Buxtehude - Picturesque town of fairy tales, home of the race between the hare and hedgehog

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Buxtehude for friends of fairy tales

Buxtehude is known as the city in which the dogs bark with their tails and where hare and hedgehog had their famous race. Everything in Buxtehude revolves around comical animals: ballet performances, art exhibitions, children's books and souvenirs. Individually-sculpted man-high hare and hedgehog figures romp in front of shops, presenting the historical fairy tale in modern form. Whoever wants to experience the fairy tale of the hare and hedgehog in greater detail should go to the fascinating museum of local history. In the exhibition “Ick bün al hier“ ("I'm here already") you can learn everything you need to know about this fairy tale. The puppet film by the Diehl brothers from 1938/39 is shown in a small cinema. Town tour guides in hare-and-hedgehog costumes recount stories and anecdotes about Buxtehude with much charm and esprit. And on city strolls, guests can linger at the Hare-and-Hedgehog fountain initiated by the Buxtehude Fairy Tale Society. It is especially enchanting at Christmas time, when the Old Town Association sets up numerous lighted fairytale figures. You can stroll delightfully beneath the canopy of lights of winter illumination where the hare and hedgehog likewise romp.

Buxtehuder Historical Tidbits

The fairy tale of the hare and the hedgehog was written down for the first time by Wilhelm Schröder and published in dialect in 1840, with the title "Dat Wettlopen twischen den Hasen und den Swinegel up de lütje Heide bi Buxtehude" ("The race between the hare and the hedgehog on the little field near Buxtehude") in the newspaper Hannoverschen Volkblatt.

In 1843, the Brothers Grimm included the Fairy Tale as No. 187 in the 5th edition the Tales of Children and the Home. To this day, the fairy tale has been translated into more than 160 languages.

Buxtehude for holiday tourists and day visitors

Maritime flair blows through the historical old town with its many half-timbered houses. Buxtehude was the first German city planned around a central harbour basin. It was the most modern harbour foundation in German lands at the time. Aside from the St.-Peter Church, a Gothic brick basilica, the former inner-city harbour (the "Fleth") is the most important historical architectural landmark of the city.

Hikers and cycle tourists can discover the diversified natural environment around Buxtehude. Aside from paths through the historical old town, a network of hiking paths primarily reveals the natural highlights within the Buxtehude urban areas: the Este River in its upper and lower course, the Neukloster Forest, the start of the Old Country as well as the diversified scenery which forms the moor, marsh and sandy heathland. Picturesque bicycle paths along the Este and Elbe offer a rich panorama. The hare-and-hedgehog bicycle route round about the fairy tale town is a perfect invitation for pleasurable day trips.

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