Ohne, Germany | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Ohne, Germany within Grafschaft Bentheim district  | |
 Location of Ohne, Germany | |
  Ohne, Germany  Ohne, Germany | |
| Coordinates:52°16′00″N07°16′00″E / 52.26667°N 7.26667°E /52.26667; 7.26667 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Grafschaft Bentheim |
| Municipal assoc. | Schüttorf |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Johann Ruschulte |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.03 km2 (3.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[1] | |
• Total | 589 |
| • Density | 65.2/km2 (169/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 48465 |
| Dialling codes | 05923 |
| Vehicle registration | NOH |
Ohne (German pronunciation:[ˈoːnə]ⓘ) is a community in the district ofGrafschaft Bentheim inLower Saxony,Germany.
Ohne lies betweenNordhorn andSteinfurt on the boundary withNorth Rhine-Westphalia. The community belongs to the Joint Community (Samtgemeinde) ofSchüttorf, which has its seat in the like-named town.
The community of Ohne in the southernmost and southeasternmost parts of the Joint Community of Schüttorf, shows a distinct, very compact village site and lies right on aford on the riverVechte. With a self-contained village centre above the Vechte Valley, Ohne's settlement development, unlike any other rural community's, is characterized not by scattered locations but rather by an accumulation of homesteads and buildings. Even the scattered homesteads lie quite near the village itself with itschurch, play group and various other institutions typical of a village.
Beyond the village site, the municipal area is marked by widespreadagricultural land (also places without farms) and in the westernmost part by woods that stretch toBad Bentheim.
Ohne's neighbours areSamern,Suddendorf,Brechte andWettringen, the last two of which lie in Westphalia.
The area was already settled by theOld Stone Age. The village is Grafschaft Bentheim's oldest. It wasFrankish immigrants who established the village of “Oen” inCarolingian times.
On the edge of the site where the village's original centre was, settlement spread outwards. The shape that the village has today was brought about not least of all by the Vechte Valley with its broadfloodplain and, in the more recent past, by farmlands abutting the village site. The village's name was first mentioned in 1213 in the monosyllabic form “On” (inGerman, a final-e is usually pronounced, and given the “schwa” sound, making the name “Ohne” two syllables).
The name's modern form has given it the same pronunciation and spelling as a standard German word, and this has caused misunderstandings, as an event in June 2022 shows. At that time, the municipality had received a new road sign which was supposed to have the municipality's name on it, but owing to a misunderstanding, the road sign, while being of the required size and in the colours prescribed by law, was absolutely blank; neither the municipality's name, Ohne, nor any other text appeared on the sign. The misunderstanding had happened at the factory, where a worker had apparently misunderstood the entry "Ohne" on the order form, which was supposed to state the sign's contents. The worker, however, took it literally; "ohne" also happens to be the German word for "without".[2]
Also found in Ohne is the municipal area's onlywindfarm, built according to municipal planning and already realized.
Ohne's municipal council is made up of 9 councillors.
The mayor Charlotte Ruschulte was elected in November 2011.
The village has kept its traditional village character. L 68 (state highway) and K 25 (district road) keep through traffic well away from the village road. The finely designed, small village square lying in the middle of the village, where the warriors’ memorial once stood, is marked by old tree growth. There are fourpollardedlindens and a further linden trimmed in a more usual way, and also two tallhawthorn trees. The square also still fulfils transport functions. The roadways arecobbled, and red paving stones have been laid over the park areas. The surrounding buildings fit in quite harmoniously with their red-brick façades or red clinker dressing.
Atypically, the village church does not stand right on the square, but rather one row of buildings back. From the square, a path runs through natural areas down to the Vechte. With its tall hawthorn trees, the path leads behind the church to a wooden bridge over the river. There are a table and benches for those who wish to tarry. East of the river, the path continues, bordered on each side by hedges, and ends at the district road as a cycling path.
One peculiarity at some clubs is that some members come from the community of Haddorf, which is in North Rhine-Westphalia, outside Ohne's state of Lower Saxony.
The Evangelical-Reformed church is said to be Grafschaft Bentheim's oldest church, built as it was in the earlier half of the 13th century.
AutobahnA 31 can be reached 8 km from the community.
Since the beginning of May 2007, theBürgerbus, line 510, has been running from Schüttorf by way of Ohne and Bilk to Wettringen, and by way of Haddorf, Ohne and Samern back to Schüttorf. The drivers work for free, and manage to keep the considerable costs down.
Two tourist cycling path projects, theGrafschafter Fietsentour (Fietse is a local word for “bicycle”) and theVechtetalroute (“Vechte Valley Route”) lead through the village, showing the visitor how tightly knit the village is, and revealing something of communal life.
In the community of Ohne, with its building lots as shown in its hitherto operative land use planning, there are still development opportunities to be had that will largely fulfil foreseeable demand.
