Bruchhausen-Vilsen is a municipality in the
Diepholz district, in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is situated southeast of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. The nearby communities of Berxen, Bruchhöfen, Bruchmühlen, Dille, Gehlbergen, Heiligenberg, Homfeld, Nenndorf, Riethausen, Stapelshorn, Wöpse, Oerdinghausen, Scholen, Weseloh,
Süstedt
Süstedt is a village and a former municipality in the district of Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2016, it is part of the municipality Bruchhausen-Vilsen
Bruchhausen-Vilsen is a municipality in the Diepholz district, in ...
and
Engeln
Engeln is a village and a former municipality in the district of Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2011, it is part of the municipality Bruchhausen-Vilsen
Bruchhausen-Vilsen is a municipality in the Diepholz district, in Lo ...
all belong to Bruchhausen-Vilsen. Bruchhausen-Vilsen is also the seat of the ''
Samtgemeinde
A ''Samtgemeinde'' (; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type of administrative division in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Samtgemeinden'' are local government associations of municipality, municipalities, equivalent to the ''Amt (administrative division ...
'' ("collective municipality")
Bruchhausen-Vilsen.
History
Bruchhausen-Vilsen originated from the 3 communities of Bruchhausen, Moor and Vilsen. Bruchhausen was first mentioned in 1189, and Vilsen in 1227. In 1870 Moor and Bruchhausen were united. In 1929 Bruchhausen and Vilsen were merged into the community of Bruchhausen-Vilsen. Since 1974 Bruchhausen-Vilsen has been the administrative center of the Samtgemeinde Bruchhausen-Vilsen. In 1976 Bruchhausen-Vilsen was recognized as a health resort.
Politics
Community Council
Municipal Elections of 10 September 2006:
*
CDU Group - 9 seats
*
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
/
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
Group - 10 seats
Coat of Arms
The coat of arms contain a bear claw in the right half, representing the counts of Hoya, and a blue and white gyron in the left, representing the counts of Bruchhausen. The arms originated in 1551 in Bruchhausen and were carried over when Bruchhausen and Vilsen united in 1928.
Culture and Attractions
Museum
* Railway Museum
The first railway museum in Germany, operated since 1966 by the German Railway Association (''
Deutscher Eisenbahn-Verein
The Deutscher Eisenbahn-Verein (''German Railway Society'') or DEV was founded in November 1964 as the ''Deutscher Kleinbahn-Verein'' (" German Kleinbahn Society"). Its purpose was the preservation of a working branch line with all its installatio ...
''), runs a
tourist railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
(
heritage railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
) from Bruchhausen-Vilsen to Asendorf on weekends and holidays from May to September. The museum presents exhibits on various train subjects and has an extensive railway car collection (about 100 vehicles).
Image: BruchhausenVilsen3.jpg , “Hoya” engine in the museum's station
Image: BruchhausenVilsen4.jpg , Passenger car No. 4 of the Railway Museum
Image: BruchhausenVilsen1.jpg , Interior of museum’s passenger car No. 17
image: BruchhausenVilsen2.jpg , Railcar T 44 pulling passenger car No. 2
Image: Bahnhof_(Museumseisenbahn)_Bruchhausen-Vilsen.jpg , Bruchhausen-Vilsen station
Image: (Museumseisenbahn)_Streckenschild_„Vilser_Holz“.jpg , "Vilser Holz" stop
Image: BruchhausenVilsenMuseumsbahn.jpg , The railway crosses Homfelder Street
Borgward service
![Borgward Isabella Cabriolet, Bj](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Borgward_Isabella_Cabriolet%2C_Bj._ca._1957.jpg)
The little town is home to what is claimed to be the world's only surviving
Borgward
The former Borgward car manufacturing company, based in Bremen, Germany, was founded by Carl F. W. Borgward (1890–1963). It produced cars of four brands, which were sold to a diversified international customer base: Borgward, Hansa, Go ...
garage/service centre, operated by a father-and-son team of enthusiasts.
Borgward was an automobile manufacturer, based in nearby
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, which ceased trading under controversial circumstances in 1961, but the cars, notably the
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
model became an iconic symbol of Germany's
economic miracle
Economic miracle is an informal economic term for a period of dramatic economic development that is entirely unexpected or unexpectedly strong. Economic miracles have occurred in the recent histories of a number of countries, often those undergoing ...
, and continue to generate passion, even though only between 2,000 and 3,000 Borgwards are now (2014) thought to survive worldwide.
The Borgward service centre in Bruchhausen-Vilsen operates from premises that consciously hark back Borgward's own glory days in the 1950s. The business claims to have 70 regular customers and is proud to use "experience in place of a computer driven diagnostic centre", pointing out that a lot of mechanical diagnosis can be done simply by listening to the noise from the engine (''"Vieles kann man schon am Motorengeräusch hören"'').
Structures
Churches
St. Cyriakus Church in Vilsen is a
Romanesque-style church. It was first mentioned in 1227 and belonged to the Heiligenberg monastery. It is a Protestant church today.
St. Bartholomew Church in Bruchhausen was completed in 1901. In the steeple hangs a bronze bell that was cast during the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
(1618–1648) and was used in the previous church for over 200 years.
Mills
Behlmer Mill: The Behlmer mill is an octagonal two-story structure in the Dutch-style, built in 1876 by the master miller Heusmann. In 1934 it was rebuilt after being severely damaged by a tornado and in 1988, the mill was completely renovated. In addition to the mill are a loom and other farm equipment open to the public.
Martfeld Mill: The Martfeld mill was first mentioned in the year 1583. Originally built as a block windmill, in 1840 it was rebuilt in three story Dutch-style. The mill burned to the ground after a lightning strike in 1851 and was rebuilt the same year. Between 1992 and 1999 the mill was completely renovated. The mill is the oldest windmill in the area.
Fehsenfeldsche Mill: Built in 1871 in the three story Dutch-style, the mill operated until 1971. In 1991 the mill was restored and is now used for weddings.
Sprakener Windmill: The Sprakener windmill was erected in 1856 in the three story Dutch-style and was in commercial operation until 1960. An exterior restoration was accomplished between 1991 and 1994, and there are plans to renovate the interior in the coming years.
Heiligenberg Monastery Mill: First mention in 1370, the mill and the monastery came under state ownership in 1543. In 1986 the mill was restored and construction in 1996 opened a restaurant and a hotel with a gallery space in the mill.
Bruchmühlen Watermill: The Bruchmühlen Watermill was the lower mill of the Heiligenberg Monastery. It is located a few hundred meters from the upper mill. Mentioned for the first time in the year 1532, creation of a massive ground work and the repair of the mill house was undertaken in 1749. Since 1886 the mill has been privately owned by the Hüneke family. Water was restored to the mill in 1990/1991, and starting in the spring of 1996, roughly 3 tons per day of cereal was being ground.
Noltesche mill: The Noltesche mill at Süstedter Bach was built as a grain mill in 1880, and three years later equipped with a turbine. In 1997 the mill became the property of the Süstedt municipality and restoration was completed in 1999. Since 1998, the turbine has been used for power generation.
References
{{Authority control
Diepholz (district)