The Grönegau (also Graingau) is the historic regional name for one of the many Saxon Gaus that have survived to the present day. The region was first mentioned in the records in 852. The Grönegau is a region that, for the most part, covers the same area as that of the present borough of Melle in the district of Osnabrück in the German state of

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 ...

. From around 800 to the 12th century the old southern Gau border probably ran from

Borgholzhausen Borgholzhausen () is a town in the Gütersloh (district), district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Teutoburg Forest, approx. 20 km north-west of Bielefeld. Borgholzhausen is a sister city ...

and Halle to Bünde and Spenge in the east. The '' Amt'' of Grönenberg was first mentioned in 1360. Subsequently, it lost parts of the Grönegau of the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, including Halle,

and Borgloh. From 1852 there are no longer any boundary changes, the extent of the ''Amt'' of Grönenberg is from this date identical with the later district of Melle and finally, from 1972, the borough of Melle.Fritz-Gerd Mittelstädt: ''Der Grönegau: Amt Grönenberg - Kreis Melle - Stadt Melle.'' Hrsg. Fritz-Gerd Mittelstädt, Ernst-Heinrich Noth. In: Der Grönegau. Meller Jahrbuch 1983. Band 1. Melle 1982, p. 10 ff. Several societies in the region still carry the name Grönegau. Even the motorway services near Melle on the A 30 motorway carry this ancient regional name.

References

Historical regions in Germany Geography of Lower Saxony Osnabrück (district) Carolingian counties Former states and territories of Lower Saxony {{Osnabrück-geo-stub