Varel () is a town in the district of Friesland, 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 is situated near the Jade River and the

Jade Bight The Jade Bight (or ''Jade Bay''; german: Jadebusen) is a bight or bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as ''Jade'' or ''Jahde''. Because of the very low input of freshwater, it is classified as a bay rather than an ...

, approximately south of

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 ...

and north 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 a population of 23,984 (2020) it is the biggest town in the district of Friesland.

Geography

Varel is located south of the Jade Bight at the North Sea on the

Geest Geest is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outwash plai ...

. Over time, the city expanded into lower areas as the construction of dykes helped to secure these areas from

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s. The environment of Varel is shaped by agriculture, forests and the sea.

Neighbour municipalities

Jade in the district of

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 ...

is the Eastern neighbour municipality of Varel. In the South of Varel one will find the municipalities Rastede and

Wiefelstede Wiefelstede ( Low German: ''Wiefelstä'') is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km northwest of Oldenburg. It is home to Brötje Automation GmbH, an automated aircraft assemb ...

which are part of the district of

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 ...

. The municipality of Bockhorn is located in the West of Varel. Bockhorn is also part of the district of Friesland.

Segmentation of the city

Varel is segmented into 21 localities. Besides the downtown area these are Altjührden, Borgstede, Büppel, Dangast, Dangastermoor, Grünenkamp, Hohelucht, Hohenberge, Jeringhave, Jethausen, Langendamm, Moorhausen, Neudorf, Neuenwege, Obenstrohe, Rallenbüschen, Rosenberg, Seghorn, Streek and Winkelsheide. Further villages in the municipality are Almsee, Bramloge, Brunne, Jethausermoor, Logemoor, Plaggenkrug, Rahling, Rotenhahn, Schwarzenberg, Tange, Vareler Schleuse and Wilkenhausen.

Usage of areas

A little more than three fourths of the area of Varel is agricultural land. The size of the forest – around ten percent of the total size – is remarkably high for a city at the North Sea coast.

Castle church

The castle church is the oldest building in Varel. The first part of the church is believed to have been built in 1144. The tower was added between 1200 and 1250, originally as twin towers, which were rebuilt in today's form first in 1651 and then in 1737. The altar, font and pulpit were carved in 1613 – 1618 by Ludwig Münstermann. The altar is nearly high and is one of the main works of Northern German

Mannerism Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

. Before the Protestant Reformation, the patron saint was Saint Peter. Today, the castle church is a Lutheran church, with no patron saint. The church was formerly one of the buildings of the castle, which was demolished in the 19th century soon after a fire destroyed most parts of it.

Notable people

Charlotte Sophie Bentinck Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg (4 August 1715– 5 of February 1800), was the ruling Countess of Varel and Kniphausen,Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser IV. "Portland". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1956, pp. 484-485. (German). adjacen ...

(1715–1800), confidante of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

and

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

Johann Gerhard Oncken Johann Gerhard Oncken (26 January 1800 - 2 January 1884) was a pioneer German Baptist preacher, variously referred to as the "Father of Continental Baptists", the "Father of German Baptists" and the "Apostle of European Baptists". Oncken, Gottfri ...

(1800–1884), founder of the German and continental European Baptist churches *

Lothar Meyer Julius Lothar Meyer (19 August 1830 – 11 April 1895) was a German chemist. He was one of the pioneers in developing the earliest versions of the periodic table of the chemical elements. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (his chief rival) and he ...

(1830–1895), developed about the same time and independent of

Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...

modern

periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ch ...

of the elements * Oskar Emil Meyer (1834–1909), physicist *

Frederick Ludwig Hoffman Frederick Ludwig Hoffman (May 2, 1865 Varel, Germany - February 23, 1946, San Diego, California) was an American statistician who showed great foresight on some public health issues, but his work in some areas was biased by his scientific racist v ...

(1865–1946), statistician *

Wilhelm Hegeler Wilhelm Hegeler (25 February 1870 in Varel, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg – 8 October 1943 in Irschenhausen) was a German novelist. Biography He studied law at the universities of Munich, Geneva and Berlin, traveled extensively, and returned t ...

(1870–1943), writer *

Carl Carls Carl Carls (September 16, 1880, Varel – September 11, 1958, Bremen) was a German chess master. In 1922, he took 2nd, behind Erhardt Post, in Bad Oeynhausen (22nd DSB–Congress). He won the 2nd German Championships at Bad Aachen 1934. He to ...

(1880–1958), chess champion *

Erich Heckel Erich Heckel (31 July 1883 – 27 January 1970) was a German painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group ''Die Brücke'' ("The Bridge") which existed 1905–1913. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer ...

(1883–1979), painter *

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (Karl Schmidt until 1905; 1 December 1884 – 10 August 1976) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker; he was one of the four founders of the artist group Die Brücke. Life and work Schmidt-Rottluff was born in R ...

(1884–1976), expressionist painter and printmaker *

Friedrich Wegener Friedrich Wegener (7 April 1907, Varel – 9 July 1990, Lübeck, ) was a German pathologist who is notable for his description of a rare disease originally referred to Wegener disease and now referred to as granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Alth ...

(1907–1990), pathologist *

Hildegard Behrens Hildegard Behrens (9 February 1937 – 18 August 2009) was a German operatic soprano with a wide repertoire including Wagner, Weber, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg roles. She performed at major opera houses around the world, and received ...

(1937–2009), singer (dramatic soprano) * Hans-Paul Bürkner (born 1951), CEO of the

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by rev ...

Heiko Daxl Heiko Daxl (21 September 1957 – 21 May 2012) was a German media artist, exhibition curator, art gallery owner and design / art collector. Born in Oldenburg, Germany, he lived and worked in Berlin and Zagreb. Life Until 1976 he grew up i ...

(1957–2012),

media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D prin ...

ist, exhibition

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, art gallery owner and design / art collector *

Ines Varenkamp Ines Varenkamp (born 15 November 1963) is a German former professional racing cyclist. She won the German National Road Race Championship in 1988. She also rode at the 1984 Summer Olympics and 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics ...

(born 1963), cyclist * Markus Eichler (born 1982), cyclist * Massiv in Mensch (founded in 1996),

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

musical duo * Esther Henseleit (born 1999),

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

International relations

Varel is twinned with: *

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

(

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

)Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce
, 5 June 2002; retrieved on 11 September 2009.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Port cities and towns of the North Sea Friesland (district) Grand Duchy of Oldenburg