Oldenburg in Holstein
Oldenburg in Holstein is a town in Germany at the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea. The nearest city is Lübeck. The town belongs to the (historical) region of Holstein, today in the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein. It must not be confused with the city of Oldenburg in Lower Saxony.
History
Oldenburg was the chief town of the Wagrians, one of the Slavic peoples that migrated as far west as the river Elbe in or after the 6th century (see Völkerwanderung), also known as Wends and Obotrites. They arrived about 700 AD and the name was Starigard or Stargard, meaning "Old Settlement" or "Old Castle", the German name Oldenburg is (Low Saxon) with the same meaning. The Obotrites were allies of of Germanic-Frankish King Charlemagne. Emperor Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor established the bishopric of Oldenburg under Adaldag, archbishop of Hamburg.
To the North Germanic Vikings, the city was known as Brandehuse, i.e. "the burned houses", indicating the bellicose times.
For centuries, Starigard/Oldenburg remained the Slavic competitor of Hedeby on the Baltic trade, until the counts Adolph I and Adolph II of Schauenburg and Holstein, supported by Henry the Lion (German: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129 – 6 August 1195), finally defeated the Wends during the first half of the 12th century.
Note
The notable Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock died in the Naval hospital in Oldenburg on 4 May 1945.
