Ettenbostel was a village in the old district (''Altkreis'') of

Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...

located in the Heidmark in the north German state of

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 ...

. The villagers were 'relocated' in 1935/36 because the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

wanted to create a huge military training area on the heathland and forest of the Heidmark. Today this has become the

Bergen-Hohne Training Area Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: ''NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen'' or ''Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne'') is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers a ...

and is the largest in Europe.

History

Ettenbostel was once called ''Ettingeborstelde'' and was first mentioned in the year 1218 in deed no. 9 of the abbey at Walsrode. Its old name is translated as "farmers of Etto", it was therefore a family settlement. In the Celle treasury register (''Schatzregister Celle'') five farms are recorded at this place. The heath farmers and their wives ensured their survival by keeping hardy moorland sheep, known as ''

Heidschnucken The Heidschnucke is a group of three types of moorland sheep from northern Germany. Like a number of other types from Scandinavia and Great Britain, they are Northern European short-tailed sheep. The three breeds of Heidschnucke (in order of popu ...

''. Not until the hardpan could be broken, enabling the cultivation of arable land, did sheep farming decline. The area around Ettenbostel is described in local lore as the "most beautiful ancient heathland" in the old district of Fallingbostel. At the time of the resettlement there were 173 inhabitants living in Ettenbostel and the neighbouring village of Benhorn.

Sources

* Hinrich Baumann: ''Die Heidmark - Wandel einer Landschaft. Geschichte des Truppenübungsplatzes.'' Bergen 2006 * Hans Stuhlmacher: ''Die Heidmark.'' Schneeheide 1939 Heidmark Abandoned villages in Lower Saxony {{Heidekreis-geo-stub