The Emsigerland, or Emderland was a historic region on the western edge of
East Frisia
East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...
by the
Wadden Sea
The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...
, which covered a wide area around the town of
Emden
Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...
. The Emsigerland borders in the north on the
Federgau, in the northeast on the
Brokmerland in the east on the
Moormerland
Moormerland is a municipality in the Leer (district), Leer District, in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany.
History
Moormerland was created on January 1, 1973 by uniting eleven independent municipalities. The eleven constituent Ortschaft, Ortsc ...
and in the south on the
Rheiderland
The Rheiderland (; ) is a region of Germany and the Netherlands between the River Ems and the Bay of Dollart. The German part of the Rheiderland lies in East Frisia, west of the Ems. The Dutch part (written: ''Reiderland'') lies in the Dutch pr ...
.
The Emsigerland was based on a historic territorial parish (''Landesgemeinde''), the
Emsgau, and formed its economic centre. Unlike the rest of East Frisia, no system of chieftains was established here; the lands of the Emsgo including the Emsigerland remained autonomous. That changed in 1379, when the region passed into the possession of the
tom Brok
The tom Brok family (, also: tom Broke, tom Brook, tom Broek, ten Brok, ten Broke; equivalent to Dutch , "at the marsh") were a powerful East Frisian chieftains, East Frisian line of chieftains, originally from the Norderland on the North Sea coas ...
s, whose inheritance then passed to the
Cirksena
The House of Cirksena was the ruling family of East Frisia (). They descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel.
East Frisia
In 1439, in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Emden was first ...
.
[Hajo van Lengen (Hrsg.): ''Die Friesische Freiheit des Mittelalters – Leben und Legende'', Verlag Ostfriesische Landschaft, Aurich 2003, p. 69, ]
References
History of East Frisia
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