Nordhorn
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Nordhorn (
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 ...
: ''Nothoorn'' (or ''Notthoarn'', ''Netthoarn'' and ''Noordhoorn'')) is a town 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 the district seat of
Grafschaft Bentheim County of Bentheim (german: Grafschaft Bentheim) is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, the district of Emsland, and the districts o ...
in Lower Saxony's southwesternmost corner near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
.


Etymology

One story holds that the town's name – which means "North Horn" – came about when the town was under attack, in which case a horn – the so-called ''Nothorn'' or emergency horn – was blown by the watchmen to warn the Vechteinsel (Vechte Island) inhabitants and also to call for help. Since the town lay north of Bentheim (now
Bad Bentheim Bad Bentheim (; nds-nl, Beantem) is a town in the southwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany, in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn and 20 km ...
) and its
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
, it is said that this yielded the name Nordhorn. A horn, however, was also used by the boatmen on the river
Vechte The Vechte () (in German and in Low Saxon (Dutch Low Saxon pronunciation: ̯ɛxtəThe places near the Vechte in the County of Bentheim have the same pronunciation or Vecht (in Dutch) (), often called Overijsselse Vecht () in the Netherlands t ...
to warn each other of ships' movements in
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
. Since the 1970s, the ''Tuter'' ("Tooter"), a bronze
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
to the beginnings of inland shipping, has stood at the old harbour. Since a settlement with a harbour arose between Schüttorf and Emlichheim in the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
whose
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
bore a horn as a
charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
, it seems likely that Nordhorn could have arisen from this. A more scientifically based variation on what the arms mean holds that "horn" is meant in the sense of "pointed end", making "Nordhorn" a northern point – the jutting northerly end of a field into the Vechte Valley. Heinrich Specht pointed this out in his 1941 town chronicle in reference to the spur, or "horn", of land on which the town's first centre was built. ( Lit.: Nordhorn Geschichte einer Grenzstadt. Publisher: Heimatverein der Grafschaft Bentheim) A more fanciful story holds that the locals once worshipped the god Nod, Node or Nothe, the beginning of whose festival was heralded by blows on ox and cow horns. To pay homage to him, holy fire, called ''Nodfyr'', was lit either by striking
flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
stones or by rubbing dry sticks together. From the god's name and the hornblowing, the town's name is said to have come. The name actually has nothing to do with any emergency horn or any god named Nod. "No(r)dhorn" is perhaps similar to the "Maa(r)s", "Meu(r)s" or "Marsh" river. That is what has caused the confusion; a silent "r" or a difficulty in pronouncing the "r" due to the proximity to France. Nordhorn is called Nothoorn or Notthöörntin in the local speech. In the compilation ''Werdener Heberigister'', the town's name is recorded in 890 as Norhthornon (note the silent "r") and in 1050 as Northornon. In 1184 it is Northorne. On town seals between 1400 and 1715 also appears the form Northorne, and only from 1827 forth does it become Nordhorn. ( Lit.: Specht, 1941/1979).


Geography


Location

The town lies in southwesternmost Lower Saxony, near the border with the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and the boundary with
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
, on the river
Vechte The Vechte () (in German and in Low Saxon (Dutch Low Saxon pronunciation: ̯ɛxtəThe places near the Vechte in the County of Bentheim have the same pronunciation or Vecht (in Dutch) (), often called Overijsselse Vecht () in the Netherlands t ...
. The nearest major city is
Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. Popu ...
in the Netherlands, some southwest of Nordhorn. The nearest German cities are
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
, about to the southeast, and
Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
, about to the east. The landscape in and around Nordhorn is marked by the Vechte, the Vechtesee (lake), through which the Vechte flows, and three
canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...
: the ''Süd-Nord-Kanal'', the ''Nordhorn-Almelo-Kanal'' and the ''Ems-Vechte-Kanal''.


Climate

Nordhorn lies in the Mid-European Temperate Zone. The average yearly temperature is , the mean
air pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The Standard atmosphere (unit), standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equival ...
is 761.5 hPa and the mean yearly
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
amounts to between . The climate is Subatlantic with rather mild winters and fairly warm summers.


Extent of the municipal area

Through various amalgamations the town's area has grown to 14 959 ha, only slightly smaller than the Principality of
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
.


Neighbouring communities

North of Nordhorn lie the town and joint community (''Samtgemeinde'') both called
Neuenhaus Neuenhaus is a town in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony, and is the seat of a like-named collective municipality Neuenhaus (Samtgemeinde), Neuenhaus. Neuenhaus lies on the rivers Dinkel and Vechte near the border with the Neth ...
, while the communities of
Engden Engden is a community in the district of the County of Bentheim in Lower Saxony. Geography Location Engden lies between Nordhorn and Schüttorf. It belongs to the Joint Community ''(Samtgemeinde)'' of Schüttorf, whose administrative seat is in t ...
and
Isterberg The community of Isterberg, in Lower Saxony’s district of Grafschaft Bentheim, came into being in the 1970s, through the amalgamation of the two former communities of Wengsel and Neerlage. It lies between Bad Bentheim and Nordhorn, and is part o ...
lie to the south. The town's western limit is also part of Germany's border with the Netherlands.


Constituent communities

Nordhorn is subdivided into 17 quarters ''("Stadtteile")'', grouped here under "older" and "newer".


Older quarters

Altendorf The settlement of Nordhorn originally had its centre here, but on strategic grounds it was later moved to the island in the river Vechte. Town rights were granted in 1379, and this older centre was given the name Oude Dorp – "Old Village". Bakelde The name comes from Bak (ridge) and Lo (grove). (according to H.Specht - ''Nordhorn - Geschichte einer Grenzstadt'') ?Bach Alte? Bimolten Called Bimolt in 1252 and Bimolte in 1213, opinions are rather divided over the name's origin. Specht says it refers to heaps of earth, Reurik says it refers to a grove by the woods (''bi'm holte'', which in more modern German might be rendered ''bei dem Holze'' or ''beim Holz''), and Abels holds that it refers to a settlement on the field. (according to Dr. Ernst Kühle - ''Bimolten - Jahrbuch des Heimatvereins 1973''). Bookholt The name refers to a
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
(''Buche'') or
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
(''Birke'') grove. (according to H.Specht - ''Nordhorn - Geschichte einer Grenzstadt'') Brandlecht Called Bramtelghet in 1313, the name comes from ''Bram'' (
gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
) and ''telge'' (twig). (according to Dr. Ernst Kühle - ''Brandlecht - Der Grafschafter, Folge 160'', June 1966). Frensdorf Called Frenstrup in
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 ...
, the name might come from a personal name. It was also called Friethelstorpe or Frieldorp about 800, and Vrinsthorpe about 1000. (according to Dr. Ernst Kühle - ''Frensdorf - Jahrbuch des Heimatvereins 1971''). Frenswegen Earlier also known as Vrendeswegen, the name's meaning could have been "lying on the way to Frensdorf". Hesepe The name Hesepe refers to the community's location on the river Vechte (''epe'' means water). (according to Dr. Ernst Kühle - Hesepe - Jahrbuch, Heimatverein 1982) Hestrup Hestrup was first known in 1150 as Hersebruc and in 1212 as Hersedorp ("Steed Village"). The ending ''–dorf'' or ''–trup'', which is cognate with the English word and placename ending "
thorp ''Thorp'' is a Middle English word for a hamlet or small village. Etymology The name can either come from Old Norse ''þorp'' (also ''thorp''), or from Old English (Anglo-Saxon) ''þrop''. There are many place names in England with the suffi ...
e", identifies it as a farming community that came into being as an enclosed settlement about 800 with
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
's arrival. (according to Dr. Ernst Kühle - ''Hestrup - Der Grafschafter, Folge 168'', February 1967) Hohenkörben Hohenkörben arose about 600 as Hankorve in Bakelde's market on a
dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
ridge with limited space. An exact interpretation of its name has not been achieved; however, the town of
Neuenhaus Neuenhaus is a town in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony, and is the seat of a like-named collective municipality Neuenhaus (Samtgemeinde), Neuenhaus. Neuenhaus lies on the rivers Dinkel and Vechte near the border with the Neth ...
also has an outlying centre by the name of Hohenkörben-Veldhausen. (according to Dr. Ernst Kühle - ''Der Grafschafter, Folge 170'', May 1967)


Newer quarters

Blanke The Blanke (the article is used with the name in German – ''Die Blanke'') was once a sunken
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
and bog area, raised only at the edges, between which were water pools that glinted in the sunlight. Thus, they were also called ''Blänke''. The two biggest were the "Große Blanke" and the "Kleine Blanke". By and by, this area dried up and before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
there was building on the raised edges (Dorotheenstr., Klarastr.). After the war came more widespread settlement by refugees and textile workers. As a reference to the earlier heath ponds, the new neighbourhood was given the name Blanke, which is also so with some street names, such as Blankering and Innere Blanke. One can get an impression of what this area once looked like by visiting the Dutch nature protection area De Bergvennen west of Nordhorn. Blumensiedlung In the 1920s, a scheme was undertaken to build houses for jobless miners from the
Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
hired for the textile industry, and for young Nordhorn families. Because the streets were named after flowers, the new neighbourhood was called Blumensiedlung ("Flower Settlement"). Bussmaate Earlier a meadowland, the so-called ''Buss Maate'' was owned by the farmer Busch in Altendorf (Buss from the farmer's name). About 1910, the textile manufacturer Rawe bought the land and had a spinning works built there. In 1913 there followed workers' dwellings. Klausheide This community was named for the son of the founder of the Klausheide Estate (
Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...
von Bohlen und Halbach), who was named Claus (Heide means "heath"). At first, the settlement was known as die Claus-Heide. Neuberlin In the early 20th century, southeast of Denekamper Straße near Frensdorf a housing coöperative was founded on an initiative by a Mr. Mäulen. It then tackled the job of building houses. To thank Mr. Mäulen for his efforts, the new neighbourhood was named Neuberlin – literally "New Berlin" – after the city where he was born. Stadtflur In earlier centuries, Nordhorn's townsfolk had so-called
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
cutting rights in this area, which at that time was
moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...
belonging to the community of Bakelde. In 1864, this area was divided and Nordhorn received this plot as part of its municipal area. It was therefore called the ''Stadtsche Flur'', or "town lea". By the turn of the century there was building here and the area came to be called ''Stadtflur''. Stadtflur now has roughly 7,700 inhabitants, putting it among Nordhorn's bigger ''Stadtteile''. Streng Although the modern German meaning of ''streng'' is "stern" or "strict", the name actually comes from the so-called ''Strang'' ("string" or "strand"), a row of dunes. The ''Strang'' stretches from Bogenstraße to Nyhoegen Bridge on Bentheimer Straße. In the early 19th century, the textile manufacturer Ludwig Povel built workers' dwellings on the near part of the ''Strang'' in the Bogenstr.-Ludwigstr. area. On the farther part of the ''Strang'', private houses were built in the 1930s and later.


Amalgamations

* 25 June 1921 Frensdorf * 1 April 1929 Frenswegen * 1 July 1929 Altendorf, Bakelde, as well as parts of the communities of Bookholt, Hesepe and Brandlecht * 1 March 1974 Bimolten, Bookholt, Brandlecht, Hesepe, Hestrup, Hohenkörben – Nordhorn and Klausheide


History

Nordhorn's landscape was shaped millions of years ago by climate changes, especially the
ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
s. The oldest
sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
s from a depth of about two thousand metres come from the
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
. With the onset of the
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
and
Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
, the
Earth's crust Earth's crust is Earth's thin outer shell of rock, referring to less than 1% of Earth's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The ...
here formed itself into drape folds. In the mid-Tertiary, subtropical temperatures held sway on Nordhorn's plains. Thereafter began the gradual cooling, which reached its high point in the ice ages. After the last ice had melted, lowlands developed. Strong winds swept
dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
s up in the lifeless surface. Even today, the remains of such dune complexes can be found at the nearby Tillenberge (mountains).
Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
finds from the
Old Stone Age The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tool ...
and the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
that followed bear witness to human settlement on Nordhorn's sand plains more than 6,000 years ago. In the rainy and colder Ice Age, early people settled on the dry riverside heights along the river Vechte. Archaeologists come across traces of
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
settlements, the foundations of later farming communities such as Frensdorf, Bookholt, Altendorf, Hesepe and Bakelde, in almost every field. From 12 BC to AD 10, the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
commanders
Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberiu ...
,
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
,
Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...
and Varus undertook in all thirteen campaigns in what was then still free Germany. From their camp in
Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...
, these Roman troops would have undertaken forays into the lands of the
Chamavi The Chamavi, Chamãves or Chamaboe () were a Germanic tribe of Roman imperial times whose name survived into the Early Middle Ages. They first appear under that name in the 1st century AD '' Germania'' of Tacitus as a Germanic tribe that lived to ...
and
Tubanti The Tubantes were a Germanic tribe, living in the eastern part of the Netherlands, north of the Rhine river. They are often equated to the ''Tuihanti'', who are known from two inscriptions found near Hadrian's Wall. The modern name Twente derives f ...
who then dwelt in the Nordhorn area. It is believed that the Romans used the prehistoric banks of the Vechte and sandy paths along the
moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...
as military roads. This east-west overland connection would later become an important trade road, joining cities such as
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
,
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
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
. In the late 4th century, with the onset of the
Migration Period The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
(or ''Völkerwanderung''), the
Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
were pushing in from the north and towards the west. They forced the Tubanti farther westwards into
Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...
. After
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
's conquest of the Saxon lands, the first border between the
Frankish Empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
and Saxony, albeit as an internal boundary, came into being. This line has largely survived history's changing fortunes and still forms the German-Dutch border today. In 687, Bishop
Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...
of
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
sent
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
across the sea to Christianize the former Tubanti land.
Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fathe ...
founded the
Bishopric of Utrecht The Bishopric of Utrecht ( nl, Sticht Utrecht) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it w ...
and Werenfried spread
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
into the Vechte Valley. About 800, the settlement at Nordhorn was assigned to the Bishopric of Munster. Bishop
Ludger Ludger ( la, Ludgerus; also Lüdiger or Liudger) (born at Zuilen near Utrecht 742; died 26 March 809 at Billerbeck) was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and the first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia. He has ...
built a wooden church on a spur of ground that thrust into the river's floodplain. About 900, the settlement's name was first mentioned in the Werden an der Ruhr Monastery's ''Heberegister'' as ''Northhornon''. About 1180, the Counts of Bentheim acquired the Nordhorn ''
Gogericht The ''Landgericht'' (plural: ''Landgerichte''), also called the ''Landtag'' in Switzerland, was a regional magistracy or court in the Holy Roman Empire that was responsible for high justice within a territory, such as a county (''Grafschaft''), on b ...
'' (regional court). They built a castle in the middle of the river Vechte on an island. Until 1912, parts of this castle were still maintained. Nowadays, the Catholic ''St.-Augustinus-Kirche'' (church) stands there. After building a milldam and two
mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
s, it became possible to regulate the river's water flow, thereby also making it possible to settle the island. Other waterways were built – it is supposed under Dutch builders' influence – which, it is believed, divided the island into six smaller ones. Once two gateway bridges were built and the castle was protecting it, it became easier to defend the settlement against attackers than was so for the old settlement around the market church. Today's main street, which has now grown into an attractive buying and selling place, might have already passed over the island at that time. Merchants and shipowners put down roots here; a
marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
arose. The name Nordhorn was henceforth used for the newer settlement, now standing on the threshold of becoming a town, whereas the old settlement around the market church came to be known as the "Old Village", and is indeed still known as Altendorf ("Old Village"). Nordhorn had taken a key place on the Flemish Road, the area of today's ''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
'' 213 and 403 crossroads. Goods from
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
and the
Hanseatic The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...
towns found their way through Nordhorn into the trade centres to the west all the way to Paris. The Vechte was navigable as far up as
Schüttorf Schüttorf (Northern Low Saxon: ''Schüttrup'') is a town in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in southwesternmost Lower Saxony near the Dutch border and the boundary with Westphalia (North Rhine-Westphalia). The town of Schüttorf forms with the ...
. The Vechte is roughly long and in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
emptied directly into the sea: it flowed by
Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...
into the
Zuider Zee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...
, which at that time had not yet been cut off from the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and was the centre of Dutch sea trade. Since modern
land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
projects have been put in place, the river flows north of Zwolle into the Zwarte Water, which itself empties into the
IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an a ...
, the lake that arose from the old Zuider Zee once the
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
was completed. Already by 1160, the first loads of Bentheim
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
were being shipped into the Netherlands. Up to 1,200 freight cranes,
scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...
s and
barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s lay each year at anchor and brought their goods to Holland. The ''Steinmaate'' (street) became a staple market. The like-named street still recalls today that Bentheim sandstone was shipped from here to many other countries. From it were built stately buildings such as the Royal Palace in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, but also many mills,
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
es,
locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
,
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
s and other public buildings. The returning ships brought
spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
s,
textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
,
paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
and foods as well as luxury articles such as
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...
,
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
, cacao and
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
.
Trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
,
crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...
and
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
were the region's economic foundations until the mid 19th century. Shipping on the Vechte and the canals (the ''Ems-Vechte-Kanal'', the ''Nordhorn-Almelo-Kanal'', the ''Süd-Nord-Kanal'' and the ''Coevorden-Piccardie-Kanal'') together with the transported goods formed an important source of earnings at this time, when the town was also home to wealthy merchants, shipowners and mariners. On the ninth day after
Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the H ...
in 1379, Count Bernhard I granted Nordhorn town rights, and in 1416 also gave it privilege. The small settlement between the arms of the Vechte had grown to be important to the Bentheim Counts as a goods handling centre. With the economic upswing, cultural life also reached a high point in these years. Augustinian canons established the Marienwolde
Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in Frenswegen in 1394. Through endowments and donations the monastery became well known as "Westphalia's Paradise" beyond borders. After
secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
in 1806, brought about by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, monastic properties passed to the Bentheim Counts' ownership. The settlement spanning thousands of years and the town's thus far 628-year history have left behind very little in the way of buildings, besides the Marienwolde Monastery, as witness to earlier times. In imitation of the Late Romanesque churches in neighbouring
Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...
, churches were built in the 13th century out of Bentheim sandstone. The only artwork preserved from this time is the
baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...
in Brandlecht. Bearing witness to the 15th century is the ''Alte Kirche'' ("Old Church") at the market. It was built in the Late Gothic style under Dutch influence and to honour Saint Ludger, who founded the town's first church, and in whose name this newer church was consecrated. It is likely that three generations worked on this impressive three-naved
hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
. Originally, the tower was 102 m tall and fell under town council's stewardship as a watchtower and firetower. A violent storm toppled the steeple, which came down in the marketplace before the building. The new steeple was considerably shorter – about 70 m – and was designed to let wind pass through it. During restoration work inside the church in 1967, some paintings were uncovered in the sanctuary, the ''Nordhorner Apostelbilder'' ("Nordhorn Apostle Pictures"). They show the
Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
and various Biblical scenes. The paintings were preserved because it could not be agreed what should be done with them, since the
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
Church order of the Reformed Creed introduced by Count Arnold II at Bentheim in 1588 forbade pictures and adornment in church rooms. During more restoration work in the late 1990s, these pictures were rediscovered, and the church council decided to cover the pictures over with
rice paper "Rice paper" has many varieties such as rice paper made from tree bark to make drawing and writing paper or from rice flour and tapioca flour and then mixed with salt and water to produce a thin rice cake and dried to become harder and paper-like ...
, as they seemed too valuable simply to paint over. Sharply decimated by war and epidemics, the town had to deal with several occupations and troop movements in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
waged by the Dutch against the
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...
, Nordhorn was a way station for Spanish troops because the neighbouring
County of Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is ...
was Spanish territory. It is said that once, the Duke of
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
camped around Nordhorn with 6,000 soldiers. During the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
,
Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
,
Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...
s,
Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
troops and Imperial forces passed through Nordhorn on the old Flemish army and trade road. They all wanted to feed on the scanty crop yields. The harried town, however, was left hardly any time to recover from the war's ravages. Only a few years later, the warlike Bishop Christoph Bernhard Count of
Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...
from Münster waged a war against the Dutch on the plains outside Nordhorn, which was brought to an end in 1666 by the Peace of Nordhorn. In Napoleonic times there was once again much afoot in Nordhorn. In these years, the trading place on the Vechte grew and the two harbours defined the town's image. Napoleon's continental blockade against British trade made Nordhorn into a
smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...
centre by 1806. The broad moors and
heaths A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...
abetted this lucrative trade. As a result of Europe's new political landscape in the wake of the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
in 1814 and 1815, the hitherto flourishing transit trade in Nordhorn was once again disrupted. The border became a customs barrier, stripping Nordhorn of its trading, which had been oriented towards the west. In the years that followed, the town became poorer. Because the Vechte could not be upgraded and modernized, and because it silted up, shipping was disrupted. The townsfolk turned to farming small plots and traders and shippers left town. Only
home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
still afforded some earnings. Whole families
emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
. It is said that 1839 was the year when Nordhorn's textile industry was founded. The first mechanized weaving mill, established by Willem Stroink from
Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...
, sprang up on the trade road. Here,
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
was processed and
calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
and watertwist were woven. Later mills were founded in 1864 by Jan van Delden and in 1851 by Josef Povel and Hermann Kistemaker. Textile manufacturing came to set the pace for the languishing economy. Progress came with gradual
industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
. The groundwork for the town's growth into one of Germany's biggest textile-producing towns had been laid. The town's mayor between 1843 and 1872 was the apothecary and chemical manufacturer Ernst Firnhaber, whose house on the main street stood in the middle of what then was the town's business life. With its classicist building elements it is the last architectural example of a stately townsman's house from the 18th century. After the apothecary came Germany's first
quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...
plant. In 1843, 32,403 ''Pfund'' – roughly 16 metric tons – of
cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...
was processed and exported. The manufacturers Ludwig Povel, Bernhard Rawe, Bernhard Niehues and Friedrich Dütting founded further textile businesses in the years from 1872 to 1897, some of which are still supplying domestic and international markets in the early 21st century. In the 1890s, Nordhorn was incorporated into a network of man-made waterways. Through the river Ems, the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the Ems-Vechte Canal,
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
was transported from the
Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
to the up-and-coming textile centre. The Nordhorn-Almelo Canal saw to it that the town was also connected to Dutch inland waterways, and the North-South Canal spurred the
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
trade. Even if today all these canals have no further use for shipping, they can still be prized for their worth as sources of leisure. The Bentheim
Railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
brought a rail connection to the international network in 1896. Roughly 1,500 people were working in the various textile companies in these years. The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
in the 1920s led many jobseekers from all over Germany to Nordhorn. By 1939, the population had reached 23,457, and it is worth noting that just under a third of those people had actually been born in town. This unusual economic upswing earned Nordhorn the nickname ''Klein Amerika'' – "Little America". Even the
Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
left its mark on Nordhorn. The small
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community was annihilated. The
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was utterly destroyed, an event recalled by a memorial plaque on the street still called Synagogenstraße. The old Flemish Trade Road was used by German troops, who on 10 May 1940 marched into the Netherlands, as a military road. Some of the townsfolk lived through this time with very mixed feelings – were they not, they thought, bound to their Dutch neighbours by friendship and blood? These bonds were something upon which those seeking to fight
persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
and the Nazi régime itself could build. Adolf Pazdera and Ferdinand Kobitzki, Nordhorn
KPD The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...
functionaries and
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
secretaries, were persecuted many times and in 1943 and 1944 respectively, they were murdered in
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
s. After the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended, nearly ten thousand people from Germany's lost eastern territories poured into Nordhorn, where they found a new home, soon bringing the town's population to more than 40,000. There arose a new community within the town housing 13,000 inhabitants, called die Blanke. Non-commercial housing building companies and private initiatives made Nordhorn into "the town of the privately owned home". The enormous building accomplishments called for the municipal administration to be expanded and modernized. Thus, Nordhorn built itself a new town hall, and buildings for district administration, the employment office and the ''
Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' court arose on the town's ring road. The court now stands on Seilerbahn. Northwest Germany's first indoor
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
after 1945 could be dedicated, new schools, sport halls and fields, the concert and theatre hall and the town park led to the townscape's revival.


Religion

When the first church was built in Nordhorn is unknown. The story goes, however, that it stood at the guildfield and was named after Saint Ludger. Ludger was one of the first Christian missionaries in the area, and in 804 he became the first Bishop of Münster. In 809 he died near
Billerbeck Billerbeck ( Westphalian: ''Billerbiëk'') is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Neighbor towns/cities Billerbeck has boundaries to Rosendahl, Laer, Altenberge, Havixbeck, Nottuln and Coes ...
. In the municipal area's northwest, a monastery of
Augustinian Canons Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...
(''Chorherrenstift'') was founded in Frenswegen, earlier known as Marienwolde, in 1394. Its church, consecrated in 1444, was destroyed in 1881 by a
lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
strike. The monastery was of great importance to Nordhorn and to places far beyond. Bit by bit the monastery building arose, and in the early 15th century, so did a church. Also in Nordhorn, a bigger church was needed. On 6 July 1445, both churches were consecrated by an auxiliary bishop from Münster. The new Nordhorn church's patron was once again Saint Ludger. The three-naved Late Gothic market church was built out of Bentheim sandstone and with its 71-m-high steeple, it dominated the town's skyline. After the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
(1517), Count Arnold I – and along with him almost the whole county – adopted the Lutheran faith in 1544. In 1588, the County of Bentheim (''Grafschaft Bentheim'') converted to the Reformed faith under Count Arnold II. Thereafter, the church at the market belonged to the Reformed parish. Count Arnold II, however, had come into contact with
Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvi ...
's teachings while studying in
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. A further link to the faith came with his marriage to Countess Magdalena of
Neuenahr Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler () is a spa town in the German Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate that serves as the capital of the Ahrweiler district. The A61 motorway connects the town with cities like Cologne and Mainz. Formed by the merging of th ...
, who confessed the Reformed faith. The few Catholics left in Nordhorn had to go to services at the Frenswegen Monastery. In 1578, the Augustinian Canons bought the castle on the Vechte Island in Nordhorn. In the manor house they established, among other things, a
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
. Now the Catholics once more had a room for their services, albeit a small one. In 1712 a small church was built next to the castle. The Augustinian Canons chose – alongside Saint Ludger, their order's patron saint – Saint
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
as the church's first patron. At the time of
Secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
by the ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss'', the monastery at Frenswegen was abolished. The year 1824 was an important one for the Augustinian community: the county, which for centuries had belonged to either the
Bishopric of Utrecht The Bishopric of Utrecht ( nl, Sticht Utrecht) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it w ...
or the
Bishopric of Münster In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, was assigned to the Diocese of
Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
, while the community itself was raised to parish. The first minister was the Augustinian Canon Johann B. Cordes, who had been overseeing the community since 1810. In 1826, the castle was converted into a church. In the late 19th century, the community grew very quickly; so plans were made to build a new, big church on the castle square on the Vechte. The castle was torn down. Models for the new church were found in Italy by the architect Keith from
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, for instance the
Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
in Rome or the ''San Giorgio'' in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
. The church's footprint is
octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...
al. From 1911 to 1913, the building work was finished and the church's consecration was celebrated. The steeple was built together with the church. To offset any influence that the tower might have on the impression that the dome was meant to give, the tower stands somewhat to the side. A two-story arcade joins the steeple to the church. It is 45 m high and houses four bells. The church's dome – a peculiarity in northern Germany – shapes Nordhorn's skyline. Over the massive
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
-
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
dome arches a wooden,
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
-covered outer dome, crowned with a lantern. Its total height is 35 m. Nordhorn's Lutheran Christians were first served from
Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is ...
, and then from Bentheim. Once they had established their own parish, the ''Kreuzkirche'' ("Cross Church") was built in 1929 and 1930. Today roughly 20% of Nordhorners count themselves as Lutherans. There are three Lutheran churches. All together, there are twelve Houses of God available in Nordhorn, seven of which have been built since the Second World War. Nordhorn's synagogue was destroyed on ''
Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
'' (9 November 1938). The town's
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s either emigrated or were deported and murdered, an event now marked by a memorial.


Population

Nordhorn has 53,608 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2006) in an area of 149.64 km2, making the population density 358 to a square kilometre. Evangelical-Reformed Christians account for 28.14% of the population, while Lutherans account for 21.05% and Roman Catholics for 29.19%. Another 21.64% either are not members of any faith or adhere to other faiths.


Population development

(each time for 31 December)


Politics


Mayors


Town council

After the municipal election on 11 September 2016, the 42 council seats were apportioned thus: The mayor, Thomas Berling, is also a voting member of town council.


Culture and sightseeing


Museums

The Town
Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
(''Stadtmuseum'') in the Povelturm was opened in October 1996. Within, one can inform oneself about Nordhorn's history. On the upper floor of the Povelturm is the museum café, which offers a view over Nordhorn from a height of 26 m.


Buildings

Nordhorn has mostly kept itself from being spoiled by the few individual building styles of the postwar years. The town's appearance has kept the appealing red brickwork that has long been a tradition in northern Germany and in the neighbouring Netherlands. It is even seen in modern buildings. The new district building, for instance, combines the local building materials of brick and sandstone with glass,
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
and copper. A fine example of restored architecture formerly overgrown by plant life is the Frenswegen Monastery from the 14th century in the town's northwest. A lightning strike in 1881 destroyed the church consecrated in 1445. The monastery buildings, however, were mostly preserved, even the square, two-floored
cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
, the little wellhouse, the bridge over the
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
and the impressive cellar vaulting. On the east wing's outer façade, a "
Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
" made of Bentheim sandstone attracts the beholder's attention. After cautious renovations, the building now houses an
ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
educational and meeting place whose origin and basis the unusually broad mix of faiths in Nordhorn and its environs is. Traces of Gothic mark the Reformed church, which stands defiantly in Brandlecht‘s old village centre. Among examples of Romanesque sculpture is this church's baptismal font, which is Nordhorn's oldest artwork, made out of Bentheim sandstone, and still holds its original importance today. At present, two buildings characterize Nordhorn's skyline. The ''Alte Kirche'' on the marketplace, built out of Bentheim sandstone in the 15th century and the ''Augustinuskirche'', built in 1913 on the former castle's lands, can both be seen from afar. The inner town, today as in days of yore an island around which flows the Vechte, is now a
pedestrian precinct Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
. Painstakingly restored façades, modern arcades,
shop Shop or shopping refers to: Business and commerce * A casual word for a commercial establishment or for a place of business * Machine shop, a workshop for machining *"In the shop", referring to a car being at an automotive repair shop *A wood s ...
s,
boutique A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse". The term ''boutique'' and also ''d ...
s and pleasant outdoor cafés invite one to tarry. The oldest building on the main street is the former mayor and chemical manufacturer Firnhaber's house, in which he both lived and worked. Behind the two-story classicist façade, the triangular gable with its hipped roof and a round-arched window with a plaster swag, the tradition of Nordhorn's first apothecary lives on. When walking about town, one finds little oases untouched by hectic daily life. In big, parklike gardens, behind old trees and tall
rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
hedges, stately manor houses may be discovered. These
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s built on Dutch models were textile manufacturers' homes a hundred years ago. A walk through Nordhorn will in many places also still bring to light signs of the recent and more distant past, be it the town hall completed in 1952 with its little belltower or the old well at the park at the Völlinkhoff. Memories of a time when the heavy blocks of sandstone used in the oil mill's edgerunner still fulfilled their original function are brought forth at the town park. When the
grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
and
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
on the milldam were shut down, an almost 600-year history of milling came to an end in Nordhorn. These buildings were renovated and now offer an appealing venue for cultural events. Nordhorn's industrial history was written by, among others, the Povel textile plant, which shut its gates in 1979 after nearly a hundred years of production. As a last witness to the town's economic heyday early in the last century, the former spinning works tower has been maintained as an industrial memorial. It serves today as a museum. The upper floor can be hired for private celebrations. In the Bussmaate, a former boggy area, another textile plant with an adjoining residential area for textile workers was built a hundred years ago. In the early 1950s, Professor Emanuel Lindner, lecturer at
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
and student of
Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
, together with architect Eberhard Heinrich Zeidler, who now lives in Canada, designed expansion building works for this business. With a clearly structured glass façade, the timeless industrial building fits seamlessly into the industrial complex dating from the ''
Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...
''. This building today stands empty and is to be converted for urban development.


Landscape

The Vechte's riverine landscape and the canals with their rows of trees are a popular place for a walk, and to enjoy the idyll. The canals, built more than 100 years ago for transport and draining the moorlands, now form part of a faunal habitat with many species and are now used for leisure and recreation. Sluices made out of sandstone and clinker, some still worked by hand, separate different water levels and are popular destinations for nature lovers. Fields and meadows frame farmlands on the town's outskirts. Wetlands and heathlands with birches, junipers and orchids growing wild are marks of this rustic landscape. In the ''Tillenberge'' a small protected area with heather, gnarled oaks and junipers. A fine legacy from the ''Gründerzeit'' is the Town Park (''Stadtpark''), a villa park of one of the earliest manufacturers. At the concert bowl in the Town Park, concerts regularly take place.


Sport


Euregium

The Euregium was actually built for the HSG Nordhorn. The name comes from the
Euregio EUREGIO is a cross-border region between the Netherlands and Germany and the first Euroregion. It was founded in 1958 as a German Eingetragener Verein, and has been converted in 2016 into a public body based on the 1991 Treaty of Anholt (german: ...
. The HSG team plays in the first handball Bundesliga. The Euregium is also used for other cultural events. It lies right near the vocational school and the district sport hall. The three halls' proximity to each other makes it possible to stage great tournaments. The Euregium has for a few years now been the venue for the ''Grafschafter Sportgala''.


''Eissporthalle''

The ''Eissporthalle'' – "Ice Sport Hall" – has wed ice hockey and figure skating into one ice sport club. It was built in the mid-1970s. In 1984, the band
BAP BAP or bap may refer to: Food * Bap (bread), a type of bread roll * Bap (rice dish), a Korean food Music * BAP (Basque band), a hardcore punk group (formed 1984) * BAP (German band), a Colognian rock group (formed 1976) * B.A.P (South Korean ban ...
gave a concert there. The ice sport club in Nordhorn changed its name several times. Until 1999 there was the GEC Nordhorn, which, among other things, played in the hockey Bundesliga, in what was then the second highest class. Thereafter the club called itself EC Euregio Nordhorn 1999 e. V. and will play in the coming season (2007–2008) in the Verbandsliga NRW. In 2002, the ''Eissporthalle'' was renovated from the ground up. It is also open to the public for skating.


Regular events

Yearly, over Whitsun weekend, a great table tennis tournament, the ''Euregioturnier'' is held. At the outdoor swimming pool there is also an international swimming tournament at Whitsun. The VfL Weiße Elf Nordhorn stages every year, also over Whitsun weekend, the ''Pfingstturnier'' ("Whitsun Tournament"), a traditional C-youth soccer tournament. In 2007 they held their 25th yearly tournament. The teams that take part come from all over Germany as well as from other European countries such as the Netherlands, Poland and Hungary.


German record

The football team Heseper SV, whose home field is in Nordhorn's south end, is a German record holder. Between 1996 and October 1999, the team managed to play a streak of 98 championship matches without being beaten, managing at the same time to rise from the fifth to the second district class. TSV Buchbach had held the old record with an unbeaten streak of only 75 matches.


Economy and infrastructure


Industry

Industrialization brought about a rise in population from 2,540 in 1903 to 18,104 in 1930, rising to 50,000 in the textile industry's heyday from the 1950s to 1970s. Today, Nordhorn has roughly 53,500 inhabitants, and the trend is upward. Once Nordhorn's biggest textile firms with up to 6,000 employees, NINO was until the 1980s one of Europe's leading textile producers. This stands out not least of all in coöperative efforts with renowned fashion photographers like
Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...
and
Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...
. The only clothing manufacturer still in business in Nordhorn is Erfo Bekleidungswerk GmbH & Co. KG. The three formerly biggest companies, NINO, Povel and Rawe, are all gone. Since the textile industry waned, mostly midsize businesses from various service and production areas have settled in town, albeit without quite managing to offset job losses due to the textile industry's virtual death. Even though Citibank's temporary presence, with 550 jobs, eventually folded – despite massive local subsidies – the location is still quite attractive for service businesses. This can be seen in the latest firm to locate in town, Bertelsmann, which will soon have 250 jobs. ETF EUROPEAN TRUCK FACTORY GmbH is located in this town. Taken together, however, the shift in structure to the tertiary sector in and around Nordhorn, unlike in other regions, is very far advanced. The greater Nordhorn area is well off when compared with the country as a whole, with the Nordhorn employment agency area (''Agenturbezirk'') reporting the lowest jobless rate in Lower Saxony. The neighbouring region of Rheine in North Rhine-Westphalia, too, is experiencing a peak in employment. This is further substantiated in the 2005 land use planning report from the Federal Office for the Building Industry and Land Use Planning (''Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung'') in which is discussed a forecast, based on current indicators, that sees in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia and in Nordhorn and its environs an area with great economic dynamism in the coming years. What should be highlit is the great number of food markets in Nordhorn, with Nordhorn having roughly twice the sales area proportionally by population as the national average. Because of the often misguided evictions, however, of newer locations outside the integrated sites, there are many empty premises in the inner town. In March 2007, the ''Rawe-Ring-Center'' with roughly 22 000 m² of new sales area was opened on a plot that was once part of the Rawe textile factory. This project met with considerable opposition, mainly among local retailers and professionals. The retailers feared that the glut of new premises would bring about further vacancies, especially in the southern inner town, while professionals criticized the consequences for urban development, the lack of cleanup operations and above all the demolition of factory buildings that were protected as monuments. Despite 12,000 Nordhorners' protest signatures gathered by the ''Pro Grafschaft'' initiative, the project was endorsed by a majority of the local politicians and in the end put into action. Under the slogan ''"Nordhorn - Die Wasserstadt"'' ("Nordhorn – the Water Town"), the town fathers are now seeking to put the emphasis on new aspects of the town's development, bringing forth plans to open canals for pleasure boats and to further development by building a town harbour. Whether these plans will indeed be implemented, and to what extent, remains to be seen in the coming years, Also found at Nordhorn is the controversial bombing range, the Nordhorn Range. After the Second World War, this was first run by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, but then later by the German Bundeswehr.


Transport

Nordhorn has two
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s (Nordhorn and Nordhorn-Blanke), which are served by the RB 56 train service going to Neuenhaus and Bad Bentheim. These trains are operated by Bentheimer Eisenbahn and operate hourly. Passenger train services to Nordhorn resumed on 7 July 2019, after Nordhorn having been Germany’s second-largest town without passenger trains for 45 years. The combined length of the road network in Nordhorn is , of which is ''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
n'', is state highways (''Landstraßen''), is district roads (''Kreisstraßen'') and is town streets and roads. All together, Nordhorn has 2,807 parking spaces. The town lies near two
Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
en, the A 30 and the A 31. It is furthermore connected to the highway network through two ''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
n'', the B 403 and the B 213. The most popular means of transport in town is what is locally known as the ''Fietse'' – the bicycle (''Fahrrad'' in Standard German, ''fiets'' in
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
). The Nordhorners' fondness for the ''Fietse'' and their morning rides led to the building of a special cycling path network that runs throughout the district of
Grafschaft Bentheim County of Bentheim (german: Grafschaft Bentheim) is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, the district of Emsland, and the districts o ...
. Signposts, known locally as ''Paddestolen'', show cyclists the way on these ''Fietsenpads'' (also a local term, the standard
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
word for them being ''Radwege''). Cycle paths to the neighbouring Netherlands are in use. Nordhorn has at its disposal a small airport in the outlying centre of Klausheide, called Nordhorn-Lingen (EDWN). Through an initiative by the club Graf-SHIP, founded in 2003, state councillor Friedrich Kethorn approved on 14 November 2005 the reopening of the ''Ems-Vechte-Kanal'' to shipping, now allowing captains to bring ships of up to 12 m in length through the canal. Approval for the other two canals continues. The Klukkert-Hafen (port) was opened once again in 2006.


Culture


Old weaving mill

The old weaving mill once belonged to the Povel factory. Nowadays, the old weaving mill is a cultural centre for exhibitions, tourism and concerts. In the mill's building are found, alongside the county brewhouse, a musical pub for live acts and also Ems-Vechte-Welle, a regional radio station for Grafschaft Bentheim and the Emsland.


''Jugendzentrum Nordhorn''

The ''Jugendzentrum Nordhorn'' – Nordhorn Youth Centre – has existed since the early 1970s. It was Germany's first youth centre and is therefore also its oldest. It was once a farm. At first, only the "threshing floor" was used, but in the 1980s, the "barn" also came into use. In the 1980s, the barn was also the scene of the punk movement in Nordhorn. Concerts were held in the barn, and still are, with such acts as
Cochise Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ...
, Geier Sturzflug,
Helge Schneider Helge Schneider (born 30 August 1955 in Mülheim an der Ruhr) is a German entertainer, comedian, musician, author, film and theatre director, and actor. He frequently appears on German television and is probably best known for his song "Katzeklo ...
,
Killerpilze The Killerpilze (German for "Killer Mushrooms") is a German pop rock/pop punk band from Dillingen an der Donau, Germany. Recently, the band has also scheduled a show in Russia alongside another German band called " Panik". History Killerpilze w ...
,
Wir sind Helden Wir sind Helden (, German for "We are heroes") was a German pop rock band that was established in 2000 in Hamburg and based in Berlin. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Judith Holofernes, drummer Pola Roy, bassist Mark Tavassol ...
and
In Extremo In Extremo (Latin for ''At the Edge''; abbreviated InEx or IE) is a German Medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with Medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instr ...
. Early in 2007, the barn's ceiling lining was destroyed by a storm, but with help from unpaid workers, the youth centre had a complete, new paint job inside by the summer.


''Tierpark Nordhorn''

Nordhorn's animal park harbours on his premises compounds for exotic and also home-grown domestic animals, as well as a museum, a farm, a traditional pub and a playground. Medieval stucco lion from Bentheim.jpg, Medieval stucco depiction of a lion at the entrance A curious prairie dog in Nordhorn.jpg, Meerkat compound Kangaroo Nordhorn animal park.jpg, Kangaroo compound Wild boars on their compound in Nordhorn.jpg, Wild boars Llama on a compound in Nordhorn.jpg, Llama compound Traditional "Grafschafter" farm in Nordhorn.jpg, Farm museum "Vechtehof" Poitou donkey Vechtehof.jpg, Poitou donkey, Vechtehof Wood buffalos resting in the shadow on a hot summer day.jpg,
Wood bison The wood bison (''Bison bison athabascae'') or mountain bison (often called the wood buffalo or mountain buffalo), is a distinct northern subspecies or ecotype of the American bison. Its original range included much of the boreal forest regions ...
s A wolf with its own compound.jpg, Wolf compound Harbour seals in Nordhorn.jpg, Harbour seals Playground Tierpark Nordhorn.jpg, Playground Tierpark Nordhorn Porcupine compound Tierpark Nordhorn.jpg, Porcupine compound and interested watchers


Social institutions


''Lebenshilfe Nordhorn''

The ''Lebenshilfe'' – an institution dedicated to helping those with handicaps live full lives – was founded as early as 1963. Now, the institution's organs assist, attend and take care of well over 600 people with handicaps. These organs include kindergarten for early assistance, various homes and also various workplaces (such as carpentry workshops), where clients can go with the proper guidance and according to each one's interests and talents. As well, there is the musical band Tabuwta, made up wholly of people with handicaps and supported by ''Lebenshilfe'' educational employees and celebrities such as
Guildo Horn Horst Heinz Köhler (born 15 February 1963), known under his stage name Guildo Horn (), is a German Schlager singer. He is best known for his eccentric stage persona, which includes outrageous clothes and extroverted antics. At the Eurovision ...
. In 2005 they recorded their third CD and presented it at the old weaving mill.


''Vechtetalschule''

The ''Vechtetalschule'' – Vechte Valley School – has existed as a school for those with a very broad array of handicaps since 1989. In 1992 it moved to a new building. It was given its name in 1997. Now, the school has 210 pupils, divided into 27 classes, ten of which are in outlying locations. Employed at the school are roughly 90 employees along with those doing
community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...
(instead of military service), would-be teachers and trainees. Levels currently run at the school are Primary, Secondary I and Secondary II.


Notable people

*
Ernst Küppers Ernst Küppers (July 9, 1904 – July 24, 1976) was a German backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born in Viersen and died in Nordhorn. He was the husband of Reni Erkens and ...
(1904–1976), swimmer and coach of the Wassersportverein Nordhorn (Waspo) (1953–1965) * Otto Geisert (born 1939), footballer *
Ernst-Joachim Küppers Ernst-Joachim Küppers (born 24 August 1942) is a German former swimmer. He competed in two events at the 1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport eve ...
(born 1942), swimmer *
Bernhard Brink Bernhard Brink (born 17 May 1952 in Nordhorn) is a German Schlager singer, TV and radio presenter. Life After school Brink studied German law in Berlin but never graduated. Brink is a German singer of Schlager songs. Since the 1970s he has ...
(born 1952), entertainer and musician * Michael Schneider (born 1953), recorder player and conductor *
Silke Pielen Silke Pielen (born 29 August 1955) is a German former swimmer who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972) ...
(born 1955), swimmer, Olympic medalist * Beate Merk (born 1957), politician (
CSU CSU may refer to: * Channel service unit, a Wide area network equivalent of a network interface card * Chari Aviation Services, Chad, by ICAO airline code * Christian Social Union (UK), an Anglican social gospel organisation * Christian Social Un ...
), Bavarian State Justice Minister * Johnny de Brest (born 1963), artist and photographer *
Petra Schmidt Petra Schmidt (born 18 March 1963) is a German operatic soprano and academic. A member of the Musiktheater im Revier (MiR), she has appeared in title roles such as Dvořák's Rusalka and Ponchielli's La Gioconda. She has also worked as a voice ...
(born 1963), soprano *
Paulo da Palma Paulo da Palma (born 18 March 1965) is a German-born Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role ...
(born 1965), footballer * Albert Stegemann (born 1976), politician *
Jan Fitschen Jan Gerrit Fitschen (born 2 May 1977 in Nordhorn) is a German long-distance runner, competing for TV Wattenscheid 01. At the 1999 Under 23 European Championships he finished fifth over the 5000 metres. He was German champion over 5000 m ...
(born 1977), long-distance runner *
Simon Cziommer Simon Cziommer (; born 6 November 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Since he joined FC Twente in 1999 he scored 28 goals for various clubs. He played in UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League games, ...
(born 1980), footballer *
Anna-Lena Grönefeld Anna-Lena Grönefeld (also spelled Groenefeld; born 4 June 1985) is a German former professional tennis player. Competing as a professional from 2003 until 2019, she won one singles title on the WTA Tour, at the 2006 Mexican Open, and reached t ...
(born 1985), tennis player


Twin towns – sister cities

Nordhorn is twinned with: *
Coevorden Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In Augu ...
, Netherlands (1963) *
Montivilliers Montivilliers ( or ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. Geography A large light industry, light industrial and farm ...
, France (1963) *
Reichenbach im Vogtland Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after Plauen. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18&n ...
, Germany (1987) *
Malbork Malbork; ; * la, Mariaeburgum, ''Mariae castrum'', ''Marianopolis'', ''Civitas Beatae Virginis'' * Kashubian: ''Malbórg'' * Old Prussian: ''Algemin'' is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of Malbork County and has a ...
, Poland (1995) *
Rieti Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina re ...
, Italy (2010)


References


Further reading

* (English-French-Dutch-German) * Heinrich Specht, Bürgerbücher der Stadt Nordhorn von 1396-1913, Nordhorn 1939 * Heinrich Specht, Wappen und Siegel der Stadt Nordhorn, aus Nordhorner Nachrichten Nr. 213, 194 (1941): Ältere Nordhorner Wappenzeichen, * Alfred Dietrich, Nordhorn - Textilstadt im Grünen, Oldenburg 1966 * Bernd-Andreas Knoop + Jörg-Uwe Seifert, Nordhorn - Gesichter einer Stadt, 1976 * VHS Grafschaft Bentheim (publisher), Nordhorn nach 1945, Nordhorn, 1977 * Heinrich Specht, Nordhorn - Geschichte einer Grenzstadt, Nordhorn 1941; 1979. publisher: Heimatverein der Grafschaft Bentheim. * Clemens v. Looz-Corswarem + Michael Schmitt (publisher), Nordhorn - Beiträge zur 600 jährigen Stadtgeschichte, 1979 * Bernd-Andreas Knoop + Fritz Schöbel, Das war die Festwoche - 600 Jahre Stadt Nordhorn, 1979 * VHS Grafschaft Bentheim (publisher), 35 Jahre Volkshochschule der Stadt Nordhorn, Bad Bentheim, 1983 * Gerhard Plasger, Nordhorn in alten Ansichten, 1983 * Gerhard Plasger, Nordhorn - Bilder der Vergangenheit, 1986 * VHS Grafschaft Bentheim (publisher), Mühlen und Müller, Nordhorn, 1987 * Wilfried P. Delissen ''et al.'', Nordhorn - Spuren und Notizen, Nordhorn 1988 * Herbert Wagner: Militär in der Region, Dokumentation über den Artillerieschieß- und Bombenabwurfplatz Engdener Wüste / Nordhorn - Range, Bad Bentheim, 1989 * neomdedia GmbH (publisher), Nordhorn - Grenzstadt ohne Grenzen, 1989 * VHS Grafschaft Bentheim (publisher), Nordhorn im 3. Reich, Nordhorn, 1991 * Bernd-Andreas Knoop, Das große Buch der Grafschaft, Lage 1994 * VHS Grafschaft Bentheim (publisher), Nordhorn - eine Zeitreise, Nordhorn, 1998 * Schwester M. Willibaldis, St. Augustinus Nordhorn, Nordhorn 2003 * Herbert Wagner: Die Gestapo war nicht allein... Politische Sozialkontrolle und Staatsterror im deutsch - niederländischen Grenzgebiet 1929 - 1945, Münster 2004


External links

* * {{Authority control Germany–Netherlands border crossings 1370s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1379 establishments in Europe County of Bentheim (district)