Oldendorf is a former municipality, now part of Melle, in the district of Osnabrück, 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 ...

. It is on the southern slope of the Wiehengebirge, between the cities of

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

and

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

History

Findings at excavations have shown that Oldendorf belongs to the longest settled parts of Melle. There are indications that Oldendorf was inhabited from 10,000 BC on and evidence of structures of settlements may be dated back until around 4000 BC. The reason for the choice of this location was, inter alia, the rising of a rich aquiferous spring at the Westerhausen Hill (). Early Germanic settlements took place in the upper farming community in Westerhausen at around 700 BC on the south-facing slope of the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...

. Oldendorf was first mentioned in a document of

Corvey Abbey The Princely Abbey of Corvey ( or ) is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling '' princely abbeys'' of the Holy Roman Empire from the Late Middl ...

in about 1000 AD. Since in

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

times the first Meierhöfe were established so did it happen in Westerhausen. Oberholsten, Niederholsten and Föckinghausen were only mentioned in 1240 AD.Chronik der Gemeinde Westerhausen zur 800 Jahr Feier 1962, pp. 11, 113 Due to the construction of a railroad track in 1855 and the installation of a stop in Westerhausen in 1879 the transformation from a farming community to an industrial location began. An economic upturn was induced to Westerhausen and Föckinghausen with completion of the just 3 km away A 30 motorway in 1976.

Description of Oldendorf

Oldendorf can be subdivided into the villages of Föckinghausen, Niederholsten, Oberholsten, Oldendorf and Westerhausen. 63% of the population of Oldendorf are

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

s, 19% are

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. The rest belongs to another or none religious community.

Economy

There are some larger industrial enterprises in Oldendorf such as the office furniture manufacturer ''Assmann'' and the rubber rollers producer ''Westland Gummiwerke''. A quite big distribution center of the textile industry logistic firm ''Deutsche Kleiderspedition'' and a big warehouse of ''Thomas Philipps'' are situated in Oldendorf, too. The largest German cattle semen collection center, the ''Osnabrücker Herdbuch'', is also there. Primarily, Oldendorf is characterized by medium-sized businesses, rural agriculture and all other provision facilities which are typical for such a district.

Education and Sport

There are two primary schools situated in Oldendorf and Westerhausen. Kindergartens as well as sport fields, football pitches, tennis courts and sport halls are existent in both villages, too.

Politics

Peter Bungard (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

) is mayor of Oldendorf. Distribution of seats in the council of Oldendorf: *

63.82% (10 seats) * CDU 24.75% (4 seats) *

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

7.66% (1 seat) (As of:

Local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

on 10 September 2006)

References

{{reflist Melle, Germany Former municipalities in Lower Saxony