Visbek (

Old Saxon Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It ...

''Fiscbechi'') is a municipality in the district of Vechta, in the Oldenburg Münsterland region of the state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

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 ...

Location and municipal subdivisions

Visbek lies on the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Balt ...

, approximately 12 km to the north of

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

. The municipality consists of the village of Visbek itself, together with 13 surrounding

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

(german: Bauerschaften), viz. Astrup, Bonrechtern, Endel, Erlte, Hagstedt, Halter/ Meyerhöfen, Hogenbögen, Norddöllen, Rechterfeld, Varnhorn/ Siedenbögen and Wöstendöllen.

Neighbouring municipalities

Neighbouring communities are (counting clockwise from north): the municipality of Großenkneten, including Ahlhorn, the town of

Wildeshausen Wildeshausen (Low Saxon: ''Wilshusen'') is a town and the capital of the Oldenburg district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated by the river Hunte. History In 1648, Wildeshausen and the surrounding district was ceded to Sweden, in the Peace ...

, the municipality of Goldenstedt, the town of

and the municipality of

Emstek Emstek is a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km east of Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of ...

Landscape

Visbek is the northernmost municipality in Vechta district, bordering the rural districts of

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

and

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

. To the west, north and east of the village of Visbek, lies the long, narrow strip of the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

of Streams of the Endel and Holzhausen Heath, with the

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

brooks and wet lowlands of the Aue, Twillbäke and Visbeker Bruchbach streams with their associated

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

Middle Ages

Historical tradition dates back as far as to the late 8th century, when upon order of the Frankish king

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 ...

(later Emperor

Charles the Great Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

), the abbey of Visbek - then called "cellula fiscbechi", under Abbot Gerbert Castus - played a major role in the

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

of the newly conquered surrounding Saxon territories of Lerigau, Hasegau and Venkigau. In 855 AD, King

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

allocated the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbey of Visbek in the shire of Lerigau, with its territories and possessions, to the

Imperial Abbey of Corvey Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Tex ...

Megalithic tombs

The Visbek region, however, had been populated even before 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 ...

, in fact as far back as the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

Period, as evinced by numerous

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

ic tombs of the

Funnelbeaker culture The Funnel(-neck-)beaker culture, in short TRB or TBK (german: Trichter(-rand-)becherkultur, nl, Trechterbekercultuur; da, Tragtbægerkultur; ) was an archaeological culture in north-central Europe. It developed as a technological merger of lo ...

(3,500 - 2,800 BC) that may still be seen today. Examples - aside from the Heidenopfertisch illustrated below - include the large stone graves of ''Mühlensteine, Schmeersteine, Visbeker Braut'' and ''Visbeker Bräutigam''.

Media

The following regional newspapers are delivered in Visbek: * Oldenburgische Volkszeitung, Vechta * Nordwest-Zeitung, Oldenburg

Economy

Several companies of the

meat industry The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing, preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool, etc.). In economics, the meat industry is ...

are located in Visbek. The PHW Group, the largest German

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...

meat producer, has its headquarters in Rechterfeld. The EW Group, the world market leader in poultry breeding and genetics, also has its headquarters in Visbek. Additionally, the Plukon Food Group runs poultry meat processing facilities in Visbek.

Regular festivities

* Every year at Pentecost, the Visbek Shooting Club, St. Hubertus, hosts its Schützenfest fun fair and folk processions. * The annual ''Visbek Rockt'' open air music festival takes place at the end of May, featuring local and regional rock bands.

Partner municipality

A partnership with Pontvallain in the Sarthe Departement has been maintained since 1988.

Gallery

Visbek Ortseingang.JPG, The high street (''Hauptstraße'') in Visbek Gerbertschule.jpg, ''Gerbert'' Primary School, Visbek St. vitus.jpg, Roman Catholic St. Vitus Parish Church, Visbek, seen from the west Visbek Gerbert-Castus-Denkmal 2.JPG, Abbot Gerbert Castus Monument at St. Vitus Church, Visbek Großsteingrab Heidenopfertisch 02.JPG, The Heidenopfertisch , a megalithic grave near VisbekSteinzeitreise: ''Heidenopfertisch. Grave 974''
/ref> at Engelmannsbäke Visbek Twillbäke.JPG, The Twillbäke stream, Bullmühle Visbek - Twillbäke.jpg,

Mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the c ...

of Twillbäke stream, Bullmühle Endel Kokenmühle 2.jpg, The Kokenmühle Watermill, Endel (Visbek) Endel Neumühle.jpg, The Neumühle Watermill, Endel (Visbek)

References

External links

Official website of ''Municipality of Visbek''

Official website of the ''Catholic Parish Church of St. Vitus Visbek''

Official website of ''Visbek Rockt''
{{Authority control Vechta (district)