Osterholz-Scharmbeck (;

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 ...

: ''Oosterholt-Scharmbeek'') is a town and the capital of the district of

Osterholz Osterholz is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Wesermarsch, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg and Verden, and by the city of Bremen. History Originally the prince-archbishops ...

, 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 ...

. Osterholz-Scharmbeck is situated in between the cities 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 ...

and

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

Geography

Neighbouring places

(22 km) *

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 ...

(31 km) *

Achim Achim (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Achem''), commonly Achim bei Bremen, is a municipality and the largest town (population 30,059 in December 2006) in the district of Verden, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Weser, a ...

(37 km) *

(39 km) *

Brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

(40 km) *

Zeven Zeven [] is a town in the Rotenburg (district), district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of around 14,000. The nearest large towns are Bremerhaven, Bremen (city), Bremen and Hamburg. It is situated approximately 22 ...

(41 km) *

Bremervörde Bremervörde () is a town in the north of the district (''Landkreis'') of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the Oste river near the centre of the "triangle" formed by the rivers Weser and Elbe, roughly equidistant from the cit ...

(43 km) *

Nordenham Nordenham () is a town in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located at the mouth (on the west bank) of the Weser river on the Butjadingen peninsula on the coast of the North Sea. The seaport city of Bremerhaven is located ...

(46 km) *

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 ...

(48 km) *

Rotenburg Rotenburg may refer to: *Rotenburg (district), Lower Saxony, Germany *Rotenburg an der Wümme, capital of the district *Rotenburg an der Fulda, near Kassel in Hesse *Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the Franconia region of Bavaria *Hersfeld-Rotenburg, ...

(50 km)

Division of the town

Official parts

* Freißenbüttel * Garlstedt * Heilshorn * Hülseberg * Ohlenstedt * Pennigbüttel * Sandhausen * Scharmbeckstotel * Teufelsmoor

Historical parts

* Ahrensfelde * Altenbrück * Altendamm * Auf Dem Raden * Auf Dem Rusch * Bargten * Bredbeck * Buschhausen * Büttel * Feldhof * Haslah * Hinter Dem Horn * Kattenhorn * Lange Heide * Lintel * Muskau * Myhle * Niedersandhausen * Ovelgönne * Ruschkamp * Settenbeck * Vorwohlde * Westerbeck * Wiste

History

The town was first mentioned in 1043 as ''Scirnbeci''. From 1180 on the Scharmbeck belonged to the

Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (german: Fürsterzbistum Bremen) — not to be confused with the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic ...

. The monastery in Osterholz was founded in 1182 and persisted until 1650, when

became mostly Protestant. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the

Duchy of Bremen ), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...

, which was first ruled in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

by the Swedish and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown. In 1823 the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region in the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

. In 1927 the two communities of Osterholz and Scharmbeck were merged under the name of Osterholz-Scharmbeck and in 1929

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

were granted. Between 1978 and 1992, 4,200 soldiers of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's 2nd Armored Division (Forward) were stationed, and another 4,000 family members resided in Osterholz-Scharmbeck.

Population Growth

* 1904: 4.701 * 1909: 6.060 * 1945: 12.500 * 1961: 19.258 * 1987: 24.150 * 2004: 31.145 * 2005: 31.055 * 2010: 30.218

Mayor

The mayor is Torsten Rohde (independent). He was elected in May 2014 with 59,02 % of the votes.http://www.landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de/download/87577/Einzelergebnisse_der_Direktwahlen_am_25._Mai_2014.pdf Einzelergebnisse der Direktwahlen am 25. Mai 2014 in Niedersachsen], The predecessor was Martin Wagener (SPD).

Notable people

Roland Baar Roland Baar (; 12 April 1965 – 23 June 2018) was a German rower who competed for his nation at several Olympic Games. After retiring from the sport in 1996, he received the Thomas Keller Medal in 1998. He served on the Athletes' Commission of ...

(born 1965), rowing sportsman * Eduard Neumann (1903–1985), professor and rector of the Free University of Berlin *

Bodo Ramelow Bodo Ramelow (; born 16 February 1956) is a German politician who has served since 4 March 2020 as Minister-President of Thuringia, an office he previously held from 2014 to 5 February 2020. He is the first head of a German state government to ...

(born 1956), politician (The Left), since 2014 Minister President of Thuringia *

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

's paternal grandmother, Luise Schalla was from here

Books

* Friedrich Kühlken: ''Zwischen Niederweser und Niederelbe – Eine Heimatkunde des Landes Bremen und des Niedersächsischen Regierungsbezirks Stade.'' Osterholz-Scharmbeck 1950. * Reelf Menckhoff: ''Chronik von Osterholz-Scharmbeck – Band 1: Von den Anfängen bis 1929.'' Stadt Osterholz-Scharmbeck 2004. * Jürgen Meyer-Korte, Rolf Metzing: ''Osterholz-Scharmbeck: Picture and Development of a City.'' Saade, Osterholz-Scharmbeck 1979. * Johann Segelken: ''Osterholz-Scharmbecker Heimatbuch.'' Saade, Osterholz-Scharmbeck 1987, . * Ernstheinrich Meyer-Stiens: ''Heimliche Hauptstraße, die Bahnhofstraße in Osterholz-Scharmbeck 1865 – 1929 – 1945 – 1999. Menschen, Ereignisse und Innenansichten einer norddeutschen Kleinstadt.'' Saade, Osterholz-Scharmbeck 2000, .

References

External links

*
Official site of village Freißenbüttel
{{Authority control Towns in Lower Saxony Osterholz