Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town 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 ...

. In 2024, its population was 59,896 with 2,262 people who had registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is located on the river

Ems Ems or EMS may refer to: Places and rivers * Domat/Ems, a Swiss municipality in the canton of Grisons * Ems (river) (Eems), a river in northwestern Germany and northeastern Netherlands that discharges in the Dollart Bay * Ems (Eder), a river o ...

in the southern part of the

Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems (river), Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer (district), Leer, Cloppenburg (district), Cloppenbur ...

District, which borders

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

in the south and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the west.

History

Lingen was first mentioned in the Middle Ages (975 AD). From 804 to 1180 the region was part of the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

inside the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...

, and then remained part of the german-speaking

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

until 1806. A initially independent county of Lingen (''Grafschaft Lingen'') was erected in 1388 and remained until 1713, when Prussia took over. In detail though, the county and city in the 17th and 18th were repeatedly conquered by Dutch and Spanish troops: initially Catholic, from 1541 to 1547 the citizens were forced to become Lutheran, then the troops of Catholic

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

conquered the county and city and in 1550 gave it to his sister

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. From 1555 to 1597 Lingen was the easternmost point of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

of Philip II and became part of the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

. From 1597 to 1605 Lingen was conquered by the Calvinist and Dutch

Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...

, then retaken by the Catholic Spanish troops and from 1632 to 1672 again was part of the Calvinist

. For two years the

Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (, or ) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, ...

had the city, which then from 1674 to 1713 was part of the Calvinist

again, when

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...

inherited the county. From 1807 to 1813 the troops of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

occupied the region, and from 1810 to 1813 Lingen was part of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1814 it again was part of Prussia, and in 1815 became part of the newly founded

kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...

. As result of the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

in 1866 the

and also Lingen were annexed by the

kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, and in 1871 became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Economy and education

Lingen is known for its offshore- and

nuclear industry Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

(

Emsland Nuclear Power Plant Emsland Nuclear Power Plant was a nuclear power plant located in the district of Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany just south of the Lingen Nuclear Power Plant. The plant’s single reactor had a nameplate capacity of 1,363 MW, and it was in operat ...

). The University of Applied Sciences Osnabrueck has set up a branch campus, located in the centre of Lingen, with the three Institutes for Management and Engineering, Communications Management and Teaching of Theatre. In 2000 the institutes in Lingen merged into the Faculty of Society and Technology.

Climate

Lingen has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''; Trewartha: ''Dobk''). On 25 July 2019, Lingen set the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded within Germany with a daytime high temperature of 42.6 degrees

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

(109 degrees

Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a scale of temperature, temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accou ...

) during a

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

affecting much of Europe. The Lingen weather station has recorded the following extreme values: * Its highest temperature was on 25 July 2019. * Its lowest temperature was on 16 February 1956. * Its greatest annual precipitation was in 1993. * Its least annual precipitation was in 1959. * The longest annual sunshine was 1917.1 hours in 1959. * The shortest annual sunshine was 1206.3 hours in 1956.

Twin towns – sister cities

Lingen is twinned with: *

Bielawa Bielawa () is a town in southwestern Poland. Since 1999, it has been situated in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship. As of January 1, 2023, it has a population of 28 34 ...

, Poland * Burton upon Trent / East Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *

Elbeuf Elbeuf () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A light industrial town situated by the banks of the Seine some south of Rouen at the junction of the D7, D321 and the D313 roads. The ...

, France *

Marienberg Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...

, Germany *

Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, Spain * Lanivtsi, Ukraine

Transport

* Lingen (Ems) station

Notable people

Eberhard von Danckelmann Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name * Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire * Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian * Eberhard I, ...

(1643–1722), Prime Minister of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1692 to 1697 * Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (c.1691–c.1747), German-American Dutch-Reformed minister and theologian. *

Konrad Beckhaus Konrad Friedrich Ludwig Beckhaus (18 August 1821, Lingen – 13 August 1890, Höxter) was a German Protestant clergyman and botanist. He studied theology in Halle, Tübingen and Berlin, subsequently becoming a ''Hilfsprediger'' (curate) in the ci ...

(1821–1890), Protestant clergyman and botanist * Hermann Wilhelm Berning (1877–1955), Bishop of Osnabrück 1914–1955 * Herms Niel (1888–1954), composer of military songs and marches, lived and died there * Harry Kramer (1925–1997), sculptor, choreographer, dancer and professor of art * Beatrix Borchard (born 1950), musicologist and author * Wilfried Telkämper (born 1953), MEP, Vice President of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

1989–1992 * Reinhold Hilbers (born 1964), politician * Jens Gieseke (born 1971), politician (CDU),

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

* Christian Drosten (born 1972),

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, the ...

Sport

* Joseph Rosemeyer (1872–1919), track cyclist, competed at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

Bernd Rosemeyer Bernd Rosemeyer (14 October 1909 – 28 January 1938) was a German racing driver and speed record holder. He is often considered one of the greatest racing drivers of his era. Career Rosemeyer's father owned an auto and motorcycle garage a ...

(1909–1938), racing car driver * Peter van Roye (born 1950), rower, team bronze medallist at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

* Ingo Schultz (born 1975), 400 metres runner * Natalie Simanowski (born 1978) *

Michael Rensing Michael Rensing (born 14 May 1984) is a German former Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He has played for FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich, 1. FC Köln, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Bayer Lever ...

(born 1984), footballer, played 355 games

References

External links

*
students website
{{Authority control Emsland Towns in Lower Saxony