| Meppen | |
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Meppen
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Location of the town of Meppen within Emsland district
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| Coordinates | |
| Administration | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Emsland |
| Town subdivisions | 7 Stadtteile and 13 villages |
| Mayor | Jan Erik Bohling (CDU) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 188.48 km2 (72.77 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Population | 34,944 (31 December 2010)[1] |
| - Density | 185 /km2 (480 /sq mi) |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | EL |
| Postal code | 49716 |
| Area code | 05931 |
| Website | www.meppen.de |
Meppen is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund-Ems canal (DEK). The name stems from the word Mappe, meaning "delta".
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The town lying on the mouth of the Hase into the Ems in the central part of the Emsland between the cities of Lingen and Papenburg.
Lying about 12 miles (20 km) from the Dutch border, the town has an area of 188.45 km² and is 15 m above sea level. The population was 34,196 as of 30 June 2005.
Quarters of Meppen:
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1. Altstadt |
Following villages are situated in Meppen:
In 1974, 13 independent municipalities in the close vicinity of the town were integrated into Meppen.
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Meppen, formerly a fortified town, boasts 12 centuries of history.
The first documented mention of Meppen is in 834, in a deed of donation by Frankish emperor Louis the Pious, transferring a missionary establishment of that name to the abbey of Corvey.
945 -- Emperor Otto the Great grants the town the rights to mint coins and collect tolls, followed in 946 by market rights.
1252 -- Countess Jutta von Vechta-Ravensberg sells her possessions to the Bishop of Münster. Meppen becomes part of the Niederstift Münster.
1360 -- Meppen is granted the right to build city fortifications by Bishop Adolf of Münster, and thereby, town rights. Over the next three centuries until 1660, Meppen is built up as a fortified town.
1762 -- at the end of the Seven Years' War, the fortifications are demolished. Some walls remain standing today, however.
1803 -- Resolutions of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss assign Meppen to Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg, to compensate for the loss of his possessions on the west bank of the Rhine. Meppen becomes the capital of the dukedom of Arenberg.
1811 -- Meppen is incorporated into the First French Empire as a cantonal seat.
1813 -- 1814 -- Occupation by Prussia.
1814 -- 1815 -- Resolutions of the Congress of Vienna assign Meppen and the Arenburg dukedom to the Kingdom of Hanover.
1855 -- Meppen connected to the Hannoverschen Westbahn railway line upon its opening.
1866 -- Hanover becomes a province of Prussia.
Since November 16, 1944 about 2,500 inmates of the Neuengamme concentration camp were transported to a prisoner of war camp in the quarter Versen. They are forced to build the so called Friesenwall. On March 25, 1945 the SS cleared the camp and the inmates were forced to walk toward Bremen together with the inmates of the Dalum camp. Most of them were deported back to the Neuengamme camp, some were transported to Sandbostel camp Stalag X-B.[2] The camp in Versen is listed as no. 927 Meppen-Versen in the official German list.[3]
1946 -- The state of Prussia is abolished after the Second World War. Meppen becomes part of the newly created Land of Lower Saxony.
1977 -- District reforms in Lower Saxony unite the former districts of Lingen, Meppen and Aschendorf-Hümmling in the district of Emsland, with Meppen as administrative seat.
(*including the villages belonging to the city of Meppen)
| Year | Inhabitants | Year | Inhabitants | Year | Inhabitants | Year | Inhabitants |
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| 1821* | 4.815 | 1848* | 5.130 | 1905* | 7.687 | 1939* | 15.045 |
| 1950* | 19.141 | 1971* | 27.305 | 1990 | 30.508 | 2005 | 34.196 |
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