Wense is a village in the

Heidmark The Heidmark () is an area of the Lüneburg Heath, much of which has not been accessible to the population since about 1935–1936. The establishment of a large military training area (''Truppenübungsplatzes Bergen'') by the German armed forces, ...

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. In 1935/1936 its inhabitants were 'relocated', because the German armed forces, the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, wanted to establish a vast military training area in the Heidmark, which today is the largest in Europe (see

Bergen-Hohne Training Area The Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: ''NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen'' or ''Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne'') is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It c ...

). Nowadays, Wense is in the

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Osterheide Osterheide () is an unincorporated area in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The area has 2,463 inhabitants (as at 31 December 2020). Its administrative seat is the village of Oerbke; other villages are Ostenholz and Wense. T ...

History

For centuries Wense was dominated by the ''von der Wense'' family. This family was first mentioned in the records in AD 1322. At that time they purchased land from the

Walsrode Walsrode (; ) is a town in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former municipality Bomlitz was merged into Walsrode in January 2020. History Middle Ages 986 Foundation of Walsrode Abbey by Count Walo. The first recorded ...

monastery and settled there. The family owned the so-called Ohlehof farm near Wense and the Dorfmark Estate (''Gut Dorfmark''). At the time of its relocation Wense had 148 inhabitants. Today just 13 people live there. Even the von der Wense family was given a new life, at another village in the vicinity of Hamburg.

Sources

* Hans Stuhlmacher: ''Die Heidmark.'' Verlag C.M. Gengelhard & Co., Hannover 1939 Lüneburg Heath Heidmark Abandoned villages in Lower Saxony {{Osterheide-geo-stub