Hanseatic
modern
Stade's town history
1025 years of Stade at a glance
An important trading site developed on the river Schwinge as early as the 7th to 10th century. The only early medieval castle in northern Germany was the so-called Schwedenschanze. In the 8th century, there was already a market with a jetty in the town. In the 10th century, the counts of Harsefeld built a castle on the Spiegelberg hill, creating a centre of attraction of national significance.
Stade owes the first written evidence of the town’s existence, which was called “Stethu” at the time, to an attack by Vikings in 994. So the history of Stade goes back a long way. The Hanseatic period is particularly significant for the town, it was the heyday of Stade, but the Swedish occupiers also left behind distinctive buildings that are still standing today such as the Schwedenspeicher and the armoury. Many traces of history characterise the maritime jewel on the river Schwinge with four harbours and a wide range of tourist attractions.
Stade's history by the dozen
900 n. Chr.
Befestigung & Aussichtspunkt
Hoch hinaus!
Den schönsten Blick über den neuen Hafen und die Salztorsvorstadt hat man vom Spiegelberg, der um 900 aufgeschüttet wurde. Um 1017 begann Graf Siegfried aus dem Grafengeschlecht der Udonen hier mit dem Bau einer Befestigungsanlage. Die stolze Höhe von 11 Metern wurde durch Aufhäufungen von Wällen aus Erde und Holz erreicht.
994 n. Chr.
Die Wikinger kommen
Folgenschwerer Landgang
Zum ersten Mal Erwähnung fand die Siedlung im Jahr 994. Den Wikingern war damals eine Geisel abhanden gekommen, nämlich der Stader Graf Siegfried. Bei der Suche nach dem Adligen ging auf dem Hafenmarkt allerlei zu Bruch, wie der Chronist Thietmar von Merseburg zu berichten wusste. Die Siedlung wurde geplündert, viele Geiseln starben.
1259 n. Chr.
Von der Nordsee nach Stade
Allererste Wahl
Ihren ersten wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung verdankt Stade dem 1259 erteilten Stapelprivileg. Wer von der Nordsee kommend die Elbe hinauf fuhr, musste seine Waren hier drei Tidezeiten zum Kauf anbieten und bei Wiederausfuhr verzollen, was nicht verkauft wurde. Die Hamburger überzeugten den Bremer Erzbischof, diese Regel zu ändern.
1267 n. Chr.
Ausschluss aus der Hanse
Verhanst & zurückgekehrt
Seit 1267 gehörte die Stadt der Hanse an. Doch so richtig grün war man sich nicht. Aufgrund innerstädtischer Konflikte wurde die Stadt zweimal “verhanst”, wie man so schön sagt. Mit anderen Worten: Stade musste den Städtebund verlassen. Seit 2009 führt Stade wieder die offizielle Bezeichnung Hansestadt im Namen.
1279 n. Chr.
Der "Silberne Kodex"
Die Stader Statuten
1279 zeichneten die Weisesten der Stadt die Stader Statuten, Rechtssatzungen und die Ratswahlordnung auf. Die älteste im Original erhaltene mittelniederdeutsche Stadtrechtshandschrift wird wegen der silbernen Beschläge ihres Einbands als “Silberner Kodex” bezeichnet.
1645 n. Chr.
Die Schweden kommen
Die Schwedische Episode
Unter schwedischer Herrschaft (1645-1712) wurde die Stadt Verwaltungszentrum und zur europäisch bedeutenden Festung ausgebaut. Markante Bauwerke aus dieser Zeit wie der Schwedenspeicher, das Zeughaus und das Rathaus sind heute die Wahrzeichen der Stadt.
1659 n. Chr.
Die wohl größte Tragödie Stades
Der große Stadtbrand
1659 brannte die Stader Innenstadt zu großen Teilen nieder. Die Häuser wurden auf den alten Fundamenten neu gebaut, darunter auch das Stader Rathaus. Zum Gedenken an dieses Unglück werden noch heute alljährlich an jedem Donnerstag nach Pfingsten Feuerwehrübungen durchgeführt.
17. Jahrhundert
Stade wird geteilt
Vier Stadtviertel
Im 17. Jahrhundert war Stade in vier Viertel aufgeteilt: Das Sandquartier, das Bäckerquartier, das Bergquartier und das Wasserquartier. Diese Einteilung war beispielsweise auch Grundlage für die Erhebung der Steuern.
19. Jahrhundert
Teil der preußischen Provinz
Die Preußen kommen
Wechselvoll geht die Stadtgeschichte weiter. Nach der Schwedenzeit belagerten dänische Truppen die Stadt (1712-1715). Danach kam die Stadt in den Besitz des Kurfürstentums Hannover. 1866 annektierte Preußen das Königreich Hannover und erklärte es zu einer preußischen Provinz.
20. Jahrhundert
Startschuss für die Wirtschaft
Neuer Schwung
Die Industriebahn zum Anschluss der Betriebe in der Salztorvorstadt wurde 1951/52 zum Hafen Stadersand erweitert. Das war der Startschuss für einen bemerkenswerten Wirtschaftsaufschwung. An der Elbe siedelten sich vor allem Anfang der 1970er Jahre mehrere große Betriebe an. Seit 1959 kam die Flugzeugindustrie hinzu.
21. Jahrhundert
Erfolgreicher Industriestandort
Bereit zum Durchstarten
In Stade werden carbonfaserverstärkte Kunststoffe – auch CFK genannt – produziert, die vor allem im Flugzeugbau Verwendung finden. In jedem Airbus fliegt heute ein Stück Stade mit. 120 Unternehmen, ein Forschungszentrum und eine private Hochschule beschäftigen sich im “CFK-Valley” mit dem Stoff, aus dem die Zukunft gemacht ist.
The Hanseatic period
The heyday of the Hanseatic city of Stade
In 1267, Stade was one of the first members of the still largely unorganised Hanseatic League. Its interests were strongly focussed on achieving a balance with its trading partners Jutland and Flanders. It also traded intensively with Denmark. In 1259, Stade was granted staple rights, in 1272 minting rights and in 1279 the town laid down the rules for living together in the town and thus its own constitution in the Stade Statutes.
The first pier was built around the year 1000 at the foot of the Spiegelberg – where the harbour basin is located today. The fixed harbour basin was created as early as the middle of the 13th century. From 1373, Stade was represented at “Hanseatic Diets” and the city grew into a flourishing trading town. For a while then, it was more important than Hamburg, integrated into Europe-wide flows of goods.
In the 14th century, Stade was one of the Hanseatic cities of middling importance. The main traded goods were agricultural products from Jutland and the Lower Elbe region as well as cloth, spices and luxury goods from Flanders and Holland. During this period, the city had a foreign policy of its own towards its sovereign, the Archbishops of Bremen, as well as towards the Hanseatic League. In the 16th century, Hamburg largely took over the Elbe trade.
By integrating the “Merchant Adventurers”, an association of English cloth merchants, the city tried to boost trade again from 1587. However, this led to a dispute with the Hanseatic League, which resulted in Stade being banished in 1601. Excluded from the Hanseatic League, it fell to the status of a small country town.
On its premises at the city’s historic harbour, the Schwedenspeicher Museum houses a permanent exhibit on the Hanseatic League alongside temporary exhibitions. The Hanseatic League is brought to life with carefully constructed showcases and a collection of significant artefacts.
As an important part of Stade’s history, the Hanseatic League is also an integral part of the guided city tours. On the tour “On the Trail of the Hanseatic League”, the group will encounter a number of characters from the Hanseatic era and can listen to their stories. The culinary tour “Butter bei die Fische” focuses on different foods from the time of the Hanseatic League. It is remarkable how much of the food culture of that time is still relevant today.
The annual Stade Hansemahl can be traced back to seafaring in Hanseatic times. The Stade brotherhoods serve the traditional seafaring dish Labskaus at the public banquet. Guests gather at tables and benches in the historic Hanseatic harbour to enjoy the hearty meal. Labskaus is a puree consisting of beef, potatoes and beetroot. It is traditionally served with pickled cucumber, matjes (soused herring) and fried egg.
The Swedish era
The occupation of Stade
While the Reformation in Stade was largely peaceful, the Thirty Years’ War did not spare the town. Danish troops entered the town in 1625, and three years later the famous commander Count Tilly conquered the town. In 1632, the Swedes succeeded in capturing Stade. After a brief Danish occupation, they regained the upper hand in 1643. During the great town fire in 1659, more than two thirds of the town was destroyed. However, the roads were largely preserved: reconstruction began under the Swedish troops. The Swedes also left their mark on the town in the form of their military buildings: the armoury and the garrison’s victual house, known today as the Schwedenspeicher. The Swedish occupation also brought lively shipping traffic to Stade under the neutral Swedish flag. For almost 200 years, various troops occupied the town: Swedes and Danes alternated with the Hanoverians, English, French and Prussians. The balance of power changed constantly. Under Swedish rule (1645-1712), the city became an administrative centre and was developed into a fortress of European importance. However, the strains of Sweden’s European wars permanently weakened the town’s economic power. Stade became part of Prussia in 1866.
The upheaval
Until the 19th century, Elbe tolls were levied at the mouth of the river Schwinge, which ships paid to avoid being attacked. After the annexation by the Prussians, the de-fortification of Stade began: the demolition of defences and the expansion of the urban infrastructure. At the end of the 19th century, a wide variety of businesses settled around Stade’s town centre, followed by industry and commerce. The new harbour was built in 1880 and the town was connected to the railway network in 1881. In 1920, the lights came on in the truest sense of the word, as the town was connected to the national electricity supply.
Fortunately, the First World War had few noticeable consequences for the town, but a battalion from Stade was sent to the war in 1914. An airbase was built in 1934 – during the Second World War it was used as a military aerodrome. The population suffered from the war, but the town itself was largely spared from bombing raids. On the 1st of May 1945, British troops entered Stade and liberated the town from the Nazi regime.
Post-war & modernisation
The people of Stade took fate into their own hands and made the town a flourishing tourist and business hub in the 1950s. Stade has been an aircraft industry base since 1958 thanks to the Hamburg aeroplane construction on the site of the air base.
At the beginning of the 1970s, the economic boom set in with the establishment of large companies, power stations and subsequently corporations such as Airbus and Dow. This development and various subsidies made extensive and complex urban redevelopment possible, the benefits of which are currently reaped by residents and visitors alike. The old town is largely being pedestrianised and many old houses renovated. Around 460 architectural monuments in the city of Stade are listed in the register of cultural monuments. During excavations in the harbour basin in 1989, spectacular finds from Stade’s 1000-year history were discovered.