EINBECK, or Eimbeck, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hanover, on the Ilm, 50 m. by rail S. of Hanover. Pop. (1905) 8709. It is an old-fashioned town with many quaint wooden houses, notable among them the “Northeimhaus,” a beautiful specimen of medieval architecture. There are several churches, among them the Alexanderkirche, containing the tombs of the princes of Grubenhagen, and a synagogue. The schools include a Realgymnasium (i.e. predominantly for “modern” subjects), technical schools for the advanced study of machine-making, for weaving and for the textile industries, a preparatory training-college and a police school. The industries include brewing, weaving and the manufacture of cloth, carpets, tobacco, sugar, leather-grease, toys and roofing-felt.
Einbeck grew up originally round the monastery of St Alexander (founded 1080), famous for its relic of the True Blood. It is first recorded as a town in 1274, and in the 14th century was the seat of the princes of Grubenhagen, a branch of the ducal house of Brunswick. The town subsequently joined the Hanseatic League. In the 15th century it became famous for its beer (“Eimbecker,” whence the familiar “Bock”). In 1540 the Reformation was introduced by Duke Philip of Brunswick-Saltzderhelden (d. 1551), with the death of whose son Philip II. (1596) the Grubenhagen line became extinct. In 1626, during the Thirty Years’ War, Einbeck was taken by Pappenheim and in October 1641 by Piccolomini. In 1643 it was evacuated by the Imperialists. In 1761 its walls were razed by the French.
See H. L. Harland, Gesch. der Stadt Einbeck, 2 Bde. (Einbeck, 1854–1859; abridgment, ib. 1881).