Nordenham | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Nordenham within Wesermarsch district  | |
 Location of Nordenham | |
  Nordenham  Nordenham | |
| Coordinates:53°30′N8°28′E / 53.500°N 8.467°E /53.500; 8.467 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Wesermarsch |
| Subdivisions | 35 districts (Dorfs) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2021–26) | Nils Siemen[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 87.77 km2 (33.89 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2 m (6.6 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 26,410 |
| • Density | 300.9/km2 (779.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 26954 |
| Dialling codes | 04731 |
| Vehicle registration | BRA |
| Website | www.nordenham.de |
Nordenham (German pronunciation:[nɔʁdn̩ˈham]ⓘ) is a town in theWesermarsch district, inLower Saxony,Germany. It is located at the mouth (on the west bank) of theWeser river on theButjadingenpeninsula on the coast of theNorth Sea. Theseaport city ofBremerhaven is located on the other side (east bank) of the river. The Midgard-seaport in Nordenham is the largest private-owned harbor in Germany.
Nordenham is located on the West Bank of theWeser River across fromBremerhaven along the river's mouth at theNorth Sea, north of the cities ofBremen andOldenburg. The local environment is mainlymarshland, specificallyMarsch oder Schwemmland.
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.
Nordenham evolved from the town of Atens due to the efforts by merchantWilhelm Müller who traded cattle and sheep toEngland in the late 19th century. Some of the oldest parts of the modern town area are the old villages orWurtendörfer (roughly translated as 'terp villages')Blexen,Einswarden andAtens. BishopWillehad, theNorthumbrian-born missionary of the Frisians, died inBlexen in the year 789, which is also commonly accepted to be Blexen's year of foundation. In 1407, theVredeborch orFriedeburg (to be translated as "peace castle") was erected by theHanseatic city ofBremen, a castle (although it was probably more a kind of large fortified house) to protect interests against the rebellious inhabitants, the RüstringerFrisians. The stronghold was destroyed in 1425 and it is possible that the site was later used by a monastery.Nordenham's town founderWilhelm 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 theCounty of Oldenburg and in 1813 by the French emperorNapoleon, 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 nearEsenshamm, which politically belongs to the neighbouring borough of Stadland, airplane construction (Premium AEROTEC) and chemical industry. On theButjadingen peninsula outside Nordenham people do dairy farming or work in the tourism industry.
Peterlee, England, United Kingdom (1981)
Świnoujście, Poland (1992)
Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France (2011)Due to the town's location, transport connections are below par. There is a ferry toBremerhaven at Blexen, though it has suffered from steady declines in passenger numbers ever since theWeser tunnel some 10 km south of Nordenham opened.The town is connected to the regional road network byBundesstraße 212 which intersects withBundesstraße 437 near the Weser tunnel, offering connections to theA 27 andA 28 motorways.
Nordenham can be reached byRegionalExpress trains;Nordenham railway station sees hourly trains to Bremen. Nordenham has been integrated into theBremen S-Bahn network since its opening in 2010.
A large part of the population of the town - approximately 4,500 persons - is employed in industrial companies includingPrysmian,Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke (NSW),Premium Aerotec,Rhenus Midgard,Kronos Titan,Xstrata andNKT Cables
(in German)Towns and municipalities inWesermarsch (district) | ||
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