Eutin (German pronunciation:[ɔɪ̯ˈtiːn]ⓘ) is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of December 2022, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants.
History
The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its meaning is not quite clear; it is probably derived from the personal name "Uta". The Slavic Obotrites tribe settled eastern Holstein in the 7th/8th centuries A.D. and built a castle on Pheasant Island in the lake now called the Großer Eutiner See.
Eutin is birthplace of composer Carl Maria von Weber. To honor him, an open-air theater (Freilichtbühne) was built in the park of Eutin Castle in 1951, and operas are performed there in July and August during the Eutin Opera Summer Festival (Eutiner Festspiele). The seating capacity of this open-air venue is about 2000. The festival includes music students in Eutin as well as students from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, US, which is the twin city of Eutin.
Eutin hosts an annual Blues Festival (Bluesfest Eutin) at the beginning of summer. Local musicians, as well as up and coming blues artists from around the world, come to play at this three-day outdoor blues festival, which takes place in the market place in the center of town. As the costs are covered by sponsoring, public funding and volunteer helpers, admission is free.
Schleswig-Holstein, particularly Eutin, is known for its numerous rapeseed fields, which are used for biofuel production. Wind turbines are also a common sight in this rural region.
Historic buildings
Originally constructed as a fully functioning windmill in 1850 by Carl Friedrich Trahn, Die alte Mühle (the old mill) now serves as a bar and restaurant.
Each summer, Lawrence and Eutin take part in an exchange program, where high-school students from Lawrence and college students from the University of Kansas have some weeks in Eutin, while German students from Eutin come to Lawrence to study. The University of Kansas also has established an internship exchange program with Eutin.
Language
In addition to Standard German (Hochdeutsch), Low German (Plattdeutsch) is very commonly used in Eutin. A common greeting among the citizens is "moin", to which one replies with "moin moin".