Westerstede (;

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 ...

: ''Westerstäe'') is the capital of the

Ammerland Ammerland is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg and the districts of Oldenburg (district), Oldenburg, Cloppenburg (district), Cloppen ...

district, in

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 approximately 25 km northwest of

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

. It is known for hosting the Rhodo Festival, the biggest exhibition of

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

in Europe. The festival is hosted every four years (next time in 2023). The villages of Burgforde, Eggeloge,

Felde Felde is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is part of the municipal association Achterwehr. Felde is about 12 km away from Kiel and the federal highway 210 to Rendsburg, since 1989 t ...

, Fikensolt, Garnholt, Gießelhorst, Halsbek, Halstrup, Hollriede, Hollwege, Hollwegerfeld, Hüllstede, Ihausen, Ihorst, Karlshof, Linswege, Linswegerfeld, Mansie, Lindern,

Moorburg Moorburg () is a place in Hamburg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of t ...

, Neuengland, Ocholt, Ocholterfeld, Ollenharde, Petersfeld, Tarbarg, Torsholt, Westerloy, Westerloyerfeld and Westerstederfeld are part of Westerstede. The railway station of Westerstede is located in the village of Ocholt, 6 km south of the town. Trains from and to Leer and Oldenburg halt there every hour. The community (and the whole

region) is famous for its tree nurseries. They grow

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s that are sold outside Germany as well. The slightly acid

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

soil is very suitable for this type of horticulture. Near Linswege village, 7 km north-east of Westerstede, a ''Rhododendron Park'' has been established next to a beautiful wooded area. The park is open to visitors in May and June every year.

Mayor

The mayor of Westerstede is since 2019 Michael Rösner (UWG).

Notable people

Wolfgang Hackbusch Wolfgang Hackbusch (born 24 October 1948 in Westerstede, Lower Saxony) is a German mathematician, known for his pioneering research in multigrid methods and later hierarchical matrices, a concept generalizing the fast multipole method. He was a p ...

(born 1948), mathematician * Eilhardus Lubinus (1565–1621), professor of poetics, theology, mathematics, geography, and Rector of the University of Rostock *

Bruno Steinhoff Bruno Ewald Steinhoff (born November 1937) is a German billionaire businessman, the founder of Steinhoff International, a South African-based international retail holding company, and its executive chairman until September 2008. He is now a non-e ...

(born 1937), billionaire businessman, founder of

Steinhoff International Steinhoff International is a multinational holding company that is dual listed in Germany and South Africa. Its holdings are in the retail sector, primarily in furniture and household goods, and include a controlling stake in South Africa's P ...

Friedrich Tietjen Friedrich Tietjen (1832 in Westerstede, Oldenburg – 1895 in Berlin) was a German astronomer. He was director of the ''Astronomisches Rechen-Institut'' (ARI) from 1874 until his death in 1895. The Minor Planet Center credits him with the di ...

(1834–1895), astronomer

External links

Pictures from spring festival in Westerstede

Rhodo Festival

References

Ammerland {{Ammerland-geo-stub