Cloppenburg (district)

Cloppenburg
—  District  —
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
Capital	Cloppenburg
Area
- Total	1,418 km2 (547.5 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2010)[1]
- Total	158,194
- Density	111.6/km2 (288.9/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Vehicle registration	CLP
Website	lkclp.de

Cloppenburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Ammerland, Oldenburg, Vechta, Osnabrück, Emsland and Leer.

Factory farming near Hemmelte

Biogas production near Sevelten

Like the neighbouring Vechta district, it is well known for factory farming, especially of turkeys and pigs. These two districts are also known as the "schweinegürtel" (pig belt). The ground is mostly of poor quality. The mass import of animal food made factory farming possible. With the help of liquid manure corn is grown, which is also used for a growing production of biogas.^[2]

History

The region was part of the county of Tecklenburg in medieval times. It was then for a long time (1400-1803) property of the bishop of Münster. In 1803 it was annexed by Oldenburg and remained a part of Oldenburg until 1945. The district was established in 1933.

Geography

At the Thülsfelde Reservoir

The district comprises the western portion of a historical region called Oldenburgisches Münsterland, which means "lands of Oldenburg formerly held by Münster". It is a plain countryside, which was originally swampy and full of tiny rivers and brooks.

The Thülsfelde Reservoir is an artificial lake that was built between 1924 and 1927 in order to prevent floodings in the area. Today it is a major tourist attraction with several camping sites and a youth hostel.

Coat-of-arms

Coat of arms

The coat-of-arms displays: top left and top right: the cross as well as the red stripes are part of the arms of Oldenburg bottom left: three water lilly leaves made up the arms of Tecklenburg bottom right: red and yellow are the colours of Münster Its blazon is: "Quarterly; I: Or, two bars Gules; II: Azure, a cross Or; III: Argent, three water lily leaves Gules; IV: Or, a fess Gules".

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Cloppenburg Friesoythe Löningen	Barßel Bösel Cappeln Emstek Essen	Garrel Lastrup Lindern Molbergen Saterland

References

1. ^ "Bevölkerungsfortschreibung" (in German). Landesbetrieb für Statistik und Kommunikationstechnologie Niedersachsen. 31 December 2009. http://www1.nls.niedersachsen.de/statistik/html/parametereingabe.asp?DT=K1000014&CM=Bev%F6lkerungsfortschreibung. 
2. ^ Wilking, Johannes und Manfred Kayser: Biogaserzeugung im Oldenburger Münsterland - Entwicklungen und Perspektiven. In: Jahrbuch für das Oldenburger Münsterland 2011. Vechta 2010, S. 196-219

External links

Media related to Landkreis Cloppenburg at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (German)

Coordinates: 52°50′N 8°00′E / 52.83°N 8.0°E / 52.83; 8.0