Saterland (; Saterland Frisian: , ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the district of Cloppenburg, in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It is situated between the cities of Leer,

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Brem ...

, and Oldenburg. It is home to

Saterland Frisians The Saterland Frisians (german: Saterfriesen, stq, Seelterfräisen) are one of the smallest language groups in Europe. They belong to the eastern branch of the Frisian people and are thus a recognised minority within Germany. They live in the Sa ...

, who speak Frisian in addition to German. The municipality of Saterland was formed in 1974, when the smaller municipalities Strücklingen (''Strukelje'' in Saterland Frisian), Ramsloh (''Roomelse''), Sedelsberg (''Seeidelsbierich'') and

Scharrel Scharrel ( Saterland Frisian: Skäddel) is a village and former municipality in the German state of Lower Saxony. In 1974 the until then independent municipality became part of the newly formed municipality of Saterland in the District of Cloppenbu ...

(''Schäddel'') were merged.

History

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, the Saterland was a

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

y region occupying an area of about 15 km long by 1–4 km wide surrounded by

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...

es. It was settled between the 10th and 13th centuries by

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

from

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

. Being relatively isolated, the inhabitants developed their own form of the

East Frisian language East Frisian is one of the Frisian languages. Its last surviving dialect is spoken in Saterland in Germany. There were once two main dialects, ''Ems'' and ''Weser''. Weser, including the Wursten and Wangerooge dialects, held out until the 20t ...

, Saterland Frisian, which survives to this day. The "'' Saterfriesen''," as the speakers of this language are called in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, are the smallest minority recognized by the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

Notable places

On the area of the municipality of Saterland is the

VLF transmitter DHO38 The VLF transmitter DHO38 is a VLF transmitter used by the German Navy near Rhauderfehn, Saterland, Germany. It is used to transmit coded orders to submarines of the German Navy and navies of other NATO countries. DHO38 has transmitted since 198 ...

, a large VLF transmitter of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

for sending commands to

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

References

External links

*
Official site

Official site
{{Authority control Cloppenburg (district)