Country Germany District Segeberg Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Area 23.1 km² Local time Saturday 7:52 AM Dialling code 04191 | State Schleswig-Holstein Elevation 31 m (102 ft) Postal codes 24568 Population 19,868 (31 Dec 2008) Postal code 24568 | |
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Weather 7°C, Wind W at 27 km/h, 94% Humidity | ||
Kaltenkirchen (nicknamed Kaki) is a town located on the outskirts of Hamburg in Germany. It is part of the Segeberg district, in Schleswig-Holstein. It has about 20,000 inhabitants.
Contents
- Map of 24568 Kaltenkirchen Germany
- History
- Mayor
- Attractions
- International relations
- Personalities
- References
Map of 24568 Kaltenkirchen, Germany
History
First mentioned in the 14th century, it flourished during the Industrial revolution to accommodate the large number of workers in Hamburg.
During World War II, a temporary airfield protected the northern towns from bombing raids, but during the raids on Hamburg the airfield was destroyed and never rebuilt. Only open fields now remain where it was. A concentration camp was established here from August 1944 to April 1945 as a subcamp to the Neuengamme concentration camp. About 700 prisoners died.
There was talk of moving the Hamburg Airport to Kaltenkirchen in the 1970s, but this did not materialise.
Mayor
Hanno Krause (born 1964) (CDU) was elected mayor in November 2011. He started in office on January 1, 2012. The predecessor was Stefan Sünwoldt (born 1961)(SPD).
Attractions
Kaltenkirchen station is well known in northern Germany as being the central node of the AKN railway company (Altona - Kaltenkirchen - Neumünster) trains which link many of the smaller south Schleswig-Holstein towns with the Hamburg underground network. This makes Kaltenkirchen an attractive home for current or potential commuters.
Like many towns in Germany, Kaltenkirchen is constantly being rebuilt by creating new living areas in and around the town. The new railway station has been built to accommodate Kaltenkirchen's ever growing community of workers and tourists to and from other parts of the North.
Kaltenkirchen is largely a bedroom community for commuters to Hamburg. The southern parts of Hamburg include the industrial area where for example boiled sweets are produced. Kaltenkirchen has a few schools and is planning a shopping centre around the new railway station.
International relations
Kaltenkirchen is twinned with: