Der Stadtwall in den G rten: Neue Gedanken zu den historischen Hintergründen der Verlegung der Stadt Hitzacker um die Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts (The Town Ramparts in the Garden: New Thoughts About the Historical Background of the Relocation of the Town of Hitzacker in the Mid-13th Century)

This Essay tries to explain the historical context of the Landgraben“, an impressive ditch and bank west to the city centre of Hitzacker. It first deals with the development of the settlement, of wich the castle-mound of the “Weinberg” already gains importance in the 9th century. This was underlined by the excavations in the area of the Lanke-gardens and the street line south of Hitzacker, proving the rise of the settlement in the 10th/11th centuries and the flourishing in the 12th century. Obviously in the first half of the 13th century the area in the south of Hitzacker was abandoned, probably in connection with the construction of the “Landgraben” (ca. 1230?). Yet the exact date and historical ascription is uncertain, especially wether the Welfen dukes or the princes of Ascania built it – one even can suppose the builing of the “Landgraben” (or parts of it) in the beginning of the 14th century.