Plön

History

In the course of the Migration Period, Slavic tribes entered the region of Plön during the early 7th century following the withdrawal of the original Germanic population. On the large island opposite Plön, which was later called Olsborg, they built a large fortification. They called their settlement Plune, which means "ice-free water".

In 1075, Kruto lured Budivoj of the Nakonids into the "castrum plunense" (according to Helmold of Bosau), laid siege to him, and then once Budivoj's men had given themselves up after Kruto's promises to let them withdraw freely, Kruto had them slain. In 1139 the Count of Holstein, Adolf II of Schauenburg, destroyed the fortress, ending the domination of the Slavs in the region of Plön. Twenty years later, Adolf II had the castle on the island rebuilt, but soon had it moved to the present hill of Schlossberg ("castle hill"). It was here, under the protection of the castle and close to the major trading route from Lübeck to the north, that a Saxon market town emerged.

In 1236, Plön was granted town rights under Lübeck law. Strategically located on a narrow isthmus between the lakes and the River Schwentine, Plön remained a centre of the County of Holstein until the Danish royal house fell in the 15th century.

Between 1561 and 1729, Plön was the capital of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. The Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön emerged in 1622 as a result of succession in the Danish royal house. From 1633 to 1636 a Renaissance castle was built on the site of the old castle by Duke Joachim Ernest, and Plön became the capital of the small but independent princedom. As a residence town Plön experienced a considerable increase in status. For example, in 1685 Duke John Adolphus ("Hans Adolf") founded the new town (Neustadt) northwest of the town in order to settle craftsmen here and thus increase the economic might of the duchy. Under Charles Frederick the castle district was expanded with several baroque buildings and a pleasure garden. At that time the town had about 1,000 inhabitants and reached as far as the bridge over the Schwentine in the east and as far as the end of today's pedestrian zone in the west. Both entrances were protected by gates.

In 1761 the Duchy fell back into the hands of the Danish crown. Plön remained under Danish rule until the Second Schleswig War in 1864. Although it was the Danish king's summer residence from time to time, it remained otherwise a sleepy provincial town of about 2,000 inhabitants. The cultural life of the minor residence was charmingly described by Rochus von Liliencron in his "Childhood Memories". In the mid-19th century, the Danish crown prince spent a few years of his summer vacation in Plön Castle, since when it has been decorated in white plaster with a gray roof.

Politics

Town council

Plön's town council consists of 23 councillors.

(as of municipal election in May 2013)

Mayor

After a runoff on 21 November 2004 Jens Paustian became Plön's mayor.

The current mayor, Lars Winter, was elected in 2006.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows on a silver background above silver and blue waves in which a red fish is swimming, a red, full-width, low crenellated wall made of bricks, on top of which is a short, red crenellated tower with two black window arches; over the tower hovers Holstein's coat of arms (in red a silver nettle leaf)

Partnerships

Plau am See, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, since 1990

A sponsorship arrangement also exists with the town of Zhilino (formerly the German town of Schillen) in the old Tilsit-Ragnit district in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, in what was once East Prussia.

Ksour Essef, Tunisia, since 1969

Plöns Kreis is the partnership of Lääne-Virumaa county in Estonia

Transport

The railway line between Kiel and Lübeck, on which trains run half-hourly in each direction, runs through Plön. Plön station became known Germany-wide as a result of the early evening television series, Kleinstadtbahnhof ("small town station"), which was filmed here and starred Heidi Kabel and Gustav Knuth. In the series the town was called "Lüttin".

The town is a highway hub, being on the junction of the federal roads (Bundesstraßen) B 76 (east-west) and B 430 (southwest-northeast).

Suburbs

The village of Koppelsberg lies on the B 430 to the west of the town.

The village of Sandkaten (municipality of Bösdorf) and the new suburb of Stadtheide lie on the B 76 to the east of the town. Most of Stadtheide is built on the newly reclaimed terrain of the old engineer barracks.

Culture

Places of interest

Plön Castle is one of the most important Renaissance buildings in the country. Until the death of Duke Frederick Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön in 1761 it was the ducal Residenz; thereafter it was used for various purposes. Today it is owned by the firm of Fielmann.

The Parnass Tower is a 20-metre-high, steel lattice tower on a stone plinth erected in 1888 as an observation tower by the Plön Tourism Society (Plöner Verschönerungsverein). It is open from April to October.

The old Plön Water Tower (Wasserturm Plön) of 1913 lies in the east of the town and is used today as a residence.

Planet Walk

On Plön's Planet Walk the Solar System is mapped on a scale of 1:2,000,000,000, starting from a symbol of the Sun on the landing stage on Market Bridge.

Museums

Museums in Plön include the Museum of Plön District with its North German glass collection, the Nature Park House, the Plön Princes' House (Prinzenhaus) and the Fritz-During Foundation in Plön District.

Krieglstein Puppet Theatre

Opposite the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (until 2007: the MPI for Limnology) is the Krieglstein Puppet Theatre. Ute Krieglstein designed the yarn dolls, including the set and plays songs, composed by her, with her husband, Gerd, who is responsible for the technology. After years as a touring company in Germany, in other European countries and several guest performances in South Korea their company, "Puppen & Co", has had a permanent venue in Plön since 2000.

Literature: "Wonderful times in Wonderful Plön"

My romantic attachment began, of course, in the cradle, shaped by the whole course of those early days. It grew stronger, not least through the nourishment it received from the romantic beauty of Plön and its countryside. The little town nestles, surrounded by lakes, on a narrow strip of land encircling the low hill, whose heights are occupied by the old ducal palace, ringed by old trees, avenues and terraced, sloping gardens. Around the sprawling waters of the lakes, which can be seen from above in a single sweeping gaze, runs a belt of beautiful beech forest over serries of hills, interspersed with a gay, fertile landscape. When, in the evening of a bright summer's day, the moon casts its beams over the gently stirring waves of the lake surface, what a wonderful decoration to play romantic games with the heart over the terraces and under the old trees…" ~ Rochus von Liliencron, 1902, in his Jugenderinnerungen ("Memories of Childhood")

Notable people

Georg Michael Telemann (1748–1831), church musician and composer

Friedrich Carl Gröger (1766–1838), portrait painter and lithographer

Rochus von Liliencron (1820–1912), Germanist, music historian and editor of the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie

Karl Christian Bruhns (1830–1881), astronomer

Georg Kuphaldt (1853–1938), gardener, landscape architect, dendrologist,

Karl von Graffen (1893–1964), general lieutenant in the Second World War

Karl Mauss (1898–1959), officer and general

Lauritz Lauritzen (1910–1980), politician 8(SPD)

Nick St. Nicholas (born 1943), Bass player American Rock Band Steppenwolf