and Lüneburg and Duke Bernard of Brunswick of Lüneburg allow the council of the town of Lüneburg to add the 30 marks of the lot which Lord Ludolf von Tzellenstede undertook to pay on the town's behalf on 13 April next, and the 150 marks of the lot which he also agreed to pay on the following 25 December, as well as the 100 marks of the lot the council paid on behalf of Lords Ordenberg and Siegfried Bock, i.e. 280 marks of the lot and the interest due to be added to the pledge for the castles of Bleckede and Hitzacker and the taxes from Lüneburg and Hitzacker, in the event that the lords do not repay the council on the said days, and vow also not to relieve the council from the pledges before they have repaid the sum pledged and the above money." In 1548, on the Friday after Jubilate Sunday, a conflagration reduced the village of Hitzacker to ashes apart from the church and one house. In 1610 a number of people in Hitzacker and the surrounding area were accused of witchcraft and sorcery. On the third day of Christmas in 1668 the church, vicarage and eight houses burned down. In the Polabian ("Wendish") language of the region that died out in the 18th century Hitzacker was called Ljauci (Lgautztgi). The borough of Hitzacker was created as part of the municipal reform in 1972 from ten hitherto independent parishes. Politics The town of Hitzacker belongs to state constituency No. 48 – Elbe and federal constituency No. 38 – Lüchow-Dannenberg – Lüneburg. Council The town council of Hitzacker has 17 councillors. as at: local elections of 10 September 2006 Mayor The Mayor (Bürgermeister) of Hitzacker is Holger Mertins. Partnerships The town used to be partnered with the municipality of Wisch in the Netherlands. Culture and places of interest Town roundabout with timber-framed houses and the 1589 customs house (Zollhaus) Museums Hitzacker Archaeological Centre The Old Customs House Museum (Das Alte Zollhaus) Hunting Lodge and Forest Museum in Göhrde Buildings Katemin Mill (Kateminer Mühle) Other Excavations at the Hitzacker See Sacrifice stone (Opferstein) near Pudripp Wildlife enclosure (Wildgehege) in Hitzacker Prince's Graves (Fürstengräber), Marwedel Megalithic tombs and tumuli near Pussade The Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellschaft or Wifo: former Nazi underground fuel depot in the Dötzingen Forest outside Hitzacker Hitzacker's shooting guild, the 'Schützengilde von 1395 zu Hitzacker (Elbe), is one