Eversen (Bergen)
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Eversen is a village in the town of
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
in the northern part of
Celle district Celle () is a districts of Germany, district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Uelzen (district), Uelzen, Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn, Hanover (district), Hanover and Heide ...
on the
Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...
in the north
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
state of
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 ...
. Although Eversen was mentioned for the first time in a feudal register dating from 1330, the earliest archaeological discoveries stem from the
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
period. The village is on the edge of the
Südheide Nature Park The Südheide Nature Park ("Southern Heath Nature Park", German: ''Naturpark Südheide'') is a large protected area of forest and heathland in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany. It has been designated as a protected natur ...
and was an independent municipality until it was incorporated into the borough of Bergen in 1973. It has an area of and a population of 1,270 inhabitants (2019).


Geography


Geographical location

Eversen is located on the boundary of the
Südheide Nature Park The Südheide Nature Park ("Southern Heath Nature Park", German: ''Naturpark Südheide'') is a large protected area of forest and heathland in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany. It has been designated as a protected natur ...
about north of the town of
Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...
and about southwest of
Hermannsburg Hermannsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Celle (district), Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Südheide (municipality), Südheide. It has been a state-recognised resort t ...
on the L 240 state road that runs from Celle to Hermannsburg. The village lies on a sandy island of
loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...
in the
glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...
of the
Örtze Örtze () is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. The Örtze rises north of Munster in the ''Große Heide'' (in the ''Raubkammer'' federal forest) and, after , joins the Aller southeast of Winsen. Source and course The Örtze valley is an old ...
which was formed in the Weichselian Ice Age. It is responsible for administering the neighbouring hamlets of Feuerschützenbostel and Altensalzkoth and the farmstead of
Kohlenbach Kohlenbach is a village in the parish of Eversen which belongs to the town of Bergen on the Lüneburg Heath in Celle district in the north German state of Lower Saxony. History Kohlenbach is a farmstead on the edge of the municipality of Everse ...
. Feuerschützenbostel is about 2.5 km to the southwest, Altensalzkoth about 1.5 km southeast and Kohlenbach about 2.5 km southeast of Eversen.


Land use

Land use within the boundaries of Eversen village is shown on a 1983 usage map:


Water bodies

The
River Örtze A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...
flows through Eversen, as do two streams: the ''Mühlenbach'' which runs from north to south through the old village (''alte Dorf'') and discharges into the Örtze, and the ''Bruchbach'', which flows across the area. The ''Bruchbach'' acts as a drainage ditch but, in recent years, has also been used by the Eversen fishing club for breeding salmon.Rathmann, Franz (1998). ''Dorfbuch Eversen. Ein Haus- und Lesebuch'', 1998. p.359ff. In the ''Alter Dorf'' or "Old Village" there is a millpond belonging to the manor, ''Rittergut I'', which was created in 1638. It had an original area of just under , but was expanded in the 2nd half of the 20th century through the incorporation of other areas to . Until the beginning of the 20th century it fed the mill owned by the manor; it was subsequently used in the 1970s and 1980s for fish farming. Other water features include: a branch of the Örtze, the so-called '' Kolk''; several fish ponds in the village of Feuerschützenbostel; and, in the ''Schummelsbruch'', a wood east of the village centre, bodies of water that were established for the long-term storage of logs following a storm in 1972.


History

This section deals solely with the history of Eversen and does not cover the neighbouring hamlets incorporated into its municipal area in 1929. For histories of those hamlets see their separate articles:
Feuerschützenbostel Feuerschützenbostel is a hamlet in the town of Bergen in North Germany that belongs to the parish of Eversen. It lies 2.5 km west of Eversen and currently has 23 inhabitants. Sources *Franz Rathmann: ''Dorfbuch Eversen. Ein Haus- und Le ...
,
Altensalzkoth Altensalzkoth is a village in the Lower Saxon town of Bergen in north Germany. It belongs to the parish of Eversen in the district of Celle on the Lüneburg Heath. It lies 13 km north of Celle on the ''Landesstraße'' L 240 and currently has ...
and
Kohlenbach Kohlenbach is a village in the parish of Eversen which belongs to the town of Bergen on the Lüneburg Heath in Celle district in the north German state of Lower Saxony. History Kohlenbach is a farmstead on the edge of the municipality of Everse ...
.


Prehistoric and early historic occupation

The earliest archaeological discoveries from Eversen date to the end of the
Old Stone Age The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
. Finds of
flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
tools, as well as the remains of fireplaces, are evidence of at least periodic settlement by itinerant hunter-gatherer cultures. Numerous finds from the
Middle Stone Age The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of ...
testify to a dense settlement of the
sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
lying east of the river
Örtze Örtze () is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. The Örtze rises north of Munster in the ''Große Heide'' (in the ''Raubkammer'' federal forest) and, after , joins the Aller southeast of Winsen. Source and course The Örtze valley is an old ...
in the area of the present-day village of Sandberg. In the
New Stone Age The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide- ...
and the transition from an appropriative to a productive way of life, the sand dunes proved unsuitable for agriculture and were largely abandoned as places of settlement. Only on the so-called ''Kolk'' and on the ''Lerchberg'' is there evidence of settlers during that period. There, access to water and the relatively better quality of soil in comparison with the other sites nearby provided the essential requirements for arable farming. There are no traces of settlement in the area of the village from the
Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
, i.e. the time from about 800 BC to 400 AD.


Emergence of the village of Eversen

The emergence of the farming village of Eversen cannot be precisely dated, but it can be deduced, firstly, from the long, narrow, parallel strips of arable land (''Langstreifenfeldern'') that predominate here and, secondly, from the evolution of the village name, that Eversen appeared in the 9th century at the latest. At that time Eversen belonged to the
old Saxon Old Saxon (), also known as Old Low German (), was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Eur ...
district of Loingau. The village was not, however, mentioned in the records until 1330 where it is recorded in a deed of
enfeoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...
(''Lehnsurkunde'') under the name of ''Euersten''.


Estates

In Eversen there are three manorial estates (''Rittergüter'') to which the local farms used to belong. These farms had to pay various obligatory contributions and services to the lords of the manor (''Gutsherren''). The first estate, ''Gut I'', the so-called ''Sedelhof'', lies east of the village street. It is bordered to the north and east by mill ditches, to the west by the millpond and to the south by the river
Örtze Örtze () is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. The Örtze rises north of Munster in the ''Große Heide'' (in the ''Raubkammer'' federal forest) and, after , joins the Aller southeast of Winsen. Source and course The Örtze valley is an old ...
. It is thus entirely surrounded by water and only accessible over a wooden bridge. Due to its good location it is thought to be one on the oldest estates in Eversen. The estate was first mentioned in the records in 1424. In a deed of
enfeoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...
by the Duke of Lüneburg, a certain Carsten von Harling, amongst others, was
enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...
a farm in Eversen. Because the enfeoffment was "from time immemorial" (''von alters hero gehabt'')Rathmann, Franz. ''Dorfbuch Eversen'', p. 98ff it can be assumed that ''Gut I'' had been in the possession of the Harling family from the end of the 14th century. The estate was one of the few in the
Principality of Lüneburg The Principality of Lüneburg (later also referred to as Celle) was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory ...
that was furnished with a
keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
(''Bergfried''), or fortified tower. The present building dates from the year 1792, when the King's Council, Carl August von Harling, had a new manor house and stables built in timber-framed style. ''Gut II'', known as the ''Majorshof'', lies at the southern end of the Old Village, west of the village street. Until the 15th century it was owned by the von Hodenberg family who had allocated it as a
mesne Mesne (an Anglo-French legal form of the O. Fr. ''meien'', mod. ''moyen'', mean, Med. Lat. ''medianus'', in the middle, cf. English ''mean''), middle or intermediate, an adjective used in several legal phrases. * A mesne lord is a landlord who has ...
fief (''
Afterlehen An ''Afterlehen'' or ''Afterlehn'' ''(plural: Afterlehne, Afterlehen)'' is a fief that the liege lord has himself been given as a fief and which he has then, in turn, enfeoffed wholly or partially to a lesser vassal or vassals. The term is German. ...
'') to the Tiebermann family. In 1495 the estate was first enfeoffed to the von Harling family. The estate remained in the possession of the Tiebermann family as before, who were therefore the sub-
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s (''Aftervasallen'') of the von Harlings. When the Tiebermanns died out in the 17th century the estate was not reallocated but went to Major Anton Johann von Harling. He had the manor house built which was completed in 1686. The ''Majorshof'' ("Major's Farm") was named after him. His son inherited ''Gut II'' as well as ''Gut I'' from his uncle, so that the two estates were once again owned by one person. ''Gut III'', the ''Beckerhof'', lies in the centre of the Old Village, west of the village street. It was originally an ordinary farm that paid manorial contributions and did not achieve the status of a manorial estate until the beginning of the 17th century. As a result of a distribution of inheritance, the older line of the von Harling family, which had its seat at ''Gut I'', relinquished the estate to the so-called younger line of the family, who were thereupon incorporated into the
enfeoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...
. The current structure, a timber-framed manor house, was built in the late 18th century.


The farming village of Eversen

In 1378 a Celle tax register named three full-time farmers (''Vollbauern'') as taxpayers to the Duke of Celle. Because the register only lists those farms belonging to the duke under the manorial system, it cannot be ascertained whether, at that time, other farms already existed.Gädcke, Horst (1994). ''Eversen. Ein altes Dorf im Celler Land'', 1994. p.132 Shortly thereaftere there was a division of the three farms that were subservient to the duke into three cotter farms. In the Celle revenue record of 1381, five farms are recorded as being obligated to the Duke of Celle. In addition there was a farm belonging to Eversen's ''Gut II'', so that at that time it can be reckoned that there were 6 manorial farms under the Duke. At the beginning of the 15th century the village was further extended. The enfeoffed occupants of the Eversen estates used their land to create other farms subordinate to them. In a treasury register (''Schatzregister'') from 1438 as many as twelve people are listed as paying tribute (''Schatz''). From the tax records it can be ascertained that, at that time, there were 3 estates (''Vollhöfen'') and 9 cotters (''Kötner''). In the 16th and 17th centuries the village continued to expand. Growth halted temporarily, however, after the establishment of a cotter farm obligated to ''Gut I'' in 1692. At that stage, Eversen consisted of 22 manorial farms, a community ''Hirtenhaus'' and the three manorial estates of the von Harling family. In addition there were the houses of the small farmers and hirelings. Because they only had small holdings of land and no grazing rights on the
commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
, their occupants earned their living by working on the estates or as salt drivers for the
Sülze Saltworks The Sülze Saltworks () was a 'saline', or saltworks, on the Lüneburg Heath in Germany which was worked for centuries, from the High Middle Ages to 1862. It had a considerable impact on the history of the village of Sülze and other heath villages ...
. Unlike most of the other heath villages in the southern
Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...
, Eversen was spared from the ravages of war and pillaging or burning by hostile troops during its history. The surrounding
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 ...
s provided a natural defence for the village. However the contributions required from the farmers as a consequence of the
Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
were a heavy burden that hindered village expansion for decades and led to the abandonment of many farms. Two epidemics of the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
in 1581 and 1642 caused many deaths and the extinction of several family lines. The 19th century was characterised by extensive
agricultural reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
s. Fundamental to subsequent reforms was the general division (''Generalteilung'') of land at the beginning of the 19th century, whereby the villages were given fixed boundaries and every piece of land was allocated to a municipality ('' Gemeinde''). The amount of land around the individual villages which was allocated to them was based on the grazing rights they had held in the past. This was followed during the period 1838 to 1858 by the division of common land (''Gemeinheitsteilungen'').
Common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...
, i.e. those areas which had hitherto been shared by the community, was now transferred to the individual farms as freehold property based on their existing rights to the common land. On the basis of the
Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...
's 1833 redemption law, the obligations on farms under the
manorial system Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, ...
were repealed. Farms to which the so-called
manorial rights Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, ...
applied had been hitherto obliged to give numerous services and make frequent payments to the manor. That was now repealed on payment of 25 times the annual dues and the land was then granted under
freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...
into the farmers' ownership.Hindersmann, Ulrike. ''Der ritterschaftliche Adel im Königreich Hannover 1814-1866'' These reforms led to an agricultural boom, the evidence of which can still be seen today in the numerous farmhouses that were built at that time. Another consequence of the repealing of manorial obligations was that property could be now freely sold. That created the conditions for the establishment of new farms. In the 2nd half of the 19th century a large number of new houses appeared on the so-called ''Sandberg'' ("Sand Hill"), the part of Eversen east of the Örtze, and the population of the village grew markedly. Ninety-nine men from Eversen took part in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, 29 of whom were killed. The unrest that following the end of the war led in 1919 to a decision by the parish council to form a village defence force of 25-30 men. One year later this was disbanded and, for the next 6 months, two night watchmen were employed.


Administrative history

From the 14th century Bergen was recorded as having a vogtei's office, the lowest level of administration and justice, which was presided over by a ducal
vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...
. Subordinated to it since the 15th century was the administrative post in Sülze, which was responsible for the church parish of Sülze to which Eversen belonged. Matters of importance that only affected Eversen were discussed and decided by the ''Realgemeinde'', i.e. the farm owners who had
common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...
rights. The political reforms of the 19th century brought about a fundamental change from which the political municipality of Sülze arose. Participation in the resolution of village affairs was no longer dependent on ownership of property or land; instead every male villager over 25 had the right to vote.


Religion

Until the 16th century Eversen belonged to the parish of St. Lambert in
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
. Because the distance of made regular church attendance difficult or, in bad weather on the muddy paths, impossible, a chapel was built in 1475 at the neighbouring village of Sülze, which was overseen by the pastor at Bergen. In 1502 an endowment was given by the owner of Eversen's ''Gut I'', which gave Eversen its own rectorate. Since then Eversen has belonged to the parish of Sülze.


Eversen since 1929

In the course of a municipal reform in 1929 the hitherto independent villages of
Altensalzkoth Altensalzkoth is a village in the Lower Saxon town of Bergen in north Germany. It belongs to the parish of Eversen in the district of Celle on the Lüneburg Heath. It lies 13 km north of Celle on the ''Landesstraße'' L 240 and currently has ...
and
Feuerschützenbostel Feuerschützenbostel is a hamlet in the town of Bergen in North Germany that belongs to the parish of Eversen. It lies 2.5 km west of Eversen and currently has 23 inhabitants. Sources *Franz Rathmann: ''Dorfbuch Eversen. Ein Haus- und Le ...
and the farmstead of
Kohlenbach Kohlenbach is a village in the parish of Eversen which belongs to the town of Bergen on the Lüneburg Heath in Celle district in the north German state of Lower Saxony. History Kohlenbach is a farmstead on the edge of the municipality of Everse ...
were incorporated into the parish of Eversen. In 1934 with the change of office, Albert Buhr became the first
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
''
Bürgermeister Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...
''. In the elections to the German Reichstag 30% of the votes went to the
NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
; in 1933 this had risen to 60%. Eversen was unaffected by the hostilities
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, although a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
crashed into the garden of an Eversen farmer during an air battle in the area of
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
and Brunswick. One of the two pilots died in the crash, the other was able to save himself by
parachuting Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...
out. A total of 182 Eversen villagers took part in the war, 84 of whom died. As a result of
denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...
the former ''Bürgermeister'' resigned and several Eversen folk were classified as ''Minderbelastete''. In 1945 and 1946 the so-called logging
reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Reparation (theology), the theological concept of corrective response to God and the associated prayers for repairing the damages of sin * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for re ...
resulted in about 120,000 - 150,000 cubic metres of wood being felled in the parish of Eversen. The years after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
were characterised by an influx of refugees. In the years that followed, many new houses were built on the ''Sandberg'' and the number of inhabitants rose sharply. Whilst this growth resulted in a very different appearance in the surrounding villages, the 'old village' (''alte Dorf'') largely retained its character and appearance and, even today, is dominated by timber-framed houses. As part of the Lower Saxon regional and administrative reforms in 1973, Eversen lost its independence and, since then, has been a municipality within the borough of
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
. In 1972 Hurricane Quimburga, which destroyed 10% of the woodland area in
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 ...
, also caused considerable damage in the municipality of Eversen. The
fire on the Lüneburg Heath The fire on the Lüneburg Heath was a major forest fire in 1975 on the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath in north Germany, with various points of origin near Gifhorn, Eschede and Meinersen. To this day, it is the largest known forest fire in th ...
in 1975 destroyed large areas of woodland in the Kohlenbach, which belongs to Eversen, as well as on ''Eversen Mathheide'' heath. In 1997 another
storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
caused massive damage, during which most of the ''Gehege'', a wood adjacent to ''Gut I'' was blown down. In 1988 a television team was looking for a Lower Saxon village that had survived in its original state, with cobblestones, old farmhouses and a
corner shop A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...
. In Eversen they discovered all of these things. They wanted to film village life in the 1950s. Under the direction of Wigbert Wicker many of the scenes were filmed in the ''Gasthaus Niedersachsen'' ("Lower Saxony Inn"), a Lower Saxon house still largely preserved in its original state. The planned conversion of a shop in the village, which was also the location of many scenes, was delayed whilst filming took place. Well-known German actors and actresses such as Timothy Peach, Ulrich Pleitgen, Konstantin Graudus, Ferdinand Dux and Doris Kunstmann starred. Six episodes were filmed. The first broadcast under the name of ''Petticoat'' took place on 9 November 1989 on
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
.


Population


Growth

In 2000 Eversen had 1,426 inhabitants. Since 1821 regular censuses have been carried out that give a clear picture of the pattern of population in Eversen. The sudden rise in numbers after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
is probably due to the influx of refugees.


Language

Eversen belongs to the
Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...
language area and the
Northern Low Saxon Northern Low Saxon (in Standard German, Standard High German: ', also ', lit. ''North(ern) Low Saxon/German''; in Dutch language, Standard Dutch: ') is a subgroup of Low Saxon dialects of Low German. As such, it covers a great part of the West ...
dialect group. Since the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, however,
High German The High German languages (, i.e. ''High German dialects''), or simply High German ( ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Ben ...
has largely superseded it. However, Low German continues to be used colloquially especially amongst the older members of the village.


Religion

The majority of the Eversen population is Protestant evangelical and the parish responsible for the village is the Church of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian in Sülze. In 1993 only 90 inhabitants belonged to the
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 ...
parish in Bergen, which is responsible for Eversen. Since the influx of Kurdish families in the 1980s there has been a sizeable minority of
Yazidi Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...
s in Eversen.


Politics

Since the merging of local councils as part of the Lower Saxon administrative reforms of 1971, Eversen has been part of the town of
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
. Eversen is represented by a local council (''Ortsrat'') and a council chairman (''Ortsbürgermeister''). The council is empowered, ''inter alia'', to make decisions about public services in the village, is responsible for maintaining the appearance of the village and for overseeing its clubs and societies, and has to be consulted by the town of Bergen on all important matters affecting the village. It consists of five elected representatives who, together with the chairman, sit on the Bergen borough council. The village council elects its own chair. The current incumbent is Gerd Friedrich (CDU).


Culture


Places of interest

In the ''alten Dorf'' part of Eversen along the village street there are numerous four-post, timber-framed houses from the 19th century and which are
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s today. Opposite the ''Mühlenteich'' ("Millpond") is ''Peets Schmidt Kote'', a two-post house dating to 1754, one of the oldest, surviving farmhouses in the region. The three manor houses, with buildings from the 17th (''Gut II'') and 18th (''Gut I'' and ''Gut III)'' centuries are also protected. In the municipality of Eversen are several natural monuments including the entire group of trees at ''Gut I'' known as the ''Eichenhof'' ("Oak Grove") as well as an ancient oak, over 400 years old, on the edge of the ''Gehege''.


Realgemeinde Eversen

Until the agrarian reforms of the 19th century and the associated division of land that had previously been owned in common, those with grazing rights on these common areas were the decision makers in village affairs. In the 19th century, therefore, the ''Realgemeinde'' suffered a major loss of influence and importance, but was reformed in 1892 as a
public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
. Its task was the management of those woodlands that remained in the ownership of the village council. Its members continued to be those who were entitled to be on the council, i.e. the owners of the 21 farms and the three manorial estates. In 1974 the remaining woods were divided among the members, only one in the parish of Sülze, with an area of 72 'morgen' was left under the jurisdiction of the ''Realgemeinde''.


Societies

The Eversen Shooting Club of 1745 (''Schützenverein Eversen von 1745'') plays an important role in the village life of Eversen. It has over 470 village members and lays on numerous club events as well as the annual 'shooting festival' or ''Schützenfest''. Eversen Shooting Club also has a marching band which arranges a large number of trips and performs several marching displays every year.Rathmann, Franz (1998). ''Dorfbuch Eversen'', p. 411ff In 1969 the Eversen Angling Club (''Fischerei-Verein Eversen'') was founded; today it has over 70 members. In addition to managing a 3.5 km long section of the river Örtze, the club has rented a gravel pond in Feuerschützenbostel. On both water bodies there are regular fishing competitions. In addition the club looks after the ''Bruchbach'' in Eversen. In the Örtze attempts have been made in recent years to re-introduce the long-extinct
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
into the local rivers again. The Eversen Male Voice Choir (''Männergesangverein Eversen von 1888'') was founded in 1888 and re-activated in 2006. MGV Eversen has about 25 male singers. The amateur dramatic society founded in the 1950s and known as the ''Dorfbühne Eversen'' (Eversen Village Stage) has to date put on a play of up to 3 acts every year. The society comprises a large number of amateur actors who put a lot of effort into their hobby and persuade many Eversen villagers, including numerous young people, to go to the ''Gasthaus Niedersachsen'' every year. Since 1962 there has been a group of first-aid workers, who train in civil protection, provide first-aid at events and run blood-donation clinics. Together with the Junior Red Cross they collect and sell paper for recycling from the villagers.


Economy and Infrastructure


Economy

Today agriculture has largely lost its former importance. Apart from a few businesses which are involved in agriculture as a sideline, there is only one full-time farm left. Important economic drivers today are Landhandel Otte, an agricultural wholesalers, and the Heinrich Harling sawmill. Other medium-sized businesses in Eversen include the Klaus Otte garage, Thomas Dienelt the wrought ironmonger, Dieter Rossmann the joiner, Reinhard Peisker the timber-framing specialists, Ulrike Preusse the hairdressing salon and Norbert Herrmann the villager bakery. In recent years tourism has also become increasingly important. Within the municipality of Eversen, the village of Altensalzkoth is home to the ''Hotel Helm'', Feuerschützenbostel has a country café, the ''Mielmannshof'', and Feuerschützenbostel Manor House rents holiday apartments.


Transport

Eversen lies on state road (''Landesstraße'') L 240 which runs from Celle to Hermannsburg. From 1902 to 1975 Eversen Station was part of a minor railway line (''
Kleinbahn The term ''Kleinbahn'' (literally 'small railway', plural: ''Kleinbahnen'') was a light railway concept used especially in Prussia for a railway line that "on account of its low importance for general railway transport" had less strict requirements ...
'') that linked the village with the town of Bergen and, following an upgrade of the line in later years, also with
Hermannsburg Hermannsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Celle (district), Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Südheide (municipality), Südheide. It has been a state-recognised resort t ...
and
Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...
. Buses on the
Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...
-
Faßberg Faßberg (ang. Fassberg) is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 35 km north of Celle, and 30 km west of Uelzen. History :''The pre-war history of Fassberg air base includes a n ...
route operated by
CeBus Gracile capuchin monkeys are capuchin monkeys in the genus ''Cebus''. At one time all capuchin monkeys were included within the genus ''Cebus''. In 2011, Jessica Lynch Alfaro ''et al.'' proposed splitting the genus between the robust capuchin ...
stop several times a day in Eversen and link the place with the surrounding villages.


Education

The first indications of a
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
in Eversen date to the year 1673 when the
schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...
, Friedrich Bussmann, was mentioned in a historical record. Teaching took place in the teacher's private residence who lived in the ''Hirtenhaus'' belonging to the village community. Not until 1820 did Eversen get its own school building, but this had to be demolished only 67 years later due to its dilapidated state. Its successor, completed in 1884, was used as a school until 1950. But when school numbers increased, particularly as a result of the influx of
refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
, a new building needed. Since then this has housed the Eversen
Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
(''Grundschule''), where 4 teachers educate an average of 80 children.Rathmann, Franz (1998). ''Dorfbuch Eversen'', p. 249ff


Kindergarten

Prior to the 1990s the
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
in Sülze and a children's play group run by the German Red Cross in Sandbergsfeld were responsible for children in Eversen. The increasing number of children would have entailed an expansion of the Sülze facility; instead it was decided to build a new kindergarten in Eversen in the 1990s. The new kindergarten is in the middle of the village and has places for about 50 children, looked after by 2 child care workers and 2 nursery nurses. On 1 February 1995 the facility was opened.


Sewage works

Until the 1960s individual farms were responsible for their own
waste disposal Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final Waste disposal, disposal. This includes the Waste collection, collection, transport, Sewage treatment, treatm ...
. As part of the expansion of the road network in the early 1960s, however, work began on a
sewage system Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and screen ...
that enabled centralised waste disposal for the first time. In 1965 the municipalities of Eversen and Sülze agreed to establish a
sewage farm Sewage farms use sewage for irrigation and fertilizing agricultural land. The practice is common in warm, arid climates where irrigation is valuable while sources of fresh water are scarce. Suspended solids may be converted to humus by microbes an ...
, which went into operation in 1973. In the course of the years the neighbouring villages of Diesten, Huxahl, Offen, Altensalzkoth and Hassel were also added to the sewage system.Rathmann, Franz (1998). ''Dorfbuch Eversen'', p. 380f


People

*
Henning Otte Henning Otte (born 1968) is a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) who has been serving as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces of Germany since 2025. Early life and career Otte was born o ...
(1968 −, politician,
MdB Member of the German Parliament () is the official name given to a deputy in the German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichstag building in Berlin. In German a m ...
* Gert G. von Harling (1945 −, hunting author *
Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 â€“ 1 Ju ...
(19 March 1906 in Solingen - 1 June 1962 in Ramleh/Tel Aviv, Israel) lived from 1946 to 1950 in Altensalzkoth.


Footnotes and references


Literature

*Gädcke, Horst (1994). ''Eversen. Ein altes Dorf im Celler Land'', 1994. *Rathmann, Franz (1998). ''Dorfbuch Eversen. Ein Haus- und Lesebuch'', 1998.


External links


History of the village of Eversen
{{authority control Villages in Lower Saxony Bergen, Lower Saxony Lüneburg Heath Celle (district)