Ochtrup () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

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 approximately 20 km west of

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

and 20 km east of

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

History

An early mention of the town was „Ohtepe“ (the eastern Epe or Ostepe) in the year 1143. A Christian church was established there in 1203. Between November 25 and November 30, 2005, the town was often off the German power grid, and was the topic of national news. The cause was a heavy snow storm with very wet snow. The power poles and cables between Gronau and Ochtrup were encrusted with a thick layer of ice. Due to the increased weight and the heavy storm most power poles toppled. Emergency generators from all regions of Germany were installed and operated in the following days and weeks. Dairy farmers were economically impacted as were other companies in the area. The collapse of the power poles, even today, is not completely understood. Some were 65 years old and rusted, but some were newer and constructed with special steel. Politicians in North Rhine-Westphalia blamed the power company,

RWE RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the United States. In July 2020, RWE completed a far-reaching asset swap deal with E.ON first ...

for failure to replace older poles.

Sights

*The pottery museum of Ochtrup is in the house of an old pottery family whose name was Eiling. The authentic furniture shows the visitor how people lived in the 19th and the 20th century. The oldest objects dating from the 14th /15th century are restored Blackwood ware. The “Ochtruper Nachtigall” and the “Siebenhenkeltopf” are the most interesting objects. In the past, the “Siebenhenkeltopf” was a chamber pot with seven identical handles. *St. Lamberti Church is a Catholic church in a neogothic style which was inaugurated in 1873. *''Stüwwenkopp'' dating from 1593 is an old weir in the town center which was a part of the medieval

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

of Ochtrup. Originally, Ochtrup was a village which developed around Saint Lamberti Church. In the Middle Ages, however, Ochtrup was transformed into a fortification surrounded by a moat and a wall. The dimension of the fort can still be seen on the present town maps as its borders were formed by the streets ''Nordwall'', ''Ostwall'', ''Südwall'' and ''Westwall'' which still surround the town center. The German word ''Wall'' means moat. Ochtrup as a fortification was meant to defend the trade road between Rheine and

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

, and as such the town was attacked and conquered various times, e.g. in 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 History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. *The Jewish Cemetery of Ochtrup is in the Eastern part of the town. The oldest tomb dates from 1824.

Twin Towns

Ochtrup is twinned with: * Flag of Spain

Valverde del Camino Valverde del Camino is a town in the Huelva (province), Huelva province of Spain. As of 2008 it has 12,000 inhabitants. It is known for its production of ''vaquero''-style leather boots, specifically of the ''campero'' style, and for its whole lea ...

(

Huelva Huelva ( , , ) is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the Huelva (province), province of Huelva, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits betwee ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) -- since 1991

References

External links

* Steinfurt (district) {{Steinfurt-geo-stub