Ammerland is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

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 betwe ...

. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

and the districts of

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 ...

, Leer,

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and Wesermarsch.

History

The "Ammerland" was first mentioned in the 10th century. The word is believed to derive from ''Ameri'', which is an old word meaning "swamp". In the time of

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

raids small ring-like castles were built in order to protect the defenceless hamlets. For many years there was little interest in this swampy region. In the 14th century it became part of the

County of Oldenburg The County of Oldenburg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1448 Christian I of Denmark (of the House of Oldenburg), Count of Oldenburg became King of Denmark, and later King of Norway and King of Sweden. One of his grandsons, Adolf, Duk ...

. The counts established strongholds in the region, which was the frontier against the lands of the untamable Frisians. The district was established in 1933 in the rough borders of the historical region.

Geography

Ammerland is characterised by a very flat countryside, many fens and swamps, and many

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

s. The latter are a symbol of the district, which calls itself sometimes the "land of windmills". The central point of the district is the

Zwischenahner Meer is a lake in Ammerland, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is at an elevation of approximately 5 meters, and has a surface area of 5.5 km2. The town of Bad Zwischenahn is located on the southern end of the lake, Rostrup on the western end, and Dreiber ...

located near the resort town of

Bad Zwischenahn Bad Zwischenahn ( Low German: ''Twüschenahn'') is a town and a municipality in the low-lying Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is on Zwischenahner Meer, approximately 15 km northwest of Oldenburg and about 70 km south ...

, a lake with an area of 5.5 km² (''Meer'' is the German word for "sea", but in the local Low German, as in Dutch, it means "lake").

Coat-of-arms

The

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...

displays: * top left: the red stripes from the arms of the counts of

* top right: the golden cross of the County of Bentinck (1733-1818 in

Varel Varel () is a town in the district of Friesland, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Jade River and the Jade Bight, approximately south of Wilhelmshaven and north of Oldenburg. With a population of 23,984 (2020) it is the bigge ...

; Wiefelstede was a part of this county) * bottom left: the acorn symbolising the common

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s of the Ammerland * bottom right: the red zigzag lines are an ancient symbol of the Ammerland Its

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

is: "Quarterly Or and Azure, I: two bars Gules; II: a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

Or; III: an oak stem with

leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

and acorn Or; IV: two bars dancetty Gules".

Cities and municipalities

References

External links

*
Parklandschaft Ammerland Tourism website

{{Authority control Districts of Lower Saxony