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{{Expand German|topic=geo|Wolfenbüttel|date=December 2009}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2007}}
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{{Use Oxford spelling |date=September 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates |date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox German location
|type              = Stadt
|name              = Wolfenbüttel
|image_flag        = Flag red white blue 5x3.svg
|image_coa         = DEU Wolfenbüttel COA.svg
|image_photo       = Wolfenbuettel Schloss 07.jpg
|image_caption     = [[Schloss Wolfenbüttel|Wolfenbüttel Castle]]
|coordinates       = {{coord|52|09|44|N|10|32|13|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan        = Wolfenbüttel in WF.svg
|state             = Niedersachsen
|district          = Wolfenbüttel
|elevation         = 77
|area              = 78.74
|postal_code       = 38300, 38302, 38304
|area_code         = 05331
|licence           = WF
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 03 1 58 037
|divisions         = 10 districts
|website           = {{url|https://www.wolfenbuettel.de}}
|mayor             = Ivica Lukanic<ref name=mayor>{{cite web|url=https://wahlen.statistik.niedersachsen.de/SW2021/reports/DW/DW_Uebersicht.pdf|title=Stichwahlen zu Direktwahlen in Niedersachsen vom 26. September 2021|date=13 October 2021|publisher=[[Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen]]}}</ref>
|leader_term       = 2021&ndash;26
|party             = Ind
}}

'''Wolfenbüttel''' ({{IPA|de|ˌvɔlfn̩ˈbʏtl̩|-|De-Wolfenbüttel.ogg}}; {{langx|nds|Wulfenbüddel}}) is a town in [[Lower Saxony]], [[Germany]], the administrative capital of [[Wolfenbüttel (district)|Wolfenbüttel District]]. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned [[Herzog August Library]] and for having the largest concentration of timber-framed buildings in Germany, around 1,000.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lessingstadt-wolfenbuettel.de/buchen/pauschale/fachwerk-und-hoefe-1 | title=Fachwerk und Höfe - von Baumeistern und architektonischen Kleinoden }}</ref> It is an [[Landesbischof|episcopal]] see of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick]]. It is also home to the [[Jägermeister]] distillery, houses a campus of the [[Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften|Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences]],<ref>[https://www.ostfalia.de/cms/en/campus/wf/ Ostfalia School of Applied Sciences]</ref> and the Landesmusikakademie of Lower Saxony.<ref name="lma">{{cite web|url=https://lma-nds.de/ | title= Landesmusikakademie Niedersachsen |website=Landesmusikakademie Niedersachsen  |language=de  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607115002/https://lma-nds.de/ |archive-date=7 June 2022 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

==Geography==
The town center is located at an elevation of {{convert|77|ft|m|abbr=on}} on the [[Oker]] river near the confluence with its [[Altenau (Oker)|Altenau]] tributary, about {{convert|13|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]] and {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of the state capital [[Hannover]]. Wolfenbüttel is situated about half-way between the [[Harz]] mountain range in the south and the [[Lüneburg Heath]] in the north. The [[Elm-Lappwald Nature Park]] and the [[Asse (hills)|Asse]] hill range stretch east and southeast of the town.

With a population of about 52,000 people, Wolfenbüttel is part of the [[Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region]] and [[Braunschweig]]'s urban agglomeration. It is the southernmost of the 172 towns in [[Northern Germany]] whose names end in ''büttel'', meaning "residence" or "settlement."<ref>The Latin adjective deriving from the town is Guelferbytanus; e.g. Bibliotheca Guelferbytana, or [[Codex Guelferbytanus A]].</ref>

==Mayor==
Between 2006 and 2014, the mayor of Wolfenbüttel was Thomas Pink, who was reelected in 2014 with 67.7% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wolfenbuettel.de/index.php?object=tx%7C2672.5.1&ModID=7&FID=2672.8972.1&NavID=2672.272&La=1|title=Wahlergebnisse|website=Stadt Wolfenbüttel|language=de|access-date=2019-04-24}}</ref> In August 2018 he left the German [[CDU/CSU|Christian Democratic Union]] party.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://regionalwolfenbuettel.de/thomas-pink-tritt-aus-situation-in-cdu-war-unertraeglich/|title=Thomas Pink tritt aus: "Situation in CDU war unerträglich"|work=regionalHeute.de |date=10 August 2018 |language=de|access-date=2019-04-24 |last1=Donner |first1=Anke }}</ref>

In September 2021, Ivica Lukanic (Independent) became Wolfenbüttel's first politically independent mayor, beating Dennis Berger (SPD) in a run-off with 55.7% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/kommunalwahl_niedersachsen_2021/Ivica-Lukanic-ist-neuer-Buergermeister-von-Wolfenbuettel-,wolfenbuettel918.html | title=Ivica Lukanic ist neuer Bürgermeister von Wolfenbüttel |website=NDR}}</ref>

==History==
A first settlement, probably restricted to a tiny islet in the Oker river, was founded in the tenth century. It was mentioned in 1118 as ''Wulferisbuttle'', when the [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxon]] count [[Widekind of Wolfenbüttel]] erected a [[water castle]] on the important trade route from Brunswick to [[Halberstadt]] and [[Leipzig]]. Destroyed by [[Henry the Lion]] in 1191, and again by his great-grandson Duke [[Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Albert I of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] in 1255, the fortress and town, as well as nearby [[Asseburg (castle)|Asseburg Castle]], were seized in 1258 by Albert I from the [[House of Asseburg]], the descendants of Widekind. The castle was rebuilt by the [[House of Welf|Welf]] duke [[Henry I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen|Henry I of Brunswick]] from 1283 onwards.

By 1432, the town became the permanent residence of the Brunswick [[Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Princes of Wolfenbüttel]]. Devastated in the 1542 [[Schmalkaldic War]], it was largely rebuilt in a [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] style under Duke [[Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg]], including several ''[[gracht]]'' waterways laid out by [[Hans Vredeman de Vries]]. The duke vested the citizens with [[market town|market rights]] in 1570 and founded the [[Herzog August Library|Ducal Library]] (''Herzogliche Bibliothek'', the later ''Bibliotheca Augusta'') two years later.

During the [[Thirty Years' War]], Danish troops under King [[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]] occupied the fortified town in 1626. Upon the nearby [[Battle of Lutter]], they were besieged by the [[Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor|Imperial forces]] of General [[Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim]]. Re-conquered in 1627, the Wolfenbüttel fortress remained under the command of [[Gottfried Huyn von Geleen]]. In June 1641 the [[Battle of Wolfenbüttel]] was fought here, when the [[Swedish Empire|Swedish]] forces under [[Carl Gustaf Wrangel|Wrangel]] and the [[Hans Christoff von Königsmarck|Count of Königsmark]] defeated the Austrians under [[Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria|Archduke Leopold of Habsburg]], however, they failed to occupy the town.

Over two centuries, especially under Duke Julius' successors [[Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Henry Julius]] and [[Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Augustus the Younger]], Wolfenbüttel grew to be a center of the arts and science: Already in 1604, the composer [[Michael Praetorius]] (1571–1621) served as ''[[Kapellmeister]]'' of the Brunswick dukes. From 1682, the composer [[Johann Rosenmüller]] (1619–1684), who had to flee Germany due to allegations of homosexuality, spent his last years in Wolfenbüttel. [[Gottfried Leibniz]] (1646–1716) and [[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing]] (1729–1781) directed the Ducal Library, and established one of the first [[lending libraries]] in Enlightenment Europe.<ref>Horn Melton, James Van, ''The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe'' (Cambridge University Press, 2001), p106</ref> However, the ducal court eventually returned to Brunswick in 1753 and Wolfenbüttel subsequently lost in importance.

During [[World War II]], the city prison became a major execution site of prisoners of the [[Gestapo]]. Most of those executed were members of various Resistance groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dpcamps.org/slaveCampsB-C.html|work=Slave Labor in Nazi, Germany, Camps|title=Braunschweig - Brunswick}}</ref> Victims include [[Marguerite Bervoets]] and [[Fernande Volral]], and a [[Dom (title)|Dom]] Lambert, a [[monk]] of [[Ligugé Abbey]] in France, who was beheaded there on 3 December 1943.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abbaye-liguge.fr/#!historique/czr3|work=Abbaye Saint-Martin de Ligugé|title=Presentation: Historique|language=fr}}</ref>

===Immigration===
Roughly 14% of Wolfenbüttel are foreigners and 27.2% of the town has a [[migration background]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.statistik.niedersachsen.de/download/87646 | title=Bevölkerung in den Landkreisen und kreisfreien Städten am 9. Mai 2011 nach Migrationshintergrund | language=de | trans-title=Population in the districts and independent cities on 9 May 2011 by migration background | format=XLS | website=www.statistik.niedersachsen.de}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#efefef;"|Rank
! style="background:#efefef;"|Country of origin
! style="background:#efefef;"|Population (31.12.2022)
|-
|1||{{flag|Turkey}}|| 3,087
|-
|2||{{flag|Poland}}|| 1,568
|-
|3||{{flag|Syria}}|| 987
|-
|4||{{flag|Iraq}}|| 902
|-
|5||{{flag|Tunisia}}|| 622
|-
|6||{{flag|India}}|| 554
|-
|7||{{flag|Cameroon}}|| 433
|-
|8||{{flag|Romania}}|| 414
|-
|9||{{flag|Vietnam}}|| 300
|-
|10||{{flag|China}}|| 277
|-
|}

== Main sights ==
* The [[baroque]] castle ''[[Schloss Wolfenbüttel]]''. In 1866, the castle became the Anna-Vorwerk-School for girls. Today part of the building is used as a high school; it also houses a great example of Baroque state apartments, which are open to the public as a museum.
* ''[[Herzog August Library|Herzog-August-Bibliothek]]'' (HAB), the ducal library, hosts one of the largest and best-known collections of ancient books in the world. It is especially rich in bibles, [[incunabula]], and books of the Reformation period, with some 10,000 manuscripts. It was founded in 1572 and rehoused in an interpretation of the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in 1723, built facing the castle; the present library building was constructed in 1886. Leibniz and Lessing worked in this library as librarians. The ''[[Codex]] Carolinus'' in the library is one of the few remaining texts in [[Gothic language|Gothic]]. The library also houses the bible of [[Henry the Lion]], a book preserved in near mint condition from the year 1170.<ref>{{cite web|author=Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel|url=http://www.hab.de/index-e.htm|title=www.hab.de|publisher=www.hab.de|access-date=2013-01-01|archive-date=21 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221063946/http://www.hab.de/index-e.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Klein-Venedig''. A picturesque waterside building ensemble ([[Gracht]]) along the River [[Oker]] built in the eighteenth century.
* The churches [[Marienkirche, Wolfenbüttel|Marienkirche]] (Hauptkiche Beatae Mariae Virginis), built during the seventeenth century, and [[St. Trinitatis, Wolfenbüttel|St. Trinitatis]] (Trinity Church), built during the early eighteenth century.

The town is also the location of the former Northampton Barracks, which housed units of the [[British Army of the Rhine]] until 1993 (postcode: BFPO 101).

Today, Wolfenbüttel is smaller than the neighbouring cities of [[Braunschweig]] (Brunswick), [[Salzgitter]], and [[Wolfsburg]], but, because it was largely undamaged by the war, its downtown is rich in half-timber buildings, many dating several centuries back, and it still retains its historical character. Wolfenbüttel is located on the [[German Timber-Frame Road]].
[[File:Wolfenbuettel Herzog August Bibliothek Detail (2006).jpg|175px|The portal above the entrance to the [[Herzog August Library|HAB]]|thumb]]
[[File:St.-Trinitatiskirche (Wolfenbüttel) IMG 1376.jpg|[[Trinitatiskirche, Wolfenbüttel|Trinity Church]]|175px|thumb]]

==Culture==
[[File:3 × Jägermeister (ubt).JPG|thumb|175px|The herb liqueur {{lang |de |[[Jägermeister]]}} is distilled in Wolfenbüttel.]]
Wolfenbüttel is home of several departments of the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences<ref>[http://www.ostfalia.de/ ostfalia.de]</ref>{{full citation needed |date=September 2025}} and the {{Interlanguage link|Lessing-Akademie|de}}, an organisation for the study of Lessing's works. It is also home to the {{lang |de |Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv}}, the state archives of Lower Saxony, as well as the renowned {{lang |la |[[Herzog August Library|Biblioteca Augusta]]}}. Beginning in 2009 the {{lang |de |Landesmusikakademie Niedersachsen}}<ref name="lma"/> is located in the {{langr |de |Seeliger Park}} and sponsored by the state of Lower Saxony to promote music education at various levels.

The herb [[liqueur]] {{lang |de |[[Jägermeister]]}}'s headquarters of {{lang |de |[[Mast-Jägermeister]]}} are still located in Wolfenbüttel, as are some of its distillation sites.

Wolfenbüttel hosted the three-day International German [[Bus Pulling]] Championships in May 2009, where five-person teams pull a {{convert|16|ST|t|order=flip|adj=on}} bus {{convert|30|m}}.<ref>page 22 March 2009 Forbes</ref>{{full citation needed |date=September 2025}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buspulling.de |url-status=usurped |title=Bus Pulling Germany website |publisher=Buspulling.de |access-date=2013-01-01 }}</ref>{{failed verification |date=September 2025}}

Every year starting in late November, Wolfenbüttel stages a Christmas market with food and drinks. Locals often come and enjoy the pre-Christmas atmosphere.

==Twin towns – sister cities==
[[File:WolfenbuttelParkKenoshaWI.jpg|thumb|175px|Wolfenbüttel Park in Kenosha]]
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Wolfenbüttel is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partnerstädte|url=https://www.wolfenbuettel.de/Stadtleben/Die-Stadt/Partnerst%C3%A4dte|website=wolfenbuettel.de|publisher=Wolfenbüttel|language=de|access-date=2021-02-17}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Sèvres]], France (1958)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Kenosha, Wisconsin|Kenosha]], United States (1970)
*{{flagicon|ROU}} [[Satu Mare]], Romania (1976)
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Kamienna Góra]], Poland (2001)
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Blankenburg (Harz)|Blankenburg]], Germany (2015)

A bridge in Wolfenbüttel is named after each of these cities. In Kenosha, there is a park located on the coast of Lake Michigan named after Wolfenbüttel.

==Notable people==
[[File:Georg Scholz Selbstporträt.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Georg Scholz]] self-portrait (undated)]]
[[File:Koningin elisabeth christine.jpg|thumb|140px|[[Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern|Elisabeth Christine]] around 1739]]
{{See also|Category:People from Wolfenbüttel|Category:Princes of Wolfenbüttel|Category:People from Wolfenbüttel (district)}}

*[[Philipp Sömmering]] (c. 1535–1575), alchemist and fraudster
*[[August Querfurt]] (1696–1761), Austrian painter of soldiers and battle scenes
*[[Johann Julius Walbaum]] (1724–1799), physician, natural scientist and fauna [[taxonomist]].
*[[Ludwig von Rochau]] (1810–1873), publicist and politician
*[[Theodor Engelbrecht]] (1813–1892), physician, professor and [[Pomology|pomologist]].<ref>{{Cite NIE |wstitle= Engelbrecht, Theodor |volume= VII | page= |short=1}}</ref>
*[[Theodore Eisfeld]] (1816–1882), composer, chief conductor of the [[New York Philharmonic]].<ref>{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle= Eisfeld, Theodore |volume = II |page= 317 |short= 1}}</ref>
*[[Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Alfred Fleckeisen]] (1820-1899), philologist and critic.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Fleckeisen, Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Alfred |volume= 10 |page= 492 |short=1}}</ref> 
*[[Victor Ehrenberg (jurist)|Victor Ehrenberg]] (1851–1929), legal scientist and [[Jurist]]
*[[Georg Scholz]] (1890–1945), a [[New Objectivity]] painter
* [[Marguerite Bervoets]] (1914-1944), Belgian teacher, poet, graduate in philosophy and literature, resistance fighter, beheaded at Wolfenbüttel on 7 August 1944.
*[[Maina-Miriam Munsky]] (1943-1999), a [[Nouveau réalisme|new realist]] artist.

=== Aristocracy ===
*[[Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (1489–1568), Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1514 to 1568
*[[Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (1528–1589), Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1568 to 1589.
*[[Augustus William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (1662–1731), Prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1714 to 1731
*[[Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern]] (1715–1797), Queen of Prussia for over 46 years
*[[Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] (1721-1792), Prussian field marshal from 1758 to 1766.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Ferdinand of Brunswick |volume= 10 |page= 269 |short=1}}</ref>
*[[Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] (1729–1796), Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1752 to 1766
*[[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick]] (1735-1806), Prussian field marshal from 1773.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Brunswick, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of |volume= 4 |pages= 687-688 |short=1}}</ref>
*[[Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] (1739–1807), Duchess and composer.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Anna Amalia |volume= 2 |page= 59 |short=1}}</ref>
*[[Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Crown Princess of Prussia|Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] (1746–1840), Crown Princess of Prussia

=== Sport ===
*[[Hans-Jörg Meyer]] (born 1964), sports shooter
*[[Simon Mensing]] (born 1982), footballer who played over 475 games
*[[Arnd Peiffer]] (born 1987), biathlete, gold medallist at the [[2018 Winter Olympics]]

==See also==
*[[Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg]]

==References==
{{Reflist |30em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin |30em |indent=yes}}
* Bepler, Jochen: ''Kleine Wolfenbütteler Stadtgeschichte''. Pustet, Regensburg 2011. {{ISBN|978-3-7917-2328-0}}.
* Fimpel, Martin: ''Erst Großbaustelle und dann eine andere Stadt. Der lange Abschied von der Festung Wolfenbüttel'', in: Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte Bd. 94, 2013, S. 161–192.
* Grote, Hans Henning: ''Schloss Wolfenbüttel, Residenz der Herzöge zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg.'' Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2005
*{{in lang|de}} [[Heinz Grunow|Grunow, Heinz]] and [[Wolfgang Wessel|Wessel, Wolfgang]]. ''Wolfenbüttel: ein Bildband''. [[Grenzland-Verlag Rock & Co.]], Wolfenbüttel. 1977
* Schwarz, Ulrich (Hrsg.): ''Auf dem Weg zur herzoglichen Residenz. Wolfenbüttel im Mittelalter.'' Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2003
* Stadt Wolfenbüttel (Hrsg.): ''Wolfenbüttel unter dem Hakenkreuz.'' Fünf Vorträge von Reinhard Försterling,[Dietrich Kuessner, Hans-Ulrich Ludewig, Wilfried Knauer, Dieter Lent; Heckner-Print-Service-GmbH, Wolfenbüttel 2000 [http://gso.gbv.de/DB=2.1/PPNSET?PPN=313309108 GBV]
* ''Residenzstadt Wolfenbüttel – Ein Streifzug durch die Geschichte''; Nr. 9 (2004)
* ''Junges Leben in alten Häusern – 25 Jahre Stadtsanierung in Wolfenbüttel''; Nr. 9 (2005)
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}} {{in lang|de}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Wolfenbüttel |volume= 28 |page= 773 |short=1}}

{{Subject bar |auto=y |portal1=Lower Saxony |portal2=Geography }}
{{Cities and towns in Wolfenbüttel (district)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfenbuettel}}
[[Category:Wolfenbüttel| ]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities]]
[[Category:Duchy of Brunswick]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 10th century]]