Vechta () is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
(''Landkreis'') 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 ...
,
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 bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of
Oldenburg,
Diepholz
Diepholz (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Deefholt'') is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the rivers Hunte and Lohne, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwes ...
,
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...
and
Cloppenburg
Cloppenburg (; ; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Bremen and the Dutch ...
.
History
In the 13th century the region was acquired by the
bishop of Münster and became a part of his clerical state. When the clerical states of Germany were dissolved in 1803, Vechta was given to
Oldenburg, while clerically still belonging to Münster, hence the name
Oldenburger Münsterland is also used for the region (together with Cloppenburg district). The present district was established in 1945 and became a part of the newly founded state of Lower Saxony.
In terms of political history, both Vechta and neighbouring Cloppenburg are, as one of the few historically
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
districts in an otherwise majority-protestant state, some of the most conservative areas in Germany. The federal constituency
Cloppenburg – Vechta is frequently the Christian Democratic Union's safest constituency, winning a majority in all but two elections since WWII.
Geography
The countryside is generally flat. Only in the very south there is a hill chain close to the town of
Damme
Damme () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge (Bruges). The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the villages of Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerk ...
, called the
Damme Hills (''Dammer Berge''). The western shore of Lake
Dümmer
The Dümmer () or officially Dümmer See is a large lake in southern Lower Saxony (Germany). It has a surface of 13.5 km2 and an average depth of one metre. Its elevation is 37 metres.
Dümmer is a popular resort for water sports, but a ...
with its adjoining fens is also part of the district.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays:
* the arms of
Oldenburg
* the arms of the County of Calvelage-
Ravensberg (which ruled over the region before the 13th century)
* the arms of the counts of
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...
(who were vassals of the bishops of Münster)
Cities and municipalities
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vechta (District)
Districts of Lower Saxony