Buxtehude, officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude, is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in …Buxtehude, officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude, is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and attached to the city's S-Bahn rapid transit network. Buxtehude is a medium-sized town and the second largest municipality in the Stade district. It lies on the southern border of the Altes Land in close proximity to the city-state of Hamburg. To the west lie the towns of Horneburg and Stade and to the south there are a number of incorporated villages featuring mostly upscale housing; e.g., Ottensen and Apensen.