Leer is a town in the district of Leer, in the northwestern part 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. It is situated on the river Leda, a tributary of the river Ems, 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 ...

. With 34,958 inhabitants (2021), it is the third-largest city in East Frisia after Emden and

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', stq, Aurk) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both i ...

. It has a railway and

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' ...

connection to

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, Netherlands, Emden, Bremen and the South ( Rheine and the

Ruhrpott 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 ...

industrial region).

Geography

Leer had been a settlement long before it was first mentioned in written documents. Originally, the city was situated at a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...

near the mouth of the river

Leda Leda may refer to: Mythology * Leda (mythology), queen of Sparta and mother of Helen of Troy in Greek mythology Places * Leda, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia * Leda makeshift settlement, Bangladesh, a refugee camp ...

into the Ems, which is still the center of the town today. Even though Leer is some away from the coast, it can be reached by large ships via the Ems. Leer lies close to the Dutch border; the district of Leer shares a border with the Dutch province of

. The island and nature reserve of

Bingumer Sand Bingumer Sand is a small river island in the Ems off the Rheiderland shore near Bingum in East Frisia. It is part of the ''Emsauen zwischen Ledamündung und Oldersum'' nature reserve. Not far from the Bingumer Sand is the Jann Berghaus Bridge ...

lies within the district.

History

There are many traces of early settlements in the area, including crude flint tools that are dated back to roughly 3200 BC. In 791 AD Saint Ludger built the first chapel in East Frisia at the western edge of the

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

Leer, then still named ''Hleri'' after '' feetlot'', ''

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

''. This chapel is mentioned for the first time in a written document from 850 AD. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Leer was hometown of the Ukena family, which was one most influential East-Frisian chieftain families of that time. The town profited from the trade with the

Hanse The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German ...

, and a fortress Leerort was built. In 1508, Count Edzard obtained the official right to host a market, which started the tradition of the "Gallimarkt," which is now an annual fair. In 1744 East Frisia fell to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, then ruled by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

Town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

were awarded in 1823 by

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, King of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. In 1854 Leer became connected to the "Hannoversche Westbahn" railway, which at that time connected Emden and Rheine in the Ruhr area. In 1856, the Westbahn was connected to the central German railway network. Unlike Emden, Leer only suffered little damage by Allied bombing in

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 ...

. The city was occupied by Canadian troops on 28 April 1945. On 1 October 1955, Leer received the status of an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Politics

Since 1964 the city's government has been led by the Social-Democratic Party

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

. The major opposition parties are the Christian Democratic Union Party CDU, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

and the ''Allgemeine Wählergemeinschaft'' (AWG), an independent local party. The mayor of Leer is Claus-Peter Horst, elected in 2021. The town council consists of (elections of 2016): *

: 36.7% / 14 seats * CDU: 27.9% / 11 seats * AWG: 10.2% / 4 seats * Grüne: 13.9% / 5 seats * FDP: 3.0% / 1 seat * The Left: 3.1% / 1 seat *CDL: 3.5% / 1 seat *BfL 1.3%: / 1 seat *Haase 0.5%: / 0 seat

Mayors

Notable buildings

Harderwykenburg The Harderwykenburg is one of the oldest extant castles of East Frisia. It was built in the style of a medieval stone house soon after 1450 in Leer, Lower Saxony, Germany. The original building, in the form of a tower, was built of stones fro ...

* Haneburg *

Evenburg The Evenburg is a water castle in the village of Loga, Leer, Loga (Leer, Lower Saxony, Leer) in north Germany (East Frisia, East Frisia/Ostfriesland) not far from the River Leda. History It was built by Colonel Erhard Reichsfreiherr von Ehrentr ...

* Philippsburg (Castle) * Telecommunication

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

"Leer-Nüttermoor" (Height:160 meters) File:Rathaus Leer.jpg, City Hall in Leer File:Leer city centre.JPG, City Centre in Leer

Religion

Leer is a traditional Protestant city and home to both the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and

Reformed churches 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 Calv ...

. The German Reformed Church has its head office in Leer. Furthermore, Leer offers an unusually large variety of smaller religious communities, especially Baptists,

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

, Methodists, Adventists and Mormons. Even though Eastern Frisia is a mainly a Protestant region, there is a small

Roman Catholic 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 lette ...

community in Leer.

Economics and infrastructure

Two

s (freeways) cross north of Leer, the A 28 (Leer – Bremen) and the A 31 (Emden – Oberhausen,

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 ...

). The city itself has three junctions to the autobahns. Leer railway station is a relay station between

and Bremen in the west–east direction and the South and Emden harbour (with a large VW factory and shipping facilities) in the north. The

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

Leer-Papenburg north of the city offers limited passenger flights to nearby airfields, most notably the East Frisian Islands. The closest international airport is Bremen International Airport. Leer is home to many German shipping companies – about 20 per cent of the German merchant

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

are registered in Leer. The Bünting group Home is based in Leer and is one of the city's main employers. Although Bünting owns several German supermarket chains, the company is best known for their tea, which is available all over Germany. Each year in autumn the Gallimarkt is held. Traditionally a cattle-market, the Gallimarkt is now one of the largest fairs in Northwest Germany.

Education

In Leer there are seven primary schools and numerous secondary schools. The two gymnasiums, Telletta-Gross-Gymnasium and

Ubbo-Emmius-Gymnasium The Ubbo-Emmius-Gymnasium is a gymnasium in the town of Leer in Lower Saxony, Germany. History The Ubbo-Emmius-Gymnasium was founded in 1584 as a High School for boys only and girls were not accepted before 1972. It was named after Ubbo Emmius, ...

, educate more than 1,500 pupils each and are two of the largest grammar schools in

. The Navigation School is now a faculty of the Hochschule Emden – Leer (University of applied science). The town also offers education at two

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the task ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Leer is twinned with: * Elbląg, Poland *

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southeas ...

, United Kingdom

Notable people

Focko Ukena Focko Ukena ( Neermoor, 1360 or 1370 – 1435) was an East Frisian chieftain (''hovetling'') who played an important part in the struggle between the Vetkopers and Schieringers in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. Aside from this h ...

(1370–1436), East Frisian

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

Ubbo Emmius Ubbo Emmius (5 December 15479 December 1625) was a German historian and geographer. Early life Ubbo Emmius was born on 5 December 1547 in Greetsiel, East Frisia. From the ages of 9 to 18 Emmius studied in a Latin school, before having to leave ...

(1547–1625), theologian, historian from the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

Gustaaf Willem Baron van Imhoff Gustaaf Willem, Baron van Imhoff (8 August 1705 – 1 November 1750) was a Dutch colonial administrator for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He served as Governor of Ceylon from 1736 to 1740 and as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies f ...

(1705–1750), governor-general of

Dutch East India The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...

* (1818–1901), co-founder of the German Baptists *

Onno Klopp Onno Klopp (9 October 1822 in Leer, Kingdom of Hanover – 9 August 1903 in Penzing, Austria) was a German historian, best known as the author of ''Der Fall des Hauses Stuart'' (The Fall of the House of Stuart), the fullest existing account of ...

(1822–1903), publicist and historian * (1890–1984), author * (1879–1947),

Natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

philosopher and scientist * Ernst Reuter (1889–1953), politician and municipal scientist, mayor of West-Berlin 1948–1953 *

Hermann Lange Hermann Lange (16 April 1912 – 10 November 1943) was a Roman Catholic priest and martyr of the Nazi period in Germany. He was guillotined in a Hamburg prison by the Nazi authorities in November 1943, along with the three other Lübeck marty ...

(1912–1943), blessed priest and Nazi victim * Marron Curtis Fort (1938–2019), professor, linguist and curator of

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 ...

and

Frisian languages The Frisian (, ) languages are a closely related group of West Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the closest l ...

Karl Dall Karl Bernhard Dall (, 1 February 1941 – 23 November 2020) was a German comedian, singer, and television presenter. His distinctive 'hanging' eye was caused by a congenital ptosis. Family Karl Dall was born in Emden, Germany, the son of ...

(1941–2020), presenter, singer and comedian *

Friedel Grützmacher Elfriede "Friedel" Grützmacher (born 3 August 1942 in Leer, Lower Saxony) is a German politician (Alliance 90/The Greens).(4 October 2002German legislators review plans ''Cape Cod Times'', Retrieved November 10, 2010 ("Friedel Grutzmacher, a memb ...

(born 1942), politician of Alliance 90/The Greens *

H.P. Baxxter Hans Peter Geerdes (born 16 March 1964), professionally known by his stage name H.P. Baxxter, is a German musician who is best known as the lead vocalist of the German techno band Scooter. He founded Scooter with his friend Rick J. Jordan in 1 ...

(born 1966), singer of the band Scooter *

Garrelt Duin Garrelt Duin (born 2 April 1968) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Education Duin was born in Leer, Lower Saxony. From 1987 to 1995 he studied law and Protestant theology at Bielefeld and Göttingen. In 1995 he com ...

(born 1968), politician (

) *

Okka Rau Okka Rau (born January 5, 1977 in Leer, Lower Saxony) is a former beach volleyball player from Germany. She won the gold medal at the 2003 European Championships in Alanya, partnering with Stephanie Pohl. She represented her native count ...

(born 1977), beach volleyball player * Christina Hennings (born 1984), rower

References

External links

* *
Photo collections about Leer
{{Authority control Towns in Lower Saxony Towns and villages in East Frisia Leer (district)