The first clear and definitive reference to Wedel is in documents of the Count of Schauenburg, a member of the Lower Saxon aristocracy that ruled the area well into the 17th century.

The castle of the Schauenburgs, built in 1311 and known as the Hatzburg, was located in Holm which is today a small village close to Wedel.

That same year Adolf VI, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg signed a peace treaty in which he promised the rulers of the city of Hamburg that there would be no harm coming from the Hatzburg.

In Wedel, Roland symbolized justice in the market and it was traditional to hold sales negotiations or settle disputes under his watchful eye.

The Roland standing in the town today is believed to have been raised in 1558 after being commissioned by Count Otto IV of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg and is made of Bückeburg sandstone.

Wedel saw considerable conflict throughout the 17th century and the decline of the oxen trade began with the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648).

Detailed descriptions of the wartorn period are found in the writings of the poet, clergyman, and theologian Johann von Rist who was born in 1607 in Ottensen, today a suburb of Hamburg.

In Wedel he found a place to resume his studies and to continue his contacts with prominent poets and scholars of the time.

He wrote numerous works on common and religious themes, including poetry, plays, sermons, and essays about society and literature.

The last Schauenburger, Count Ernst, died in 1622 leaving rule of the region to the Danish King Christian IV.

Industrialization continued in the region with the construction of a short-lived gunpowder factory in neighboring Schulau in 1877 that exploded and burned a year later.

The construction of a rail link in 1883 contributed to the development of a sugar processing factory and the German Vacuum Company.

Several large firms collapsed: the sugar processor let go nearly 400 workers and overall unemployment was high with over 20 percent of the population living on public support.

The labor parties SPD and the KPD in Wedel, quite strongly represented before the Nazis came, were forbidden and went temporarily into the resistance.

After the first honorary citizen, a mayor of many years and the second one a publicly engaged physician for the poor this honor was given to Rudolf Hoeckner a painter well known even outside the realms of Wedel.

In March 1943 a Royal Air Force bomber attack nearly reduced the town to ruins as nearly 70% of homes in Wedel were damaged or destroyed.

A few weeks later, on 17 October 1944, the subcamp of Neuengamme was reopened and 500 men, mostly Polish, Dutch and Soviet prisoners were used to dig anti-tank obstacles.

[3] A severe housing shortage developed as refugees streamed west out of former German territories following the war, adding to the problem caused by the bombing.

Besides these higher education institutions, there are 3 secondary schools: Johann-Rist-Gymnasium (JRG), Gebrüder-Humboldt-Schule (GHS), and Ernst-Barlach-Gemeinschaftsschule (EBG).

Wedel is one end of the historic Hærvejen which leads 480 kilometres (300 mi) northwards to Viborg (in Denmark).