TheOldenburg Münsterland, otherwise calledOldenburger Münsterland orOldenburgisches Münsterland, is a region inLower Saxony,Germany and the administrative area that comprises thefederal districts ofCloppenburg andVechta. It forms the southern part of the historical region ofOldenburg Land, so it is also calledSüdoldenburg. The inhabitants of the region accordingly call themselvesSüdoldenburger, with the denominativeOldenburger Münsterländer being rather uncommon.
In 1252, thePrince-Bishopric of Münster acquired the formerCounty of Ravensberg-Vechta. With the conquest of the formerTecklenburg office of Cloppenburg in 1400, the common history of today's Oldenburg Münsterland in the Lower Chapter of Münster began. In 1668, the Bishop of Münster also gained ecclesiastical sovereignty overLower Saxony. As a result of theReichsdeputationshauptschluss of 25 February 1803, theProtestantDuke of Oldenburg gained state power over the offices of Cloppenburg and Vechta, whose population has remainedpredominantly Roman Catholic to this day.
During the so-calledFrench period (1811–1813), the Oldenburg Münsterland was administered by theFrench-HanseaticDépartement de l'Ems-Supérieur (Department of the Upper Ems). Until 1946, the Oldenburg Münsterland remained part of theGrand Duchy of Oldenburg or theFree State of Oldenburg (since 1919). Since 1946, the Oldenburg Münsterland has belonged to theGerman state of Lower Saxony and includes the area of thefederal districts ofCloppenburg andVechta.
The Oldenburg Münsterland is shaped by a high density ofintensive animal farming.[1] Several large companies of the meat industry are headquartered in the region. ThePHW Group, the largest Germanpoultry meat producer, has itsheadquarters in Rechterfeld. TheEW Group, the world market leader in poultry breeding and genetics, has its headquarters inVisbek. Furthermeat industry groups such as thePlukon Food Group and Westfleisch operate industrial meat processing facilities in the region.
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