Großenkneten is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the district of Oldenburg, in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Großenkneten is one of the largest municipalities in Germany, in terms of its area, and is situated between the rivers

Hunte Hunte () is a long river in north-western Germany (Lower Saxony), a left tributary of the Weser. The Hunte rises in the Wiehen Hills. In the North German Plain it flows through lake Dümmer. It flows generally northwards through the towns B ...

and Lethe, in the landscape called ''Wildeshauser Geest''. The place – consisting of the villages Huntlosen, Ahlhorn and Großenkneten – is still mostly agrarian, but is becoming more and more popular as a place of residence for commuters to Oldenburg.

Neighborhoods

Großenkneten is divided in 19 neighborhoods (''Ortsteile''), which are (with population of 2012): Ahlhorn (6.441), Amelhausen (120), Bakenhus (48), Bissel (319), Döhlen (461), Großenkneten (2.637), Hagel (32), Halenhorst (237), Haschenbrok (79), Hengstlage (136), Hespenbusch-Pallast (78), Hosüne (569), Huntlosen (1.831), Husum (60), Sage (623), Sage-Haast (290), Sannum (217), Steinloge (128) and Westrittrum (106).

History

In 1933 the municipality Huntlosen was incorporated into Großenkneten, giving it its current extent. Between 1952 and 1957 Karl Poggensee and his association DAFRA (the precursor of the Hermann Oberth Society) operated a small launch site for experimental rockets close to the Hespenbusch farm. In 1957 the launch site was shifted to

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

as the site in Großenkneten had become too small. The band Trio, formed in Großenkneten in 1979, had a hit in more than 30 countries with their song " Da Da Da" in 1982.

Notable places

Special recreational locations include several prehistoric tombs and the fish lakes of Ahlhorn. Originally built in the 1880s as a fish farm using the waters of the river Lethe, they have been a nature preserve since 1993. Of the 2 square kilometres of water around 1.2 square kilometres are still used for fish farming today.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossenkneten Oldenburg (district)