Nordenham () is a town in the
Wesermarsch district, 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 located at the mouth (on the west bank) of the
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
river on the
Butjadingen peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
on the coast of the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
. The
seaport city of
Bremerhaven is located on the other side (east bank) of the river. The Midgard-seaport in Nordenham is the largest private-owned harbor in Germany.
Geography
Geographical location
Nordenham is located on the West Bank of the
Weser River across from
Bremerhaven along the river's mouth at the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
, north of the cities of
Bremen and
Oldenburg. The local environment is mainly
marshland, specifically
''Marsch oder Schwemmland''.
Boroughs
Nordenham is composed of 35 dorfs, each of which with a history as a separate community: Abbehausen, Abbehauser Groden, Abbehauser Hörne, Abbehauserwisch, Atens, Atenserfeld, Blexen, Blexersande, Blexerwurp, Bulterweg, Butterburg, Einswarden, Ellwürden, Enjebuhr, Esenshamm, Esenshammer Altendeich, Esenshammer Oberdeich, Esenshammergroden, Friedrich-August-Hütte, Grebswarden, Großensiel, Havendorf, Heering, Hoffe, Kloster, Moorseersand, Oberdeich, Phiesewarden, Rahden, Sarve, Schockumerdeich, Schweewarden, Schütting, Tettens, Treuenfeld, and Volkers. Two nearby islands are also part of the town: Langlütjen I und Langlütjen II.
History

Nordenham evolved from the town of Atens due to the efforts by merchant
Wilhelm Müller who traded cattle and sheep to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the late 19th century. Some of the oldest parts of the modern town area are the old villages or ''Wurtendörfer'' (roughly translated as '
terp
A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...
villages')
Blexen,
Einswarden and
Atens. Bishop
Willehad, the
Northumbrian-born missionary of the Frisians, died in
Blexen in the year 789, which is also commonly accepted to be Blexen's year of foundation. In 1407, the ''
Vredeborch'' or ''Friedeburg'' (to be translated as "peace castle") was erected by the
Hanseatic city of
Bremen, a castle (although it was probably more a kind of large fortified house) to protect interests against the rebellious inhabitants, the Rüstringer
Frisians
The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...
. The stronghold was destroyed in 1425 and it is possible that the site was later used by a monastery.
Nordenham's town founder
Wilhelm Müller later built his farm house and a restaurant on the same site. In 1959 those were demolished and the still existing community hall was built there. The town hall was built in 1953 and moved into by the local authority in January 1954.
Between 1499 and 1514, the area was conquered by the
County of Oldenburg and in 1813 by the French emperor
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, whose army shot ten local inhabitants at the church in Blexen.
On May 1, 1908 Nordenham was granted 2nd class town rights and since 1955 Nordenham is an independent town in the Wesermarsch district.
Due to government industrialisation programs in the 1960s and 1970s, various industries opened plants in Nordenham. Among others, the main industries are a nuclear power plant near
Esenshamm, which politically belongs to the neighbouring borough of Stadland, airplane construction (
Premium AEROTEC) and chemical industry. On the ''Butjadingen peninsula'' outside Nordenham people do dairy farming or work in the tourism industry.
Twin towns – sister cities
Nordenham is
twinned with:
*
Peterlee, England, United Kingdom (1981)
*
Świnoujście, Poland (1992)
*
Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France (2011)
Transport
Due to the town's location, transport connections are below par. There is a ferry to
Bremerhaven at Blexen, though it has suffered from steady declines in passenger numbers ever since the
Weser tunnel some 10 km south of Nordenham opened.
The town is connected to the regional road network by
Bundesstraße 212 which intersects with
Bundesstraße 437
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for Germany, German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled ...
near the Weser tunnel, offering connections to the
A 27 and
A 28 motorways.
Nordenham can be reached by
RegionalExpress trains;
Nordenham railway station sees hourly trains to Bremen. Nordenham has been integrated into the
Bremen S-Bahn network since its opening in 2010.
Economy
A large part of the population of the town - approximately 4,500 persons - is employed in industrial companies including
Prysmian,
Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke (NSW),
Premium Aerotec,
Rhenus Midgard,
Kronos Titan,
Xstrata
Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter o ...
and
NKT Cables
Notable people
*
Klaus Dede (1935–2018), journalist and writer
*
Roy Horn (1944–2020), German-American magician and entertainer, member of
Siegfried & Roy
*
Jürgen Rieger (1946–2009), lawyer and politician (
NPD)
*
Ina Korter (born 1955), politician (Greens) and member of the Landtag
*
Tolga CiÄŸerci (born 1992), footballer, played over 230 games
*
Tolcay CiÄŸerci (born 1995), footballer, played over 180 games
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Lower Saxony
Wesermarsch