Esperke is a village in

Hanover Region Hanover Region () is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Heidekreis, Celle (district), Celle, Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn, Peine (district), Peine, Hildeshe ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

in Germany. It is part of the town

Neustadt am Rübenberge Neustadt am Rübenberge (; ) is a town in the Hanover (district), district of Hannover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. At , it is the 9th largest settlement in Germany by area (following Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne), though only about 45,000 inhabita ...

. In 2021 it had a population of 701. Esperke and the neighbouring districts of Helstorf, Luttmersen, Vesbeck and Warmeloh are part of the ''Ortsrat'' Helstorf (Helstorf local council) area.

History

The first written mention of Esperke, at the time spelled ''Esperch'', was in the year 1268.Ehlich, Hans: ''Bauern Bürger brennende Dörfer'', Nr. 4 der Calenberger Blätter, Wunstorf: Oppermann Verlag, S. 131 Esperke provided the core immigrants to the

Hanoverian The adjective Hanoverian is used to describe: * British monarchs or supporters of the House of Hanover, the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901 * things relating to; ** Electorate of Hanover ** Kingdom of Hanover ** Province of ...

settlement in Freedom Township,

Lafayette County, Missouri Lafayette County is a County (United States), county in the western portion of Missouri, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 32,984. Its county seat is Lexington, Misso ...

, USA during the period 1837–1860. Under a local government reform in 1974, the area became part the ''Stadt'' ("city") of

Politics

The ''Ortsbürgermeisterin'' (local mayor) is Ute Bertram Kuehn ( SPD). The other members of the ''Ortsrat'' are Peter Kruger, Jens Metterhausen (both CDU) and Hans-Heinrich Thies (SPD). The council's liaison officer for Esperke is Otto Brackhan.

Blazon

The coat of arms features a golden sailboat on a green background.

Culture and sights

* Esperke has a small Gothic chapel. * The Blankes Flat nature reserve in Esperke-Warmeloh features a

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

lake, along with rare plant and animal life.

People

Heinrich Feisthauer spent the last years of his life in Esperke.

References

Former municipalities in Lower Saxony Neustadt am Rübenberge