Oldenburg

For other uses, see Oldenburg (disambiguation).

Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Coordinates	53°08′38″N 8°12′50″E / 53.14389°N 8.21389°E / 53.14389; 8.21389Coordinates: 53°08′38″N 8°12′50″E / 53.14389°N 8.21389°E / 53.14389; 8.21389
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Urban district
City subdivisions	42 Stadtteile und 9 statistische Bezirke
Lord Mayor	Gerd Schwandner (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area	102.96 km2 (39.75 sq mi)
Elevation	4 m  (13 ft)
Population	162,173 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	1,575 /km2 (4,080 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	OL
Postal codes	26001–26135
Area code	0441
Website	www.oldenburg.de

Oldenburg (Low German: Ollnborg) is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 (as of 2008) which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig and Osnabrück. In German, the city is known officially as Oldenburg (Oldenburg) or Oldenburg (Oldb) to distinguish it from Oldenburg in Holstein.

History

The town was first mentioned in 1108, at that time known under the name of Aldenburg. It became important due to its location at a ford of the navigable Hunte River. Oldenburg became the capital of the County of Oldenburg (later a Duchy, Grand Duchy and Free State), a small state in the shadow of the much more powerful Hanseatic city of Bremen.^[2]

In the 17th century, Oldenburg was a wealthy town in a time of war and turmoil and its population and power grew considerably. In 1667, the town was struck by a disastrous plague epidemic and, shortly after, a fire destroyed Oldenburg. The Danish kings, who were also counts of Oldenburg at the time, were not much interested in the condition of the town and it lost most of its former importance. In 1773, Danish rule ended. It was only then that the destroyed buildings in the city were rebuilt in a Classicist style.^[2]

In 1945 after World War II, Oldenburg grew to more than 100,000 inhabitants when refugees migrated into the city only 1.4% of which had been destroyed during World War II.^[3] In 1946, Oldenburg became part of the new German Land of Lower Saxony.

Demography

Historical population of Oldenburg

1667	1702	1769	1816	1828	1837	1855	1871
~ 4,300	~ 5,000	6,959	6,278	6,800	9,280	11,370	13,928

Points of interest

• Botanischer Garten Oldenburg, a botanical garden
• Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg

Economy and infrastructure

Traffic

Oldenburg Castle

Oldenburg castle (used as a museum today)

The city centre of Oldenburg is surrounded by a ring of freeways (Autobahnen) consisting of A28, A29 and A293. Oldenburg is at the intersection of railway lines between Norddeich-Leer-Oldenburg-Bremen and Wilhelmshaven-Oldenburg-Osnabrück with InterCity services to Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden and InterCityExpress services to Frankfurt and Munich.

Oldenburg is connected to shipping through the Küstenkanal, a ship canal connecting the rivers Ems and Weser. With 1.6 million tons of goods annually, it is the most important non-coastal harbour in Lower Saxony.

Bicycles play a very important part in personal transport.

Because of its close proximity to the city of Bremen, the city is only about half an hour drive from the Bremen Airport.

Media

• Nordwest-Zeitung, daily newspaper for the region
• Oldenburger Sonntagszeitung, Sunday newspaper
• Huntereport, published on Wednesdays and Sundays
• Mox, fortnightly information magazine
• Oldenburger Stachel, alternative monthly newspaper
• sisol, school information
• Oldenburg Eins, local semi-open TV and Radio station

Education

• Carl von Ossietzky University, founded 1973 and named after Carl von Ossietzky
• Jade Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences), founded 1971 as Fachhochschule Oldenburg, 2000−2009: joined with several others Universites of Applied Sciences to the "Fachhochschule Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven"
• RAB-Bildungszentrum für moderne Medien (University of modern Media)
• Gymnasium Graf-Anton-Guenther School
• Wirtschaftsgymnasium Oldenburg
• Liebfrauenschule Oldenburg
• Herbartgymnasium Oldenburg
• Altes Gymnasium Oldenburg
• Neues Gymnasium Oldenburg
• Gymnasium Eversten
• IGS Flötenteich
• Helene Lange Schule Oldenburg (IGS)
• Realschule Hochheider Weg
• Real - und Hauptschule Osternburg
• Realschule Ofenerdiek

Agriculture

The city is in a largely agricultural area. There are farms near and even in the city. Common agricultural activities are the cultivation of livestock (especially dairy cows and other grazing animals) and crops such as asparagus, corn, and kale.

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. ^ ^{a b}  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Anonymous (1911). "Oldenburg". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 72. http://www.archive.org/stream/encyclopdiabri20chis#page/72/mode/2up. 
3. ^ Ulrich Schneider: Niedersachsen 1945, p. 95. Hannover 1985

External links

• Official City Website
• Tourist Information
• Oldenburg Panoramas
• History of Oldenburg (German)
• Streets in Oldenburg (German)
• Oldenburg travel guide from Wikitravel