Uelzen

Uelzen
Ülz'n (Low German)
Location of Uelzen within Uelzen district
Uelzen
Uelzen
Coordinates: 52°57′53″N 10°33′57″E / 52.96472°N 10.56583°E / 52.96472; 10.56583
CountryGermany
StateLower Saxony
DistrictUelzen
Subdivisions16 districts
Government
  Mayor (202126) Jürgen Markwardt (SPD)
Area
  Total
135.84 km2 (52.45 sq mi)
Elevation
43 m (141 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)
  Total
32,915
  Density240/km2 (630/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
29525
Dialling codes0581
Vehicle registrationUE
Websitewww.uelzen.de

Uelzen (German: [ˈʏltsn̩] ; Low German: Ülz'n), officially the Hanseatic City of Uelzen (German: Hansestadt Uelzen), is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the district of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality.

Uelzen is characterised by timber-framed architecture and also has some striking examples of North German brick Gothic. The town earned pan-regional fame when Friedensreich Hundertwasser was selected to redesign the railway station: the final work of the celebrated Viennese artist and architect was ceremonially opened in 2000 as the Hundertwasser Station, Uelzen, and remains a popular tourism destination.

The Polabian name for Uelzen is Wilcaus (spelled Wiltzaus in older German reference material), possibly derived from wilca or wilsa (< Slavic *olăša) 'alder'.