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.

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]

Contents

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

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

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
  1. Cloppenburg
  2. Friesoythe
  3. Löningen
  1. Barßel
  2. Bösel
  3. Cappeln
  4. Emstek
  5. Essen
  1. Garrel
  2. Lastrup
  3. Lindern
  4. Molbergen
  5. Saterland

References

  1. ^ "Bevölkerungsdichte der kreisfreien Städte und Landkreise - Stand 31.12.2010" (in German). Landesbetrieb für Statistik und Kommunikationstechnologie Niedersachsen. July 2011. http://www.lskn.niedersachsen.de/download/59963. 
  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 [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Landkreis_Cloppenburg Landkreis Cloppenburg] at Wikimedia Commons
   Urban and rural districts in the state of Lower Saxony in Germany   
Region
Urban districts
Rural districts