
Oldenburg () is a former state in northwestern Germany whose capital was
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 ...
. The region gained its independence in the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
. It survived the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
as an independent country, formed part of the
German Confederation
The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...
, and was a member state of the
German Reich
German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...
from 1871 to 1946.
Geography: Oldenburg Land
The Oldenburgish state has been joined to numerous distant
exclaves
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
over time. Additionally, the country was governed for a long time by
Danish rulers.
Oldenburg Land
Oldenburg Land () is a region and regional association in the German state of Lower Saxony in the area of the former Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (1815–1918), the later Free State of Oldenburg (1918–1946) and administrative district of Oldenburg ...
is used to designate in a narrower sense the northern, older part of the Grand Duchy, especially the territory of the old County of Oldenburg. The southern part of the country added in 1803 is called
Oldenburg Münsterland
The Oldenburg Münsterland, otherwise called Oldenburger Münsterland or Oldenburgisches Münsterland, is a region in Lower Saxony, Germany and the administrative area that comprises the Districts of Germany, federal districts of Cloppenburg and ...
. To this was added
Landwürden, lying to the east of the Weser. In no case were the exclaves that belonged to Oldenburg until 1937 included under the name of Oldenburg Land, nor were the
Principality of Lübeck, part of Oldenburg after 1773 (later
Kreis Eutin, currently part of
Ostholstein
Ostholstein (; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Stormarn, Segeberg and Plön, the Baltic Sea and the city of Lübeck. Geographically, the district covers the vas ...
) or the
Principality of Birkenfeld
The Principality of Birkenfeld (), known after 1919 as the Region of Birkenfeld (), was an exclave of the Grand Duchy and then the Free State of Oldenburg from 1817 until 1937, when it was incorporated into Prussia. It was located in the Nahe reg ...
(part of Oldenburg after 1817, belonging to the
Nahe region).
History
County of Oldenburg (1108–1774)
In the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
Oldenburg was a county that developed around the settlement of Oldenburg, (first attested in 1108) and in the course of history gained control of a wider area. The
Counts of Oldenburg
image:BlasonChristian Ier (1143-1167), comte d'Oldenbourg.svg, 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg
image:Blason Gérard VI (1430-1500), comte d'Oldenbourg et de Delmenhorst.svg, 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst
This is a ...
stemmed from a Frisian princely house. At first vassals of the
Welf Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
prince
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty.
Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...
, they took advantage of his deposition by
Emperor Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...
to make themselves autonomous. The first Oldenburgs belonged to the line of the
Rüstringen
Rüstringen or Rustringen was an old Frisian gau (country subdivision), gau, which lies between the modern district Friesland (district), Friesland and the Weser river in modern Lower Saxony. Nowadays, only a small part of the original territory re ...
Frisians. In 1234 the county was acquired by the also Frisian
Stedingen
Stedingen is an area north of Bremen in the delta of the Weser river in north-western Germany.
Founding
In 1106, five Dutchmen journeyed from the mouth of the Rhine to Bremen to negotiate an arrangement with Archbishop Frederick I of Bremen to ...
s, later by other Frisian territories (Butjadingen, Rüstringen, Wurden) and finally in 1575 came into the possession of the
Lordship of Jever
The Lordship of Jever () was a historical state within the Holy Roman Empire located in what is now the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany.
The Lordship of Jever emerged in the late Middle Ages when Edo Wiemken the Elder, a chiefta ...
. Oldenburg gained importance when
Count Dietrich of Oldenburg († 1440) married
Hedvig of Holstein
Hedvig of Holstein (, ; 1398–1436) was a duchess of Schleswig and a countess of Holstein from the family of Schauenburg.
She was the mother of King Christian I of Denmark and ancestor of the Danish Royal houses of Oldenburg and Schleswig-Hol ...
, daughter of
Gerhard VI of Schleswig-Holstein-Rendsburg. Dietrich's younger son carried on the line of Oldenburg counts, which died out in 1667. The elder son, Christian, was elected King
Christian I
Christian I ''(Christiern I)'' (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he ...
of
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
in 1448 and Lord of
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...
and
Holstein
Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany.
Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...
in 1460. In 1667 this line acquired Oldenburg as well, which thereby was joined in
personal union
A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
with the Danish crown. The lordships of Jever and
Kniphausen were not affected. The Lordship of Jever was willed by
Anthony Günther, Count of Oldenburg
Anthony Günther, Count of Oldenburg (aka Anton Günther, 10 November 158319 June 1667) was an Imperial Count and a member of the House of Oldenburg.
Early life and ancestry
Günther was born in Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg, into the House of Ol ...
to the
Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst
Anhalt-Zerbst was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania, with its residence at Zerbst in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision of the Principality of Anhalt from 1 ...
and in 1795 fell by ''
Kunkellehen'' (female inheritance) to the
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n empress
Catherine the Great
Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
.
Duchy of Oldenburg (1774–1810)
Through a territorial trade, the County of Oldenburg was assigned in the
Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo
The Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo ( Danish: ''Traktaten i Zarskoje Selo'', Russian: ''Царскосельский договор'') also called ''Mageskiftetraktakten'' in Danish, was a territorial and dynastic treaty between the Russian Empire and ...
on the 27th of August, 1773, to the head of the
House of Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, a side ...
, the future Emperor
Paul I of Russia
Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801.
Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...
, who four days later transferred the country to his cousin
Frederick August, the Prince-bishop of Lübeck, who was then promoted by Emperor
Joseph II
Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...
to the rank of duke in 1774/1777. The duchy thus consisted of two geographically separate parts: Oldenburg proper and the
Prince-bishopric of Lübeck
The Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, () was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire until 1803. Originally ruled by Roman-Catholic bishops, after 1586 it was ruled by lay administrators and bishops who were members of the Protestant ...
with the
Residenz
''Residenz'' () is a German word for "domicile", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, ''Residenzstadt'', denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, and thus carries a similar meaning to the contemp ...
of
Eutin
Eutin () is the district capital of Ostholstein, Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of December 2022, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants.
History
The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic ...
. In 1785 Frederick August died. His nephew
Peter Frederick Louis accepted the successorship and regency for Frederick August's mentally ill son
Peter Frederick William as coadjutor. Under him Oldenburg again became a Residenz. In the
Reichsdeputationshauptschluss
The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...
of 1803 Oldenburg obtained the
Hanoverian
The adjective Hanoverian is used to describe:
* British monarchs or supporters of the House of Hanover, the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901
* things relating to;
** Electorate of Hanover
** Kingdom of Hanover
** Province of ...
district of
Wildeshausen
Wildeshausen (; Low Saxon: ''Wilshusen'') is a town and the capital of the Oldenburg district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated by the river Hunte.
History
In the 1648 Peace of Westphalia which ended the Thirty Years' War Sweden gained lar ...
and the districts of
Vechta
Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta.
It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every ...
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 ...
from the dissolved
Prince-Bishopric of Münster
The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (, or ) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, ...
in compensation for losing the
Elsfleth Weser Toll (ship toll on 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 ...
levied by Oldenburg 1623 - 1820). The Prince-bishopric of Lübeck was transformed into a hereditary principality. Although it had joined the
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...
, it was annexed to France in 1810 by
Napoleon Bonaparte
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 ...
. The Duke fled to his son George in Russia, who had married the Emperor's daughter
Catherine Pavlovna
Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (; – 9 January 1819) was Queen of Württemberg from 30 October 1816 until her death in 1819 as the wife of William I of Württemberg.
Catherine was born as the fourth daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia a ...
.
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (1814–1918)
In 1814, after the fall of Napoleon, the Duke returned to his country, which was raised to a
grand duchy
A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess.
Prior to the early 1800s, the only Grand duchy in Europe was located in what is now Italy: Tuscany ( ...
in 1815 after the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
. Furthermore, Oldenburg received a new exclave, the
Principality of Birkenfeld
The Principality of Birkenfeld (), known after 1919 as the Region of Birkenfeld (), was an exclave of the Grand Duchy and then the Free State of Oldenburg from 1817 until 1937, when it was incorporated into Prussia. It was located in the Nahe reg ...
on the
Nahe, so that the national territory now comprised three parts. In 1818 Oldenburg received the Lordship of Jever back from Emperor
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...
. After Peter Frederick Louis's death in 1829 his son
Paul Frederick August succeeded him and became the first to call himself Grand Duke. On the 28th of February, 1849, in the context of the
German Revolution
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, the
Fundamental Law of the State, the first Oldenburgish constitution, came into force. It was revised as soon as 1852. In 1853
Nicholas Frederick Peter became Grand Duke of Oldenburg. Under his rule the Lordship of In- and Kniphausen was regained.
Oldenburg joined the
Steuerverein
The Steuerverein (Tax Union) was formed in 1834 as a customs union first of the Duchy of Brunswick and the Kingdom of Hanover and then with the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg in 1836. Hanover joined the Deutscher Zollverein (German Customs Union) in ...
(Tax Union) in 1836, which was a
customs union
A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a)
Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...
with 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 ...
and others. Hanover joined the
Deutscher Zollverein
The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of States of the German Confederation, German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1 ...
(German Customs Union) in 1854, after negotiating advantageous conditions with
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
and, facing isolation, Oldenburg followed suit the same year.
[The Zollverein and the Formation of a Customs Union, by Florian Ploeckl; Discussion Paper no. 84 in Economic and Social History series, Nuffield College, Oxford, p. 23. Retrieved from www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/Economics/History March 2017] In the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...
of 1864 Oldenburg remained neutral. In the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...
of 1866 Oldenburgish troops fought on the side of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
against
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, joining the Prussian dominated
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...
in 1867. In the course of Oldenburg's accession to the North German Confederation, a military convention of July 15, 1867 transferred the Oldenburg armed forces to the Prussian army and consequently, Oldenburg's military participated on the Prussian side in the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
of 1870/1871.
After a reign of 47 years, Nicholas Frederick Peter died in 1900. His son
Frederick August succeeded him as the last Grand Duke of Oldenburg.
Free State of Oldenburg (1918–1946)

After
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and the abdication of Grand Duke Frederick August, Oldenburg became a republic. It remained a state of the German Reich under the name Free State of Oldenburg. However, democracy lasted for only a short time. Already in the state parliamentary elections of 1931 the
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
became the strongest faction and in 1932 gained the state presidency as part of a coalition government. In the following years the Free State was
Nazified. With the British military government's Ordinance No. 46 on the 23rd of August, 1946, titled "Abolition of the Provinces in the British Zone of the Former State of Prussia and the Reconstitution Thereof as Separate Länder" Oldenburg was joined with the
State of Hanover
The State of Hanover () was a short-lived state within the British Zone of Allied-occupied Germany. It existed for 92 days in the course of the dissolution of the Free State of Prussia after World War II until the foundation of Lower Saxony in ...
as
Verwaltungsbezirk (Administrative District) Oldenburg to create Lower Saxony.
Attempts to restore statehood
In non-binding referendums in 1956 and on 19 January 1975, citizens in Oldenburg voted to become a separate state from
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 ...
. However, the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
passed a law on 9 January 1976 refusing to restore the state of Oldenburg.
Decision of the Federal Constitutional Court, 1 August 1978
/ref> The population of the former Oldenburg state (874,600 in 1977) is greater than the existing state of Bremen (706,500) and slightly less than the state of Saarland (1,085,600).
Statistical Year Book 1978; retrieved July 2023
Current situation
The :de:Oldenburgische Landschaft, Oldenburgische Landschaft is responsible for the cultural heritage of Oldenburg Land (including Oldenburg Münsterland). The history of the state of Oldenburg is displayed in Schloss Oldenburg
Schloss Oldenburg (Oldenburg palace) is a ''schloss'', or palace, in the city of Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, Germany. The first castle on the site was built around 1100 and became the ancestral home of the ...
and other museums.
The territory of the former state of Oldenburg is presently divided among five federal states:
* Lower Saxony:
** Landkreis Oldenburg, except Samtgemeinde Harpstedt
** Landkreis Ammerland
** Landkreis Cloppenburg
Cloppenburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Ammerland, Oldenburg, Vechta, Osnabrück, Emsland and Leer.
Like the neighbouring Vechta district, it is well known for facto ...
** Landkreis Vechta
Vechta () is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Oldenburg, Diepholz, Osnabrück and Cloppenburg.
History
In the 13th century the region was acquired by the bisho ...
** Landkreis Friesland
Friesland is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southeast and clockwise) the districts of Wesermarsch, Ammerland, Leer and Wittmund, and by the North Sea. The city of Wilhelmshaven is enclosed by—but ...
** Landkreis Wesermarsch
Wesermarsch is a '' Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Neighboring are (from the east clockwise) the districts of Cuxhaven and Osterholz, the city of Bremen in the state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, the urban d ...
** Landkreis Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Stade, Rotenburg, Osterholz and Wesermarsch, the city of Bremerhaven and the North Sea.
History
The district was ...
(Gemeinde Landwürden)
** Landkreis Diepholz
Diepholz () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the northeast and clockwise) the districts of Verden, Nienburg, Minden-Lübbecke (in North Rhine-Westphalia), Osnabrück, Vechta and Oldenburg, and by the cities of Delm ...
(Gemeinde Stuhr
Stuhr is a municipality in the district of Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, 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 ...
)
** Landkreis Leer (Ortsteil Idafehn der Gemeinde Ostrhauderfehn)
** ''kreisfreie Stadt'' 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 ...
** ''kreisfreie Stadt'' Delmenhorst
Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''List of German urban districts, Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen (city), Bremen with which ...
** ''kreisfreie Stadt'' 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 ...
* Schleswig-Holstein:
** Kreis Ostholstein (only Altkreis Eutin)
* Bremen
** Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser.
Brem ...
( Luneplate, since its redefinition at the end of 2009)
* Rheinland-Pfalz:
** Landkreis Birkenfeld (central part, especially Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein () is a town in the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a ''Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (large city belonging to a district), it assumes some of the respons ...
and Birkenfeld (Nahe))
* Saarland:
** Landkreis St. Wendel (part of Nohfelden
Nohfelden is a municipality in the Sankt Wendel (district), district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately north of Sankt Wendel, and southwest of Idar-Oberstein. It was formed during administrative reform in Januar ...
)
Coat of arms, colours and anthem
In the nineteenth century the following coat of arms was adopted: A quartered shield, above divided, below divided by an upward point. In the first field are two red crossbars in gold (Oldenburg), in the second in blue a suspended golden cross (Delmenhorst), in the third in a blue field a suspended golden cross covered with a bishop's miter (Principality of Lübeck), in the fourth a red and white checkered field (Birkenfeld), in the point in a blue field a golden, crowned lion (Jever).
The state colours were blue and red, the flag blue with a red cross.
"Heil Dir, O Oldenburg
"Heil dir, o Oldenburg" (; ), is the city anthem of the City of Oldenburg, and in the past was the national anthem of the Grand Duchy, and after 1918, the Free State of Oldenburg.
History
The Grand Duchess Cecilia of Sweden composed the inst ...
" is the national anthem of the former Grand Duchy and, from 1918, of the Free State of Oldenburg.
Bibliography
* ''Oldenburgische Bibliographie (16. Jahrhundert bis 1907)''. In der Landesbibliothek Oldenburg bearbeitet von Egbert Koolman. Lax, Hildesheim 1987 (Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Niedersachsen und Bremen, Bd. XXXa).
*
*
* Wolfgang Günther: ''Das Land Oldenburg unter nationalsozialistischer Herrschaft''. In: ''Oldenburger Jahrbuch,'' Bd. 85 (1985), S. 111–130
online
.
* Franz Hellbernd und Heinz Möller, '' Oldenburg, ein heimatkundliches Nachschlagewerk.'' Vechtaer Druckerei und Verlag GmbH, Vechta 1965.
* Paul Kollmann: ''Das Herzogthum Oldenburg in seiner wirthschaftlichen Entwickelung während der letzten vierzig Jahre auf statistischer Grundlage dargestellt''. Stalling, Oldenburg 1893
Digitalisat
.
*
* Horst Milde: ''Oldenburg in Niedersachsen. Einige Erinnerungen und Betrachtungen. Ein Beitrag zum 50jährigen Bestehen des Landes Niedersachsen''. In: ''Oldenburger Jahrbuch,'' Bd. 96 (1996), S. 1–23
online
.
*
*
* Schwarting A. C.: ''Oldenburg unter Herzog Peter Friedrich Ludwig von 1785–1811.'' – Gerh. Stalling, Oldenburg, 1936. – 70 S.
* Georg Sello: ''Die territoriale Entwicklung des Herzogtums Oldenburg.'' Neudruck der Ausgabe Göttingen 1917, Wenner, Osnabrück 1975.
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* Rolf-Harald Wippich: ''Oldenburg und Ostasien. Der Schiffs- und Handelsverkehr eines norddeutschen Kleinstaates im Chinesischen Meer in der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts.'' In: ''Jahrbuch für europäische Überseegeschichte,'' Bd. 4, 2004, S. 33–62, .
External links
* ttp://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Oldenburg/index.htm Der Freistaat Oldenburg im Überblick
Verwaltungsgeschichte Land Oldenburg
References
{{Authority control
Former states and territories of Lower Saxony
Oldenburg (state)