During the French annexation (1811–1813) in the wake of theNapoleonic war against Britain, it was also known asLe Vieux-Bourg in French. The city is at the riversHunte andHaaren, in the northwestern region between the cities ofBremen in the east andGroningen (Netherlands) in the west. According to Germany's 2022 census, the city's population is 176.068 in 2024.[3] Oldenburg is part of theNorthwest Metropolitan Region, which is home to approximately 2.8 million people.[4]
Archaeological finds point to a settlement dating back to the 8th century. The first documentary evidence, in 1108, referencedAldenburg in connection withElimar I (also known as Egilmar I) who is now commonly seen as the first count of Oldenburg. The town gained importance due to its location at aford of the navigable Hunte river. Oldenburg became the capital of theCounty of Oldenburg (later aDuchy (1774–1810),Grand Duchy (1815–1918), andFree State (1918–1946)), a small state in the shadow of the much more powerfulHanseatic city ofBremen.[5]
In the 17th century Oldenburg was a wealthy town in a time ofwar and turmoil and its population and power grew considerably. In 1667, the town was struck by a disastrousplague epidemic and, shortly after, a fire destroyed Oldenburg. The Danish kings, who were also counts of Oldenburg at the time, had little interest in the condition of the town and it lost most of its former importance. In 1773, Danish rule ended. Only then were the destroyed buildings in the city rebuilt in aneoclassicist style.[5] (German-speakers usually call the "neoclassicist style" of that periodklassizistisch, whileneoklassizistisch specifically refers to the classicist style of the early 20th century.)
Schloss Oldenburg
After the German government announced the abdication of EmperorWilhelm II (9 November 1918) following the exhaustion and defeat of theGerman Empire inWorld War I, monarchic rule ended in Oldenburg as well with the abdication of Grand DukeFrederick Augustus II of Oldenburg(Friedrich August II von Oldenburg) on 11 November 1918. The Grand Duchy now became the Free State of Oldenburg(German:Freistaat Oldenburg), with the city remaining the capital.
In the 1928 city elections, theNazi Party received 9.8% of the vote, enough for a seat on the Oldenburg city council. In the September 1930 Oldenburg state elections, the Nazi Party's share of the vote rose to 27.3%, and on May 29, 1932, the Nazi Party received 48.4% in the state election, enough to put the Nazi party in charge of forming a state government and, significantly, making Oldenburg the first state in the country to put the Nazis in power based on electoral turnout. By that autumn, a campaign ofAryanization began, forcing the sale of formerly Jewish-owned properties at steep discounts.[6]
In 1945, afterWorld War II, the State of Oldenburg became part of theBritish zone of occupation. TheBritish military government of the Oldenburg region resided in the city. Severaldisplaced-persons camps were set up in the city that had suffered only 1.4% destruction during thebombing campaigns of World War II.[7] About 42,000 refugees migrated into Oldenburg, which raised the number of residents to over 100,000. In 1946 the Free State of Oldenburg was dissolved and the area became the 'Administrative District' of Oldenburg(Verwaltungsbezirk Oldenburg) within the newly formedfederal German state ofLower Saxony(Niedersachsen). The city was now capital of the district. In 1978 the district was dissolved and succeeded by the newly formedWeser-Ems administrative region(Regierungsbezirk Weser-Ems), again with the city as administrative capital. The state of Lower Saxony dissolved all of theRegierungsbezirke by the end of 2004 in the course of administrative reforms.
Local elections take place every five years. The city council(Stadtrat) has 50 seats. Thelord mayor(Oberbürgermeister) is elected directly by the citizens.
Political parties in Oldenburg (Oldb) and their percentages of votes in past city council elections[9]
The city centre of Oldenburg is surrounded by a ring of freeways (autobahns) consisting ofA 28,A 29 andA 293. Because of this, Oldenburg is connected to the nationwide network of federal autobahns, as well as to theinternational E-road network (German:Europastraßen).
The smallHatten Airfield, (Flugplatz Oldenburg-HattenICAO airport code: EDWH), is located about 17 km south-west of Oldenburg. It serves to small aircraft (private planes, gliders, balloons, and helicopters). A flight training school is also located there, and small planes can be chartered. Scenic flights can be booked as well.
Oldenburg is connected to shipping through theKüstenkanal, aship canal connecting the riversEms andWeser. With 1.6 million tons of goods annually, it is the most important non-coastal harbour in Lower Saxony.
Bicycles play a very important part in personal transport.
The city is surrounded by large agricultural areas, about 80% of which is grassland. There are farms near and even a few within city limits. Predominant agricultural activities of the region are the cultivation of livestock, especially dairy cows and other grazing animals, crops such as grains for food and animal feed, as well as asparagus, corn, and kale.
Sea salt production in the Oldenburg region has been used since the 15th century to supply the huge salt demand in the Baltic region. Peat extraction in the area continued for many centuries until it was replaced by coal mines.
Kultursommer (summer of culture), series of free musical and other cultural events in the city centre during summer holiday season in July.
CSD Nordwest (Christopher Street Day) parade of the regionalLesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community in June, with up to 10,000 participants (since 1995).
Stadtfest, a three-day festival of the city centre in August/September, comprises gastronomical offerings and rock and pop music performances on various stages.
Kramermarkt,fun fair at theWeser-Ems Halle on ten days in September/October. The tradition of this annualvolksfest dates back to the 17th century, when the Kramermarkt was a market event at the end of the harvest.
Oldenburger Kinder- und Jugendbuchmesse (KIBUM), an exhibition of newGerman languagechildren's and youth literature, takes place over 11 days in November. A non-commercial fair organised by the city government in cooperation with the public library and the university library. In the course of the fair, a prize, theKinder- und Jugendbuchpreis, is awarded to a debuting author or illustrator.
Schloss Oldenburg in the city centre, until 1918 residence of the monarchic rulers of Oldenburg, today a museum. A public park, theSchlossgarten, is nearby.
Weser-Ems Halle, exhibition and congress centre with outdoor fair area, located in Oldenburg Donnerschwee.
Small EWE Arena andLarge EWE Arena, two sports and event halls located near the main railway station, opened in 2005 and 2013, and seating up to 4,000 and 6,852 visitors respectively. The large arena is also home to theEWE Baskets Oldenburg basketball club.
Nathan Marcus Adler, chief Rabbi of the Oldenburg Jewish community in the 19th century
Thehistory of the Jewish community of Oldenburg dates back to the 14th century.[12] Towards and during the 19th century, the Jews in Oldenburg were always around 1% of the total population, and by that time had acquired their own synagogue, cemetery and school. Most of them were merchants and businessmen. On 1938Kristallnacht, the town men were led toSachsenhausen concentration camp, among themLeo Trepp, the communityRabbi who survived and later became an honorary citizen of Oldenburg and honored by a street named after him.[13] Since 1981 an annual commemoration walk (Erinnerungsgang) has been held by Oldenburg citizens in memory of the deportation of the Oldenburg Jews on November 10, 1938.[14] Those who remained after 1938 emigrated to Canada, USA, United Kingdom, Holland or Mandatory Palestine.
AfterWorld War II, a group of survivors returned to the city and maintained a small community until it was dissolved during the 1970s. Nevertheless, due to Jewish emigration from the formerUSSR to Germany in the 1990s, a community of about 340 people is now maintaining its own synagogue, cemetery and other facilities. The old Jewish cemetery, which is no longer active after the opening of a new one, was desecrated twice in 2011 and 2013.[15]
TheCarl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg was founded in 1973 based on a previous college for teacher training, thePädagogische Hochschule Oldenburg, which had a history in Oldenburg dating back to 1793. The university was officially named afterCarl von Ossietzky in 1991. As of 2014, it has almost 13,746 students, a scientific staff of 1,130, as well as 964 technical and administrative staff.[16] A new faculty of medicine and health sciences was established in 2012 as part of the newly foundedEuropean Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen, a cooperation with theUniversity of Groningen (Netherlands) and local hospitals.[17]
TheJade University of Applied Sciences (Jade-Hochschule) The formerFachhochschule Oldenburg (until 1999) was founded in 1971, a merger of the previous engineering academy with the nautical college inElsfleth. Oldenburg already had a history of construction engineering training dating back to 1882. Starting in 2000, the Fachhochschule had been part of multiple re-organisations involving severalUAS (Fachhochschule) in the northwestern region. A relaunch under the nameJade-Hochschule took place in 2009 (previously:Fachhochschule Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven). The Jade-Hochschule now comprises branches in three towns: Oldenburg, Elsfleth, andWilhelmshaven. Based in Oldenburg are the departments ofarchitecture,construction engineering andconstruction management,geodesy, as well as the institute ofhearing aid technology andaudiology. There are about 2,000 students in the Oldenburg branch.[18] (The Elsfleth branch offers bachelor's degree courses in nautical science, international logistics, and harbour management. The Wilhelmshaven branch offers courses in engineering, business management, and media management.)
Privately managed institutions of higher education:
Founded in 2004, the IBS IT & Business School Oldenburg (former Berufsakademie Oldenburg), a college ofcooperative education, offers aB.Sc. degree course inbusiness informatics and aB.A. degree course inbusiness studies. The dual-system course combines practical vocational training at one of the partnering local companies with periods of academic studies.
The Private Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft und Technik, a regional college ofcooperative education, maintains a branch in Oldenburg offering bachelor's degree courses with integrated vocational training inelectrical engineering andmechatronics.
Other:
The Oldenburg branch of the Lower Saxony police academy (Polizeiakademie Niedersachsen) maintains a study facility in Oldenburg preparing candidates for a career in higher-middle-level or higher-level police service.
_des_Oldenburger_Hauptbahnhofs.jpg)
