Barsinghausen is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the Deister chain of hills approx. 20 km west of Hanover. Barsinghausen belongs to the historic landscape Calenberg Land and was first mentioned in 1193. Geography Neighbouring places Barsinghausen adjoins Wunstorf, Seelze, Gehrden, Springe, Bad Nenndorf and Wennigsen. Division of the town Barsinghausen consists of 18 districts: Bantorf, Barrigsen, Barsinghausen, Eckerde, Egestorf, Göxe, Großgoltern, Nordgoltern, Groß Munzel, Hohenbostel, Holtensen, Kirchdorf, Landringhausen, Langreder, Ostermunzel, Stemmen, Wichtringhausen, Winninghausen History Barsinghausen is the site of an old double monastery (“Kloster Barsinghausen”) that was established during the High Middle Ages. At that time, fertile loess soil and a number of influent streams to river Südaue constituted a central fundament for farming and numerous windmills in Calenberg Land. Barsinghausen became a coal mining town between 1871 and 1957. After World War II, other sectors of industry began to dominate Barsinghausen's economy. Population development (each time at 31 December) 1998 – 34,743 1999 – 34,648 2000 – 34,497 2001 – 34,408 2002 – 34,370 2003 – 34,376 2004 – 34,253 Sights Barsinghausen is home to "Kloster Barsinghausen", a nunnery first mentioned in 1193 (now a Lutheran women's convent, to Monastery Church St. Mary ("Marienkirche"), to the Deister Open Air Theater (“Deister Freilichtbühne”), to the exhibition mine “Klosterstollen”, to Sport Hotel Fuchsbachtal and to Lower Saxony's Soccer Association. The Colossus of Ostermunzel is a glacial erratic qualified as a natural monument. Its large size is abnormal, particularly for northern Germany and especially for Lower Saxony. Education Elementary schools Adolf-Grimme-Schule Wilhelm-Stedler-Schule Ernst-Reuter-Schule Astrid-Lindgren-Schule Albert-Schweitzer-Schule Grundschule Groß Munzel Grundschule Hohenbostel Grundschule Bantorf Secondary schools Hannah-Arendt-Gymnasium Lisa-Tetzner-Schule Goetheschule KGS Barsinghausen Special schools Bert-Brecht-Schule (Special education school) VHS (Volkshochschule – Adult high school) Calenberger Land Twin towns – sister cities Barsinghausen is twinned with: Brzeg Dolny, Poland Kovel, Ukraine Mont-Saint-Aignan, France Wurzen, Germany Notable people Hartmut Andryczuk, publisher Fritz Brase (1875–1940), military musician and composer Herbert Lattmann (born 1944), former member of the Bundestag (CDU) Kurt Sohns (1907–1990), painter, artist, professor at the Technical University of Hanover Associated with the town Heinz Erhardt (1909–1979), actor and comedian, attended from 1919 to 1924 a boarding school in Barsinghausen Herbert Gruhl (1921–1993), politician and author (Ein Planet wird geplündert, 1975) Hans-Joachim Mack (1928–2008), General of the Bundeswehr Robert Schulz (1900–1974), SS brigade leader in Nazism, member of the Reichstag, lived and worked after 1945 as a