Varel () is a town in the district of Friesland, 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 situated near the Jade River and the

Jade Bight The Jade Bight (also known as ''Jade Bay''; , ) is a bight or bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as (the) Jade or Jahde. Because of the very low input of freshwater, it is classified as a bay rather than an e ...

, approximately south of

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

and north of

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places * Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony * Ol ...

. With a population of 23,984 (2020) it is the biggest town in the district of Friesland.

Geography

Varel is located south of the Jade Bight at the North Sea on the

Geest Geest (, , ) is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outw ...

. Over time, the city expanded into lower areas as the construction of dykes helped to secure these areas from

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

s. The environment of Varel is shaped by agriculture, forests and the sea.

Neighbour municipalities

Jade in the district of

Wesermarsch Wesermarsch is a ''Districts of Germany, Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Neighboring are (from the east clockwise) the districts of Cuxhaven (district), Cuxhaven and Osterholz, the city of Bremen in the state ...

is the Eastern neighbour municipality of Varel. In the South of Varel one will find the municipalities

Rastede Rastede (Low German: ''Raastäe/Raas'') is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 12 km north of Oldenburg. It is the site of the Schloss Rastede. The Rastede railway station is ...

and

Wiefelstede Wiefelstede (Low German: ''Wiefelstä'') is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km northwest of Oldenburg. It is home to Brötje Automation GmbH, an automated aircraft assembl ...

which are part of the district of

Ammerland Ammerland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Oldenburg and the districts of Oldenburg, Cloppenburg, Leer, Friesland and Wesermarsch. History The "Ammerland" was first mention ...

. The municipality of

Bockhorn Bockhorn may refer to: *Bockhorn, Bavaria, in the district of Erding, Bavaria, Germany *Bockhorn, Lower Saxony, in the district of Friesland, Lower Saxony, Germany * Bockhorn (Walsrode), a parish in the district of Heidekreis, Lower Saxony, Germany ...

is located in the West of Varel. Bockhorn is also part of the district of Friesland.

Segmentation of the city

Varel is segmented into 21 localities. Besides the downtown area these are Altjührden, Borgstede, Büppel, Dangast, Dangastermoor, Grünenkamp, Hohelucht, Hohenberge, Jeringhave, Jethausen, Langendamm, Moorhausen, Neudorf, Neuenwege, Obenstrohe, Rallenbüschen, Rosenberg, Seghorn, Streek and Winkelsheide. Further villages in the municipality are Almsee, Bramloge, Brunne, Jethausermoor, Logemoor, Plaggenkrug, Rahling, Rotenhahn, Schwarzenberg, Tange, Vareler Schleuse and Wilkenhausen.

Usage of areas

A little more than three fourths of the area of Varel is agricultural land. The size of the forest – around ten percent of the total size – is remarkably high for a city at the North Sea coast.

Castle church

The castle church is the oldest building in Varel. The first part of the church is believed to have been built in 1144. The tower was added between 1200 and 1250, originally as twin towers, which were rebuilt in today's form first in 1651 and then in 1737. The altar, font and pulpit were carved in 1613 – 1618 by

Ludwig Münstermann Ludwig Münstermann (c. 1560 or 1575 – 1638/39) was a German sculptor and master woodcarver from either Hamburg or Bremen. He worked in numerous churches and was a leading exponent of the North German Mannerist style in sculpture. Life and c ...

. The altar is nearly high and is one of the main works of Northern German

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

. Before the Protestant Reformation, the patron saint was Saint Peter. Today, the castle church is a Lutheran church, with no patron saint. The church was formerly one of the buildings of the castle, which was demolished in the 19th century soon after a fire destroyed most parts of it.

Notable people

Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg (4 August 17155 February 1800), was the ruling Countess of Varel and Kniphausen,Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser IV. "Portland". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1956, pp. 484-485. (German). adjacent lord ...

(1715–1800), ruling Countess of Varel and confidante of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

and

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

Johann Gerhard Oncken Johann Gerhard Oncken (26 January 1800 - 2 January 1884) was a pioneer German Baptist preacher, variously referred to as the "Father of Continental Baptists", the "Father of German Baptists" and the "Apostle of European Baptists". Oncken, Gottfrie ...

(1800–1884), founder of the German and continental European Baptist churches *

Lothar Meyer Julius Lothar Meyer (19 August 1830 – 11 April 1895) was a German chemist. He was one of the pioneers in developing the earliest versions of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (his chief rival) an ...

(1830–1895), developed modern

periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...

of the elements independently of

Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev ( ; ) was a Russian chemist known for formulating the periodic law and creating a version of the periodic table of elements. He used the periodic law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known ele ...

. *

Oskar Emil Meyer Oskar may refer to: People * Oskar (given name), a masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Jón Óskar (1921–1998), Icelandic poet * Lee Oskar (born 1948), Danish harmonica player, a founding memb ...

(1834–1909), physicist, studied the viscosity of gases. *

Frederick Ludwig Hoffman Frederick Ludwig Hoffman (May 2, 1865 – February 23, 1946) was an American statistician known for his work on public health issues. He is also notable for his promotion of scientific racism. Biography Hoffman was born ''Friedrich Ludwig Hoffma ...

(1865–1946), statistician. *

Wilhelm Hegeler Wilhelm Hegeler (25 February 1870 in Varel, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg – 8 October 1943 in Irschenhausen) was a German novelist. Biography He studied law at the universities of Munich, Geneva and Berlin, traveled extensively, and returned t ...

(1870–1943), writer and novelist. *

Friedrich Wegener Friedrich Wegener (7 April 1907, Varel – 9 July 1990, Lübeck, ) was a German pathologist who is notable for being a high-ranking Nazi physician and for his description of a rare disease originally referred to Wegener disease and now referred ...

(1907–1990), Nazi pathologist, studied

granulomatosis with polyangiitis Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly known as Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), after Nazi German physician Friedrich Wegener, is a rare, long-term, systemic disorder that involves the formation of granulomas and vasculitis, inflammatio ...

Hildegard Behrens Hildegard Behrens (9 February 1937 – 18 August 2009) was a German operatic soprano with a wide repertoire including Wagner, Weber, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg roles. She performed at major opera houses around the world, and receiv ...

(1937–2009), singer (dramatic soprano) *

Hans-Paul Bürkner Hans-Paul Bürkner (born 1952) is a German management consultant, and a managing director, senior partner, and global chair emeritus of the Boston Consulting Group. Bürkner was President & CEO from 2004 to 2012, and was the firm's first European ...

(born 1951), CEO of the

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the "Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three" (or MBB, the world's three large ...

Heiko Daxl Heiko Daxl (21 September 1957 – 21 May 2012) was a German media artist, exhibition curator, art gallery owner and design / art collector. Born in Oldenburg, Germany, he lived and worked in Berlin and Zagreb. Life Until 1976 he grew up i ...

(1957–2012),

media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies. It comprises virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D ...

ist, exhibition

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, art gallery owner and design / art collector; grew up locally *

Massiv in Mensch Massiv in Mensch is a German industrial musical duo made up of Daniel Logemann and Mirco Osterthun (Varel/Germany). They have signed to swedish Katyusha Label in 2017. When they play live, they use additional support from Jonathan Millat, Muck ...

(founded in 1996), Industrial music duo

Sport

Carl Carls Carl Carls (16 September 1880, Varel – 11 September 1958, Bremen) was a German chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game ...

(1880–1958), chess champion *

Ines Varenkamp Ines Varenkamp (born 15 November 1963) is a German former professional racing cyclist. She won the German National Road Race Championship in 1988. She also rode at the 1984 Summer Olympics and 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics ...

(born 1963), cyclist * Markus Eichler (born 1982), cyclist *

Deniz Undav Deniz Undav (born 19 July 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for club VfB Stuttgart and the Germany national team. Club career Early career (2002–2020) Undav, who grew up in Achim, played for TSV Achim before jo ...

(born 1996), footballer who has played over 260 games *

Esther Henseleit Esther Henseleit (born 14 January 1999) is a German professional golfer and member of the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. She won the silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Amateur career Henseleit attended Freie Waldorfschule Ol ...

(born 1999),

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

International relations

Varel is twinned with: *

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

(

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

)Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce
, 5 June 2002; retrieved on 11 September 2009.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Port cities and towns of the North Sea Friesland (district) Grand Duchy of Oldenburg