The Oldenburg Münsterland, otherwise called Oldenburger Münsterland or Oldenburgisches Münsterland, is a region 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 ...

and the administrative area that comprises the

federal districts A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or th ...

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; ; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, in north-western 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 Bremen and the Dutch ...

and

Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), 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 ...

. It forms the southern part of the historical region of

Oldenburg Land Oldenburg Land () is a region and regional association in the German state of Lower Saxony in the area of the former Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (1815–1918), the later Free State of Oldenburg (1918–1946) and administrative district of Oldenburg ...

, so it is also called ''Südoldenburg''. The inhabitants of the region accordingly call themselves ''Südoldenburger'', with the denominative ''Oldenburger Münsterländer'' being rather uncommon.

History

In 1252, 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, ...

acquired the former County of Ravensberg-Vechta. With the conquest of the former Tecklenburg office of Cloppenburg in 1400, the common history of today's Oldenburg Münsterland in the Lower Chapter of Münster began. In 1668, the Bishop of Münster also gained ecclesiastical sovereignty over

. As a result of the ''

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

'' of 25 February 1803, the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Duke of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst This is a list of the counts, dukes, grand dukes, and prime ministers of Oldenburg. Counts of Oldenburg * 1088/1101–1108 Elimar I * 1108–1143 ...

gained state power over the offices of Cloppenburg and Vechta, whose population has remained predominantly Roman Catholic to this day. During the so-called

French period In Northern European historiography, the term French period (, , ) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napoleonic France.Eduard Rothert''Rheinland-Westfalen im Wechsel d ...

(1811–1813), the Oldenburg Münsterland was administered by the French-Hanseatic Département de l'Ems-Supérieur (Department of the Upper Ems). Until 1946, the Oldenburg Münsterland remained part of the

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (, also known as Holstein-Oldenburg) was a grand duchy within the German Confederation, North German Confederation and German Empire, that consisted of three widely separated territories: Oldenburg, Eutin and Bir ...

or the

Free State of Oldenburg The Free State of Oldenburg () was a federated state that existed during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. It was established in 1918 following the abdication of the Grand Duke Frederick Augustus II of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg after th ...

(since 1919). Since 1946, the Oldenburg Münsterland has belonged to the

German state The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

of Lower Saxony and includes the area of the

and

Economy

The Oldenburg Münsterland is shaped by a high density of

intensive animal farming Intensive animal farming, industrial livestock production, and macro-farms, also known as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to mass animal husbandry designed to maximize production while minimizing cos ...

. Several large companies of the meat industry are headquartered in the region. The

PHW Group The PHW Group is a German family business in the meat industry that operates internationally. Its core business is meat processing of poultry. It is the largest company of the poultry industry in Germany and the fourth-largest in Europe. The PH ...

, the largest German

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

meat producer, has its

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

in Rechterfeld. The

EW Group The EW Group GmbH (also known as the Erich Wesjohann Group), headquartered in Visbek, Germany, is a global family owned holding, which integrates more than 300 active subsidiaries. The company is operating primarily at the beginning of the value ...

, the world market leader in poultry breeding and genetics, has its headquarters in

Visbek Visbek (Old Saxon ''Fiscbechi'') is a municipality in the district of Vechta, in the Oldenburg Münsterland region of the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Location and municipal subdivisions Visbek lies on the North German Plain, approximately ...

. Further

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 ...

groups such as the

Plukon Food Group Plukon Food Group is an internationally active corporate group in the meat industry. It is one of the largest processors of poultry meat in Europe. In 2019, Plukon was the second largest chicken processor in the EU, as well as 16th in the worl ...

and Westfleisch operate industrial meat processing facilities in the region.

References

Geography of Lower Saxony Regions of Lower Saxony {{LowerSaxony-geo-stub