Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

🇩🇪 Pinneberg is a town in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It is the capital of the district of Pinneberg. Pinneberg is located 18 km north-west of the city centre of Hamburg.

Near Pinneberg is the transmission site for the maritime weather radioteletype and radiofax service DDH47, working on 147.3 kHz. A T-aerial is used, strung between two guyed masts.

History When a castle was first built in Pinneberg around the year 1200 AD, the site had already been used as a Germanic Thingstätte for several centuries. In 1370 the castle was captured by Count Adolf VIII of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg.

In 1397 Pinneberg was first mentioned in official documents as a seat of courts.

In 1472 a Renaissance castle was built in place of the old castle. It was heavily damaged in the years 1627 and 1657 and was finally torn down in 1720. Between 1765 and 1767 the Drostei was built for the Drost Hans von Ahlefeldt. This brick building, which was probably erected by Ernst Georg Sonnin, is the most important example of Baroque architecture in the district of Pinneberg.

After some servants and craftsmen had settled in the vicinity of the castle, the settlement expanded slowly, only receiving municipal rights in 1875, although it had been the seat of the Danish 'Landdrost' since 1640 and seat of the Prussian district administrator since 1866 within the Province of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1905 the settlement of ‘Pinneberger Dorf’ was incorporated and in 1927 the villages of Thesdorf and Waldenau followed.

After World War II the number of inhabitants of Pinneberg doubled because of the forced immigration of expellees, predominantly from East Prussia. Later on, in contrast to many other cities in Schleswig-Holstein, Pinneberg was able to keep the number of inhabitants stable.

Transport Many regional trains stop at Pinneberg railway station, which serves as the terminus of line S3 of the Hamburg S-Bahn rapid transit network. A second S-Bahn station – Thesdorf – is also located within Pinneberg.