| Velpke | ||
|---|---|---|
 The Lutheran church in Velpke | ||
| ||
  Velpke Location of Velpke within Helmstedt district   | ||
| Coordinates: 52°24′N10°56′E / 52.400°N 10.933°E Coordinates: 52°24′N10°56′E / 52.400°N 10.933°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | Lower Saxony | |
| District | Helmstedt | |
| Municipal assoc. | Velpke | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Mark Kreutzberg | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 19.70 km2 (7.61 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 77 m (253 ft) | |
| Population (2016-12-31) [1] | ||
| • Total | 4,651 | |
| • Density | 240/km2 (610/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 38458 | |
| Dialling codes | 05364 | |
| Vehicle registration | HE | |
| Website | www.velpke.de | |
Velpke is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km north of Helmstedt, and 10 km east of Wolfsburg. The Municipality Velpke includes the villages of Büstedt, Meinkot, Velpke and Wahrstedt. Velpke is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde ("collective municipality") Velpke.
Municipalities are the lowest level of official territorial division in Germany. This is most commonly the third level of territorial division, ranking after the Land (state) and Kreis (district). The Gemeinde which is one level lower in those states also includes Regierungsbezirke as an intermediate territorial division. The Gemeinde is one level higher if it is not part of a Samtgemeinde. Only 10 municipalities in Germany have fifth level administrative subdivisions and all of them are in Bavaria. The highest degree of autonomy may be found in the Gemeinden which are not part of a Kreis. These Gemeinden are referred to as Kreisfreie Städte or Stadtkreise, sometimes translated as having "city status". This can be the case even for small municipalities. However, many smaller municipalities have lost this city status in various administrative reforms in the last 40 years when they were incorporated into a Kreis. In some states they retained a higher measure of autonomy than the other municipalities of the Kreis. Municipalities titled Stadt are urban municipalities while those titled Gemeinde are classified as rural municipalities.
Helmstedt is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Wolfenbüttel, the City of Braunschweig, the District of Gifhorn, the City of Wolfsburg and the State of Saxony-Anhalt.
Lower Saxony is a German state (Land) situated in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with 47,624 km2 (18,388 sq mi), and fourth-largest in population among the 16 Länder federated as the Federal Republic of Germany. In rural areas, Northern Low Saxon and Saterland Frisian are still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining.
The Lutheran church in Meinkot
The catholic church in Velpke
The Lutheran church in Wahrstedt
