Very little is known of Buxtehude’s earliest years. We cannot be sure where he was born. His family came from the town of Buxtehude in North Germany but had moved to Oldesloe which is now in Germany but at that time it was part of Denmark. His father was organist in Oldesloe, but around the time of Dietrich’s birth the family moved to Helsingborg which is now called Hälsingborg and is in Sweden, but at that time Helsingborg, too, was part of Denmark. 