Oldenburg Land (german: Oldenburger Land) is a region and regional association in the 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 ...

in the area of the former

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (, also known as Holstein-Oldenburg) was a grand duchy within the German Confederation, North German Confederation and German Empire that consisted of three widely separated territories: Oldenburg, Eutin and Birke ...

(1815–1918), the later

Free State of Oldenburg The Free State of Oldenburg (german: Freistaat Oldenburg) was a federated state of the Weimar Republic. It was established in 1918 following the abdication of the Grand Duke Frederick Augustus II following the German Revolution. In 1937, it l ...

(1918–1946) and administrative district of Oldenburg (1946 to 1978), without its exclaves, along the rivers

Hunte Hunte is a long river in north-western Germany (Lower Saxony), a left tributary of the Weser. The Hunte rises in the Wiehen Hills. In the North German Plain it flows through lake Dümmer. It flows generally northwards through the towns Bad Es ...

and

Hase The Hase is a long river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ems, but part of its flow goes to the Else, that is part of the Weser basin. Its source is in the Teutoburg Forest, south-east of Osnabrück, on the north slope ...

. In the region between

Waterkant The Waterkant is the oldest and one of the most important streets of Paramaribo, Suriname. The street is located in the historic centre on the Suriname River, and was the location where ships used to arrive. The street starts at the Onafhankeli ...

, Dümmer and

Damme Hills The Damme Hills are a high, wooded ridge, up to , in the Oldenburg Münsterland in the southern part of the district of Landkreis Vechta, Vechta, in western Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Location The ridge of the Damme Hills, which is a ...

some of the population still speak

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

today and, in

Saterland Saterland (; Saterland Frisian: , ) is a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Leer, Cloppenburg, and Oldenburg. It is home to Saterland Frisians, who speak Frisian in addit ...

also Saterland Frisian. The region is rich in old Lower Saxon customs such as ''

Schützenfest A Schützenfest (, '' marksmen's festival'') is a traditional festival or fair featuring a target shooting competition in the cultures of Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. At a Schützenfest, contestants compete based on their shooting ...

s'' or '' Kohlfahrten''. Typical country sports include '' Klootschießen'' and ''

Boßeln Klootschieten (NL) (German language, German: Klootschießen, Bosseln or Boßeln; English language, English: Ball shooting or Road bowling) is a sport in the Netherlands, East Frisia, and Northern Germany, most popular in the eastern regions of ...

''. The mainly Catholic southern part of the Oldenburg Land is known as

Oldenburg Münsterland The Oldenburg Münsterland, otherwise called Oldenburger Münsterland or Oldenburgisches Münsterland, is a region in Lower Saxony, Germany and the administrative area that comprises the federal districts of Cloppenburg and Vechta. Unofficially, ...

, the mainly Lutheran northern part is known as Oldenburg Land (''Old Oldenburg'') in its narrower sense. In terms of Germany's modern administrative

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, Oldenburg Land roughly corresponds to

Ammerland Ammerland is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg and the districts of Oldenburg (district), Oldenburg, Cloppenburg (district), Cloppen ...

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Brem ...

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

, Oldenburg (rural), Oldenburg (urban),

Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta. It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every ...

Wesermarsch Wesermarsch is a '' Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Neighboring are (from the east clockwise) the districts of Cuxhaven and Osterholz, the city of Bremen in the state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, the urban ...

, and

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

. These 9 districts have a combined population of about 1.1 million (per the end of 2016) and an area of about 5,700 km2 (2,200 mi2). The borders of the Oldenburg Land are still clear today from the boundaries of institutions such the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg, the ''Offizialatsbezirk Vechta'' of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster The Diocese of Münster is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany.

and the ''Landessparkasse zu Oldenburg''.

Towns and villages

The largest towns, apart from the former state and district capital 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 ...

with about 160,000 inhabitants are

(~ 83,000) and

(~75,000). Other large towns include:

Sources

*Gerhard Wietek: ''Oldenburger Land'' (Deutsche Lande – Deutsche Kunst). 2. Auflage, München/Berlin 1974 {{coord missing, Lower Saxony Geography of Oldenburg Regions of Lower Saxony