In 986 Zeven was first mentioned in a document of the Benedictine Zeven Convent[de] in Heeslingen, then giving its name as kivinan à Heeslingen (Kivinan near Heeslingen). In 1141 the convent was relocated to Zeven. The convent played a determining role in Zeven's history. Zeven belonged to the old Duchy of Saxony and at its dissolution in 1180 Zeven became a part of the newly founded Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, the princely territory of imperial immediacy ruled by the respective holder of the archiepiscopal see of Bremen. During the Protestant Reformation the majority of the nun clung to Catholicism, while most laymen adopted Lutheranism.
In the course of the Thirty Years' War troops of the Catholic League under Johan 't Serclaes, Count of Tilly conquered the Prince-Archbishopric in 1627/1628. The Leaguist takeover enabled Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, to implement the Edict of Restitution, decreed March 6, 1629, within the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and the Prince-Bishopric of Verden. The convent of Zeven - still maintaining Roman Catholic rite - became the local stronghold for a reCatholicisation within the scope of Counter-Reformation. The nuns, who had converted to Lutheranism, were then expelled from the convent.
In 1632 troops of the legitimate ruler of the Prince-Archbishopric, Administrator John Frederick, helped by troops from Sweden and the city of Bremen, reconquered the Prince-Archbishopric. The convent was dissolved. By the Peace of Westphalia the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen in 1648, which - together with the Principality of Verden - was first given as a prey for its participation in the Thirty Years' War to be ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown. These two imperial fiefs to the Swedes are thus colloquially called Bremen-Verden. The queen regnant Christina of Sweden, in personal union Duchess of Bremen and Princess of Verden installed in the two latter functions her residence in today's Queen Christina House in Zeven, the oldest remaining profane building in town.
As in Sweden proper, the constitutional and administrative bodies in the Swedish dominions gradually lost de facto importance due to ever growing centralisation. Bremen-Verden'sEstates lost more and more influence, and were less frequently convened. After 1692 the Estates' say had almost vanished.[2] This led to considerable unease among the Estates, so that in May 1694 representatives of Swedish Bremen-Verden's general government and the Estates met at the former convent of Zeven to confer on the status of the Duchies.
Local businesses include the head office of the recently created DMK dairy combine (before 2011 Nordmilch), producing milk based products such as quark under the well known (throughout Germany) "Milram" label.
Christian-Friedrich Vahl (born 1955), heart surgeon and Director of the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Doris Fitschen (1968-2025), former national footballer; played a total of 144 matches between 1986 and 2001 with the German women's team
↑Beate Christine Fiedler, 'Die Entwicklung der schwedischen Staatsform im 17. Jahrhundert und ihre Auswirkung auf die deutschen Provinzen Bremen und Verden', In: Landschaft und regionale Identität: Beiträge zur Geschichte der ehemaligen Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden und des Landes Hadeln, Heinz-Joachim Schulze (ed.), Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehemaligen Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, 1989, (Schriftenreihe des Landschaftsverbandes der ehemaligen Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden; vol. 3), pp. 84–96, here p. 92.
