.m., Saturday wängler in 1864. 16. Achim Windmill (Mühlenstra- “ach” (Indo-European “ak”, cognate to the Latin distance cycle paths in Germany. “aqua”) meaning “water”, and “heim” with the 7 a.m. – 1.30 p.m. 11. Witches’ Staircase ße) meaning of “house” or “settlement” – just Achim 6. Warehouse „Scherf“ (Alter Markt): This stairway formerly used to be a church-way, In 1651 a German post windmill 10 on the river Weser. Built in 1987. Fertilizers, seeds and leading from the church to the “upper” farmers’ was erected on this site. In 1761 fuels used to be stored in the original quarters. At the foot of it there used to be a it was replaced by the Dutch During the Thirty Years’ War Achim was bad- warehouse. farmhouse. Whoever passed the house in pre- smock windmill which still stands ly damaged. At its end the only building still 6a. Old marketplace (Alter Markt) vious days was often greeted by an extended there. It is 29 metres high, two- standing was today’s St. Laurentius’ Church, 6/6a During the 18th and well into the 19th “Hee-haw! Hee-haw!” This braying came from a storied and has got a thatched officially mentioned for the first time in 1257. In century the traditional livestock mar- donkey, that was said to have descended from cap. Each of the four vanes is 1715 or 1719 the Elector of Hanover bought the 16 ket took place here. the donkey that belonged to the Musicians of 11 metres long. Closed down in Duchies of Bremen and Verden. Now the peop- 7. „Lindemannsches Schloss“ Bremen. 1965. le of Achim were electoral Hanoverians. 1. The new town hall with the tourist informati- Built in 1873 in the neo-Gothic style. 11 12. Former Town Hall (Obernstraße 75/Am 17. “Hünenburg” (Schwedenschanze 39) In 1819 the people of Achim experienced the on (Obernstraße) Construction of the town hall Today it houses the district’s music Rathauspark) This beautiful villa was built in This stately old villa in Art Nouveau style lies beginning of industrialization by the first steam- started in spring 1991. In the “Bürgerhalle” with school. 1829 and used to be the town hall from 1930 right in the middle of a historic ring fort. Rumour ship on the Weser. Because of its favourable 7 its vaulted glass roof art exhibitions, concerts, 8. Memorial of the synagogue till 1993. has it that about 1400 the infamous pirate Claus position Achim got a rail- and other cultural events are staged. Built in 1874. On November 9th, 1938, 13. Inferior Court (Obernstraße) Störtebeker used the “Hünenburg” as cover for way stop in 1847, when the 2. Building of district savings bank (Obernstra- the interior features of the Achim sy- Construction of this building finished in 1864. his ships. railway line Wunstorf – Ni- ße) nagogue were completely destroyed. The entrance is a beautiful old wooden door 18. Generationenpark/Rathauspark (Obern- enburg – Bremen was built. Built in 1891. The slightly projecting annex on Since 1990 a memorial with a bronze with simple or- straße/Am Rathauspark) Achim’s great economic the right hand side dates from 1912 and dis- board and a centre-cracked Star of naments. On A public park for all generations – old trees, leap of 1853/54 happened plays elements of the neo-Classicist style. David reminds of it. the left of the lawn and memorials, benches for taking a rest, as the Kingdom of Hanover 8 9.”Clüverhaus” (Große Kirchstraße) building there playground joined the German Cus- The former farmstead was one of the is a well from for children, toms Union with effect of 14 farms most of which were in ope- 1793 (“Hunger- boule-court January 1st, 1854, and the ration until the 20th century. Today’s brunnen”) which and gym nearby Hanseatic Town of “Haus Clüver”, a typical Lower-Saxon was uncovered equipment Bremen did not. Because half-timbered farmhouse, was built and restored by for the el- of the customs duty the in 1824 – as we are informed by an contributions. derly. price of tobacco products 9 1 2 3/4 13 12 15 17