Seesen

Seesen is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx. 20 km (12 mi) west of Goslar.

History

The Saxon settlement of Sehusa was first mentioned in a 974 deed issued by Emperor Otto II and Chancellor Willigis, from 1235 on it belonged to the Welf dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg who had a castle erected. In 1428 Seesen received town privileges by Duke Otto II the One-Eyed of Brunswick-Göttingen. In 1836 Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later named Henry E. Steinway) built his first grand piano in his kitchen in Seesen; the instrument is today on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtrat) as of 2006 elections:

• Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 17
• Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD): 15
• Free Democratic Party (FDP): 2

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Seesen is twinned with:

• Wantage, United Kingdom (since 1978)
• Thale, Germany (since 1990)
• Carpentras, France (since 1993)
• Montecorvino Rovella, Italy (since 2006)

Famous residents

• The composer Louis Spohr (1784 – 1859) spent his childhood at Seesen.
• In 1801 the merchant Israel Jacobson (1768 – 1828) established the first Haskalah interdenominational school in Germany at Seesen.
• The piano manufacturer William Steinway was born at Seesen on 5 March 1835 as Wilhelm Steinweg. His father Henry E. Steinway (Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg) built his first grand piano at a Seesen washkitchen in 1836.
• Emil Wohlwill (1835 – 1912), chemist, born at Seesen.
• The caricaturist Wilhelm Busch (1832 – 1908) spent his last years at the Mechtshausen vicarage.

See also

• Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg