![Nordwolle Delmenhorst Haupttor Uhr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Nordwolle_Delmenhorst_Haupttor_Uhr.jpg)
Delmenhorst (;
Northern Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon (in High German: ', in Standard Dutch: ') is a subgroup of Low Saxon dialects of Low German. As such, it covers a great part of the West Low German-speaking areas of northern Germany, with the exception of the border region ...
: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''
Kreisfreie Stadt
In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a ''Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia a ...
'') 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 has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown
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 ...
with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the city of
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
is to the northwest. The city has a total area of ; and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of approx. 1200 inhabitants per km².
Since 2021 the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
has been Petra Gerlach (CDU).
History
Delmenhorst was first mentioned in a charter in 1254, after the Count of
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
, Otto I, bought the place near the river Delme in 1234. A castle to protect the newly founded settlement was established in about 1247. The following count, Otto II, made the castle his residency; Delmenhorst was declared an independent town on 15 July 1371 under Bremen's law.
After a short period under the governance of the
bishop of Bremen
This list records the bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (german: link=no, Bistum Bremen), supposedly a suffragan of the Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops of Hamburg (sim ...
from 1421 to 1436 Delmenhorst returned under the custody of Oldenburg. Delmenhorst later was infamous for its
robber-baronship under the count
Gerhard VI of Oldenburg
Gerhard VI, Count of Oldenburg (; 1430 – 22 February 1500) was a Count of Oldenburg and regent of Bad Zwischenahn in 1440–1482.
Biography
Gerhard was the third son of Dietrich of Oldenburg and his wife, Helvig of Schauenburg. His eldest broth ...
. Its reign ended in 1482 thanks to a siege laid to the castle under the leadership of the
bishop of Münster
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. Therefore, the town now was under Münster authority until finally count Anton I won back the town as well as the castle in 1547.
When the last heir of Anton, Christian, died in 1647, Delmenhorst again fell under Oldenburg custody. As Oldenburg belonged to Danish kings and the Oldenburg regent of that time was a relative of the
Danish king
This is a list of Monarchy of Denmark, Danish monarchs, that is, the kings and queens regnant of Denmark. This includes:
* The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397)
** Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397)
* The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) ...
, Delmenhorst was thereafter under Danish control.
In 1767 Delmenhorst was bought by
Tsarina
Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; bg, царица, tsaritsa; sr, / ; russian: царица, tsaritsa) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (mona ...
Catherine II
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
, but was given up to new Oldenburg in 1773. In 1777 Delmenhorst was declared a dukedom of Oldenburg. In 1806 a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
army occupied the territory; Delmenhorst was a part of the French empire under
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
from 1811 to 1813.
In the
industrial age Delmenhorst experienced great economic growth, thanks to Bremen. Since Bremen was in a different
duty zone, merchants who wanted to
export
An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...
manufactured goods
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...
outside of Bremen had to pay high customs duties. They therefore only exported the resources and produced their commodities in the surrounding villages. The industries arising were the ''
Jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
'' - a
spinning works
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
and
weavery in 1871, the ''Delmenhorster Linoleumfabrik'' - a
linoleum
Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most com ...
factory, in 1882, the ''Norddeutsche Wollkämmerei und Kammgarnspinnerei'' or ''Nordwolle'' - another, bigger spinning works, and several others. The number of inhabitants quadrupled in these years.
In 1903 Delmenhorst was declared ''kreisfrei'', meaning it was under its own regentship, not having to obey any other county. In the 1930s
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
the ''Nordwolle'' went bankrupt - nevertheless the town grew bigger, incorporating several smaller villages around it. On
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
in November 1938 the
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was burnt down by the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, who had come to power in Germany in 1933. After the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Delmenhorst was in the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
zone of occupation and had to deal with thousands of refugees from Eastern Germany, which now was occupied by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. The British-appointed mayor during the British Occupation was Major Jack Wolfe, an inspector of the British Constabulary. In 1950, more than 57,000 people lived in Delmenhorst.
Since the 1960s there has been a steady decrease in employment, leaving more than 13% of the town's inhabitants unemployed and nearly 7% living on social welfare. In the year 2000 Delmenhorst was an outpost of the
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
-based
Expo 2000
Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially some 40 million people were expe ...
.
The Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) Institute for Advanced Study is located at Delmenhorst, in the neighborhood of Deichhorst. The HWK promotes collaboration between and among international research scientists and artists, many of whom are housed on the HWK grounds. The public is engaged through a public lecture series. The research areas of focus are energy, earth, brain, and society.
Mayors
*Wilhelm Müller: 1933–1937
*Hermann Maas: 1937–1945
*Walter Kleine: 1945–1945
*Johann Schmidt(1870-1949): 1945–1946
*Wilhelm von der Heyde: 1946–1955
*Anton Eickmeier (1912-1955): 1955–1955
*Hans Albers: 1955–1956
*Wilhelm von der Heyde (1885-1972): 1956–1968
*Ernst Eckert (1904-2004): 1968–1974
*Harald Groth (born 1943): 1974–1976
*Otto Jenzok (1928-1984): 1976–1984
*Walter Löwe: 1984–1986
*Erwin Pelka: 1986–1986
*Jürgen Thölke (born 1934): 1986–2001
*Carsten Schwettmann: 2001–2006
*Patrick de La Lanne (born 1962): 2006–2014
*Axel Jahnz: 2014-2021
*Petra Gerlach: since 2021
Main sights
The landmark of the town is the
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
complex with the adjacent town hall, built from 1910 to 1914 by architect Heinz Stoffregen.
![Wasserturm-Delmenhorst](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Wasserturm-Delmenhorst.jpg)
Another interesting place is the Burginsel (Castle Island), in which the old castle existed in medieval times. The construction was torn down during the 18th century. Today a park (called the ''Graft'') occupies the grounds of the old castle.
The industrial history of the town is presented by the
Nordwolle Museum, an Anchor Point of ERIH, The
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The a ...
.
Twin towns – sister cities
Delmenhorst is
twinned with:
*
Allonnes, France
*
Borisoglebsk
Borisoglebsk (russian: Борисогле́бск) is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vorona River near its confluence with the Khopyor. Population: 65,000 (1969).
History
Borisoglebsk was founded in 164 ...
, Russia
*
Eberswalde
Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German State ( Bundesland / ''federated state'') of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (census in June 2005), geographic ...
, Germany
*
Kolding
Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, ...
, Denmark
*
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
, Poland
Notable people
![Fritz Stuckenberg Selbstbildnis 1915](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Fritz_Stuckenberg_Selbstbildnis_1915.jpg)
*
Arthur Fitger
Arthur Heinrich Wilhelm Fitger (4 October 184028 June 1909) was a German painter, art critic, playwright and poet.
Biography
Arthur Fitger was one of the ten children of Delmenhorst (Grand Duchy of Oldenburg) postmaster Ratsherr Peter Diedrich ...
(1840–1909), painter
![Iwan Bloch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Iwan_Bloch.jpg)
*
Iwan Bloch
Iwan Bloch (April 8, 1872 – November 21, 1922), also known as Ivan Bloch, was a German dermatologist, and psychiatrist, psychoanalyst born in Delmenhorst, Grand Ducal Oldenburg, Germany, and often called the first sexologist.
Together with M ...
(1872–1922), physician and sexologist
*
Fritz Stuckenberg (1881–1944), painter
*
Reinhard Kuretzky (born 1947), athlete, pole vaulter
*
Wolfgang Michels
Wolfgang Michels (15 July 1951 – 14 September 2017) was a German singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.
Biography
Early years
In May 1968, Michels recorded a song under pseudonym "One Plus None" and scored a No. 2 BBC radio hit with "De ...
(1951–2017), musician, singer, composer and author
*
Volker Wieker
Volker Wieker (born 1 March 1954 in Delmenhorst, Lower Saxony) is the former Chief of Federal Armed Forces Staff, Chief of Staff (''Generalinspekteur'', lit. ''Inspector General'') of the ''Bundeswehr'', the German armed forces, and a General ( ...
(born 1954), General Inspector of the Bundeswehr
*
Gerd U. Auffarth (born 1964), Professor of Ophthalmology, Heidelberg University
*
Claudia Kemfert
Claudia Kemfert (born 17December 1968) is a German economics expert in the areas of energy research and environmental protection. She is a Professor of Energy Economics and Sustainability at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. She heads th ...
(born 1968), environmental economist and energy expert
*Tim Fischer (born 1973), composer
*
Ernst-Marcus Thomas (born 1973), television presenter
Associated with the city
*
Gerhard VI, Count of Oldenburg
Gerhard VI, Count of Oldenburg (; 1430 – 22 February 1500) was a Count of Oldenburg and regent of Bad Zwischenahn in 1440–1482.
Biography
Gerhard was the third son of Dietrich of Oldenburg and his wife, Helvig of Schauenburg. His eldest broth ...
(1430–1500), ruler of the castle of Delmenhorst
*
Henrich Focke
Henrich Focke (8 October 1890 – 25 February 1979) was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen and also a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He is best known as the inventor of the Fw 61, the first successful German helicopter.
Biograp ...
(1890–1979), co-founder of the company
Focke-Achgelis
Focke-Achgelis & Co. G.m.b.H. was a German helicopter company founded in 1937 by Henrich Focke and Gerd Achgelis.
History
Henrich Focke was ousted in 1936 from the Focke-Wulf company, which he had cofounded in 1924, due to shareholder pressure. ...
in Hoykenkamp (Ganderkesee)
*
Walter Többens
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
(1909–1954), textile entrepreneur with production and trading
*
Hans-Joachim Hespos
Hans-Joachim Hespos (13 March 1938 – 18 July 2022) was a German composer of avant-garde music. He was trained as a teacher and worked until 1984. Self-taught as a composer, he then worked freelance and created more than 200 works in many genre ...
(1938–2022), composer, founded the concert series 11.11 new music in Delmenhorst
*
Sarah Connor (born 1980), singer and since 2003 "honorary messenger" of the city
References
External links
Delmenhorst Homepagewebcam providing a view over the market place from the top of the town hall
* Search in th
Delmenhorster Bibliography(the total bibliography a
PDF(461 kB))
{{Authority control
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg