Landkreis Emsland () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of

Leer Leer may refer to: * Leer, Lower Saxony, town in Germany ** Leer (district), containing the town in Lower Saxony, Germany ** Leer (Ostfriesland) railway station * Leer, South Sudan, town in South Sudan ** Leer County, an administrative division of ...

, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (district of

Steinfurt Steinfurt (; Westphalian: ''Stemmert'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From roughly 1100-1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north- ...

), the district of Bentheim in Lower Saxony, and the Netherlands (provinces of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

and

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

History

For a long time the region of the Emsland was extremely sparsely populated, due to the fens on both sides of the river. Small villages were established in medieval times along the river and on the Hümmling. In the 13th century the bishops of Münster gained control over the region; the Emsland remained property of the bishop until 1803, when the clerical states were dissolved. It came under rule of Prussia and Arenberg, but after the Napoleonic Wars the Congress of Vienna decided to hand the territory over to the Kingdom of Hanover. The Duchy of Arenberg continued to exist as a fief of the Hanoverian kings. When Hanover was annexed by Prussia (1866), the dukes were deposed soon after (1875). The now Prussian Province of Hanover was subdivided into districts in 1885; four districts were established on the territory of what is now the Landkreis Emsland. The districts were merged in 1977 to form the present district. Boergermoor KZ-Gedenkstein 01

Under Nazi rule, labour camps known as the ''Emslandlager'' ("Emsland camps") held thousands of political opponents of the Nazi Party, located outside Börgermoor, now part of the commune

Surwold Surwold is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, 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 t ...

, not far from

Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Geog ...

. A memorial of these camps, the Dokumentations- und Informationszentrum (DIZ) Emslandlager, is located at Papenburg. The well known resistance song "

Peat Bog Soldiers "Peat Bog Soldiers" () is one of Europe's best-known protest songs. It exists in countless European languages and became a Republican anthem during the Spanish Civil War. It was a symbol of resistance during the Second World War and is popular wit ...

" was composed by political prisoners at one of these camps. In 1950 a governmental plan for the development of Emsland was adopted. Its aim was to turn the region into an industrial location. This was accomplished by draining the fens and establishing projects like the test track of the maglev " Transrapid" and several large

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

s such as the

Meyer-Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

. Although the Landkreis Emsland lost much of its original character, some areas retain their natural character, for example the Hümmling. Tr noerdliche kurve02

1977 district reforms in Lower Saxony unite the former districts of Lingen, Meppen and Aschendorf-Hümmling in the district of Emsland, with Meppen as administrative seat. The Emsland remains a very Roman Catholic region compared to other parts of Lower Saxony.

Geography

The district is located on the Dutch border. It is named after the Ems river, which crosses the region from south to north. It is an absolutely plain countryside, which was once full of fens. The only elevations are in the Hümmling, which is a hilly forest area east of the Ems. Although the Emsland region is nowadays primarily a county among many others in Lower Saxony, its locals have what could be called a distinct sense of regional pride which will unlikely be found elsewhere in this state.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * a megalithic grave, typical for the Hümmling area * the roses from the arms of the Duchy of Arenberg * the anchor from the arms of the County of Lingen The wavy line symbolises the river Ems.

Cities and municipalities

(Population 2005) Free municipalities and towns #

Emsbüren Emsbüren is a municipality in the Emsland district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Ems, approx. 15 km south of Lingen, and 15 km northwest of Rheine. It has a railway station: Leschede. Personalities * Willi ...

(9,749) # Geeste (11,279) # Haren, town (22,754) # Haselünne, town (12,549) # Lingen, town (51,318) # Meppen, town (34,196) #

, town (34,519) # Rhede (4,228) # Salzbergen (7,436) # Twist (9,640) Samtgemeinden

Dörpen (15,446)
Freren Freren () is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km east of Lingen. Freren is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde A ''Samtgemeinde'' (; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type o ...
(10,834)
Herzlake Herzlake is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, 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 t ...
(9,821)
Lathen (10,815)
Lengerich (9,083)
Nordhümmling Nordhümmling is a '' Samtgemeinde'' in the district Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabr� ...
(12,149)
Sögel Sögel is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Sögel is most known for the Clemenswerth Palace, a hunting lodge built 1737-1749 by Johann Conrad Schlaun for Elector Clemens August. Personalities Born in Söge ...
(15,484)
Spelle (12,653)
Werlte Werlte is a town in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. History Werlte was a host city of the 2008 Team Long Track World Championship; the championship was won by Germany. Economy Werlte is home to a factory of the Krone company. ...
(15,660)

References

External links