Diepholz (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Deefholt'') is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated on the rivers Hunte and Lohne, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwest of Bremen. It was the capital of the sovereign County of Diepholz and the principal seat of the Noble Lords, later Counts, of Diepholz.

Administrative division

Diepholz consists of the core city of Diepholz (44.59 km²), which comprises several boroughs, as well as the incorporated villages of Aschen (32.01 km²), Sankt Hülfe (15.75 km²) and Heede (12.12 km²). Aschen is located 4 km north of the core town of Diepholz between the Federal Roads B 69 and the B 51. There is the local museum of Aschen, where large and small agricultural equipment, household items and workshops are displayed.

Politics

City Council

The City Council of Diepholz consists of 32 councilwomen and councilmen. This is the prescribed number for a municipality with a population between 15,001 and 20,000 inhabitants. Council members are elected for five-year terms through a local election. In addition to the 32 members elected in the municipal council election, the full-time mayor also has voting rights in the council. The results of the 2021 local election led to the following seat distribution: * CDU: 12 seats * SPD: 9 seats * FDP: 4 seats * GREENS: 4 seats * LEFT: 1 seat * AfD: 2 seats

Mayor

On 10 June 2018 Florian Marré (independent), supported by the CDU and FDP, was elected as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in a runoff election with 50.65% of the votes, succeeding Thomas Schulze.

Religion

According to the census conducted in 2011, 59.1% of the city's inhabitants were Evangelical Christians, 13.3% were

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and 27.6% were irreligious, belonged to a different religious community or preferred not to say. On 31 December 2019, of 17.577 inhabitants, 47.3% were Evangelical Christians, 18.9% Roman Catholic and 33.8% of other confessions, or irreligious.

Notable people

Notable people associated with Diepholz include: Zygfryd Kuchta

* Marianne of Sweden (died after 1285), Swedish Princess and countess consort of Diepholz * Rudolf van Diepholt ( – 1455), bishop of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and bishop of Osnabrück * Georg Moller (1784–1852), architect and town planner who worked in the South of Germany, mostly in Hesse. * Fritz Klatte (1880–1934), German chemist, discovered polyvinyl acetate * Eva Leo (1901–1998 in Dubuque, Iowa), German Master Metal Sculptor * Zygfryd Kuchta (born 1944), Polish handball player, team bronze medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics * Klaus Schlichte (born 1963), political scientist and professor

Climate

References

Diepholz (district) {{Diepholz-geo-stub