Luneburg (pop. 69,905) is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony, in northern Germany. Its products include coal, chemicals, iron, and salt, and it is a tourist resort and spa. It has numerous fine buildings dating from the 1200’s onward, including medieval churches, Renaissance houses, and a palace of the dukes of Brunswick.
The city gave its name to the surrounding administrative district, an area of about 5,790 square miles (15,000 square kilometers) between the Elbe River to the north and east and the Weser and Aller rivers to the west and south. The district is largely rural. The largest part of it, known as the Luneburger Heide (Luneburg Heath), lies south of the city. It has unspoiled forest areas, conifer plantations, and tracts of wild moorland. Part of it is a nature reserve that attracts tourists and hikers. In this area, the British military leader Bernard Montgomery accepted the surrender of the German forces to the Allies on May 4, 1945.
