Osterwald

Osterwald
Osterwald
Location of Osterwald within Grafschaft Bentheim district
Coordinates	52°32′3″N 7°1′59″E / 52.53417°N 7.03306°E / 52.53417; 7.03306Coordinates: 52°32′3″N 7°1′59″E / 52.53417°N 7.03306°E / 52.53417; 7.03306
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Grafschaft Bentheim
Municipal assoc.	Neuenhaus
Basic statistics
Area	33.38 km2 (12.89 sq mi)
Elevation	19 m  (62 ft)
Population	1,180 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	35 /km2 (92 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	NOH
Postal code	49828
Area codes	05925, 05941, 05944, 05946

Osterwald is a community and part of the Joint Community (Samtgemeinde) of Neuenhaus in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony. The community consists of the centres of Osterwald, Alte Piccardie and Hohenkörben (Veldhausen parish).

In Osterwald are found two brooks: the Soermannsbecke and the Böltbecke, which later empty into the Lee

Neighbouring communities

Osterwald’s neighbours are Veldhausen, Neuenhaus, Grasdorf, Georgsdorf, Esche, Hohenkörben and Bimolten.

Geschichte

The name Osterwald first crops up in 14th-century documents.

Politics

The honorary mayor is Johann Diekjakobs.

Economy

Osterwald’s economic mainstay is agriculture, and its next most important source of livelihood is the petroleum industry. Moreover, many smaller businesses are to be found, such as carpenter’s shops, a driving school and a shoe shop. Once, the petroleum industry was the community’s greatest economic factor. Also built in this time was the swimming pool, whose ceiling fell in; since that time, it has not been used.

Sport

Besides a football field used by BCO n.e.V.(Bolz Club Osterwald), there is also a sport hall, where volleyball, handball, basketball and football are played.

Population

Some of the people among those locally born, mostly older people, still speak Low German.

Culture

In Osterwald there are a petroleum museum and a farming museum. At the village community house, theatre performances or children’s musicals share space with weddings and other celebrations.

Furthermore, Osterwald is also a favourite place for people to come and play the regional game known as Kloatscheeten which involves teams rolling a small wooden disk with a leaden core along roadways.

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. 

External links

• Joint Community’s webpage

This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.