Vechta (district)

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Vechta
Map of Lower Saxony highlighting the district Vechta
State	Lower Saxony
County seat	Vechta
Adm. region	Weser-Ems
Area	813 km²
Population	132,500 (2003)
Pop. density	163 inh./km²
Car identification	VEC
Web page	http://www.kreis-vechta.de

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

1 History
2 Geography
3 Coat of arms
4 Towns and municipalities
5 External links

[edit] History

In the 13th century the region was acquired by the bishop of Münster and became a part of his clerical state. When the clerical states of Germany were dissolved in 1803, Vechta was annexed by Oldenburg, while clerically still belonging to Münster, hence the name Oldenburger Münsterland is also used for the region (together with Cloppenburg district). The present district was established in 1945 and became a part of the newly founded state of Lower Saxony.

[edit] Geography

The countryside is generally plain. Only in the very south there is a hill chain close to the town of Damme, called the Dammer Berge. The western shore of the Dümmer lake with its adjoining fens is also part of the district.

[edit] Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays:

the arms of Oldenburg
the arms of the county of Calvelage-Ravensberg (that ruled over the region before the 13th century)
the arms of the counts of Galen (who were vassals of the bishops of Münster)

[edit] Towns and municipalities

Towns	Free municipalities
Damme Dinklage Lohne Vechta	Bakum Goldenstedt Holdorf Neuenkirchen-Vörden Steinfeld Visbek

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Landkreis Vechta, Germany

Official website (German)

	Urban and rural districts in the Federal State of Lower Saxony in Germany
Region	Hanover
Urban districts	Brunswick \| Delmenhorst \| Emden \| Oldenburg \| Osnabrück \| Salzgitter \| Wilhelmshaven \| Wolfsburg
Rural districts	Ammerland \| Aurich \| Grafschaft Bentheim \| Celle \| Cloppenburg \| Cuxhaven \| Diepholz \| Emsland \| Friesland \| Gifhorn \| Goslar \| Göttingen \| Hamelin-Pyrmont \| Harburg \| Helmstedt \| Hildesheim \| Holzminden \| Leer \| Lüchow-Dannenberg \| Lüneburg \| Nienburg \| Northeim \| Oldenburg \| Osnabrück \| Osterholz \| Osterode \| Peine \| Rotenburg \| Schaumburg \| Soltau-Fallingbostel \| Stade \| Uelzen \| Vechta \| Verden \| Wesermarsch \| Wittmund \| Wolfenbüttel