Westermarsch II was an independent municipality until the 1972 territorial reform in Lower Saxony and, as such, a member of the collective municipality (''Samtgemeinde'') of

Leybucht The Leybucht is the second largest bay in East Frisia in northwest Germany after the Dollart. The Jade Bight is larger than both, but belongs historically to Oldenburg. Location The Leybucht lies in western East Frisia between the port of Greet ...

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 ...

. Today Westermarsch II is a village in the

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

n borough of

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vil ...

with around 500 inhabitants (as at 12/2016). The village parish covers an area of 11.69 km². Curiously the main settlement of Westermarsch II is associated in public perception with the village of Norddeich, with which it has grown together. The boundary between the two runs down the middle of the road, ''Dörper Weg''.

Name

The name ''Westermarsch II'' denotes the place as being in the west of the

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

s in the historical region of

Norderland The Norderland was a historic territory, set on the northwestern edge of East Frisia immediately next to the Wadden Sea off North Germany, which embraced a wide area around the town of Norden. The Norderland was bordered in the east by the Harling ...

(see Ostermarsch). The Roman numeral in the name of the village distinguishes the former communal municipality (''Kommunalgemeinde'') from its neighbouring village of Westermarsch I.

History

The exact date that the village was founded is unknown. Even before the land was dyked, people settled in the area on artificial hills, the so-called ''

warft A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...

s'', of which several have survived at least in place names like Osterwarf, Westerwarf, Waterwarf, Trumschlag, Ülkebült, Klooster and Kugel. They are estimated to be about 1,000 to 1,500 years old. In 1361 the region was first known as ''Westermarsch'' after being dyked in. In 1871 the region was divided into ''Westermarsch I & II''. On 1 July 1972 the municipality of Westermarsch II was incorporated into the borough of Norden. The village has been designated since 2010 as a North Sea health spa (''Nordseeheilbad''). Ostfriesischer Kurier dated 25 June 2010, pages 1, 3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westermarsch 2 Aurich (district)