Hassel () is a village administered by the Lower Saxon 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 North

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 ...

. Formerly an independent municipality, it is part of the town Bergen since 1973.

Geography

It lies about south of Bergen on the B 3 federal road 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

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 ...

. It has an area of and a population of 191 inhabitants (2019). It is administratively responsible for the neighbouring hamlets of Achterberg, Grünewald and Wallerholz.

Population

Religion

Until 1971 Hassel belonged to the parish of Winsen. Then, at the request of the parishioners, they were transferred to the parish of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian in Sülze. The majority of Hassel's population are Protestant; Roman Catholic villagers come under the parish of Bergen.

Language

Hassel lies within 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 region and

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 ...

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 ...

(i.e. standard German) has become widespread and largely superseded Low German. However, amongst the older villagers Low German is still used colloquially.

History

It is not clear when the village of Hassel first came into being, but what is certain is that the first settlements appeared between Krähenberg and Ostermoor on the slopes of the glacial valley 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 ...

. Hassel was first mentioned in the records in 1298. In a list of cattle holdings in 1438 three farms are documented; in 1589 five farmsteads are named in a housebook. These three farms and two individual houses (''Kötnerhöfen'') continued to exist over the following centuries and it was not until the 19th century that further farms appeared. 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 into the farmers' ownership. One consequence of the redemption law was that the land holdings could now be freely sold. That created the right conditions for the establishment of new farmsteads. As a result, in the second half of the 19th century, a new village appeared on the ''Achterberg''.

Politics and administration

Since the 14th century Winsen was recorded as having a

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 ...

ei's office, the lowest level of administration and justice, which was presided over by a ducal

. Matters of importance that only affected Hassel 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. Since the merging of local councils as part of the Lower Saxon administrative reforms of 1971, Hassel has been part of the town of

. Hassel is represented by a local council (''Ortsrat'') and a mayor (''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 mayor, sit on the Bergen town council. The village council elects its own mayor. The current incumbent is Helmut Ebel.

Footnotes and references

Literature

*Schützenverein Hassel (Hrsg.) - 75 Jahre Schützenverein Hassel, 1924–1999

External links

Hassel online

{{authority control Villages in Lower Saxony Bergen, Lower Saxony Lüneburg Heath Celle (district)