served as archchancellor of Emperor Otto III who stayed here several times. Schöningen was the site of a Benedictine abbey founded in 983. Nearby Elm Castle, erected in the 11th century, was the seat of a commandry of the Teutonic Knights from 1221 onwards. From the 14th century, it was held by the Welf dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who granted Schöningen town privileges in 1332. About 1350 Duke Magnus the Pious had Schöningen Castle built as a hunting lodge and also to secure the nearby border with the Bishopric of Halberstadt. It was damaged during the Schmalkaldic War in 1542, when Duke Henry V of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel fought against the troops of the Protestant Schmalkaldic League. It later served as a widow's seat of his consort Sophia Jagiellon, sister of the Polish king Sigismund II Augustus, and of her successors Elizabeth of Denmark and Anna Sophia, daughter of Elector John Sigismund of Brandenburg. Duchess Elizabeth, sister of King Christian IV of Denmark had the palace rebuilt in a lavish Renaissance style from 1613 onwards. In 1640 Anna Sophia established a Latin school (Anna-Sophianeum) in Schöningen, which exists as a Gymnasium up to today. Schöningen Castle was also the administrative seat of a Brunswick Amtmann. From 1679 it served as the residence of Anna Sophia, daughter of Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and spouse of Margrave Charles Gustav of Baden-Durlach. Her sister Elizabeth Eleonora married Duke Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen here. In 1733 Prince Frederick II of Prussia stayed here en route to his marriage with Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern at Salzdahlum. After the seat of the local administration was moved to Helmstedt in 1815, the castle decayed. Economy The main industry in Schöningen is open-cast mining of lignite, which is used for electricity generation in the Buschhaus Power Station. Both mining and generation are operated by E.ON subdivisions. Buschhaus power station and open-cast mining will be closed down in 2017. The Buschhaus plant now inhibits three lines of thermal waste treatment. The Sachtleben Chemie company was founded as Lithopone- und Permanentweißfabrik at Schöningen in 1878; the production facilities were relocated to Duisburg in 1892. Schöningen is the site of a ground station operated by the German Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst) intelligence agency. Politics Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtrat) elections: Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD): 17 Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 9 Free Voters: 2 Alliance 90/The Greens: 2 Elections in 2016: