Osnabrück | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
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| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| Capital | Osnabrück |
| Government | |
| • District admin.(2019–24) | Anna Kebschull (Greens) |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,122 km2 (819 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023)[1] | |
• Total | 356,194 |
| • Density | 167.9/km2 (434.7/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Vehicle registration | OS, BSB, MEL, WTL |
| Website | lkos.de |
Osnabrück (German:[ɔsnaˈbʁʏk]ⓘ) is adistrict (Landkreis) in the southwest ofLower Saxony,Germany. With 2,122 km2 it is the second largest district of Lower Saxony.
The district in its present form was established on July 1, 1972 by merging the former districts ofMelle,Bersenbrück andWittlage, and most of the old district of Osnabrück. Eight municipalities (Atter, Pye, Hellern, Nahne, Voxtrup, Darum, Gretesch and Lüstringen) were merged with the city of Osnabrück in the same year. The former district of Osnabrück had already been enlarged with the district ofIburg in 1932. The 1972 local government reform also led to a considerable decrease of the number of municipalities.
The present combined territory of the district and the city of Osnabrück is almost identical to thePrince-Bishopric of Osnabrück which existed until 1802, when it wasmediatised and assigned to theElectorate of Hanover. It was occupied byFrance between 1807 and 1813, after which it was returned to theKingdom of Hanover. After the 1866Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover (including the former bishopric of Osnabrück) was annexed byPrussia. Since 1 November 1946, the area is part ofLower Saxony.
The northern two thirds of the district belong to theNorth German plain; the mountain rangesTeutoburg Forest andWiehen Hills run east-west in the southern third of the district. The riverHase flows through the district from south to north. In the eastern part flows theHunte.
The district encloses thedistrict-free city ofOsnabrück. Together, they form theOsnabrück Land (Osnabrücker Land), which can be dividedinter alia into the smaller regions of Artland,Grönegau and Wittlage Land.
TheTecklenburger Land in the west is the geographical continuation of the Osnabrücker land in the neighbouring federal stateNorth Rhine-Westphalia. Often it is ascribed to beMünsterland, although it belongs to the Osnabrücker land historically.
The district is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts ofEmsland,Cloppenburg,Vechta andDiepholz, the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia (districts ofMinden-Lübbecke,Herford,Gütersloh,Warendorf andSteinfurt) and the City ofOsnabrück.
The coat of arms displays the Bennoturm ("Benno's Tower") ofBad Iburg, which served as the fortress of the bishops until 1673. There is also a wheel displayed in the coat of arms, which is the heraldic symbol of the City of Osnabrück.
The district of Osnabrück encompasses 38 municipalities, eight of which are towns. 17 municipalities are part of aSamtgemeinde. Populations at 31 December 2007 are given in parentheses.[2]
| Cities | Free municipalities | Samtgemeinden | |
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| 1seat of the Samtgemeinde;2 town | |||
Anja Kebschull (Die Grünen) is the full-timeLandrat (head of the district authority) since 2019. She is the political representative and president of the district government.
Every five years the citizens of the district Osnabrück elect their representatives into the district assembly. The district assembly is the uppermost organ of the district. The next election takes place in the autumn of 2016. At the last local election on September 11, 2011, 68 delegates and theLandrat were elected into the assembly.
The district committee prepares the decisions of the district assembly and decides affairs which the district assembly must not decide. The committee consists of twelve members from the district assembly, eleven of whom are eligible to vote.
Composition of the district assembly since 2011:
Since 1999 a partnership exists toOlsztyn County in the north-east ofPoland. From historical attachment and in view of the entry of Poland in the European Union the Osnabrück district performs its special contribution to the development of the German-Polish friendship. During the past years resulted narrow municipal connections to Polish districts. Thus the district as well as the municipalityBad Essen signed a declaration in 2002 about the collaboration withWałcz County; narrow contacts exist toGryfino County.
TheLandschaftsverband Osnabrücker Land, an incorporated society, looks after cultural interests under sponsorship of the administrative district and the district-free city of Osnabrück.
The area of the district Osnabrück has been confessionally mixed sinceProtestant Reformation and thePeace of Westphalia:Lutherans (Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover) andCatholics (Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück). Because the (Catholic) Osnabrücker Land bordered on Lutheran territories, there have been Lutherans in the district since the 19th century. The confessional distribution has not changed significantly in spite of the influx ofHeimatvertriebene after 1945.
The following long distance roads pass through the district:
The first railway to reach the district territory was theHannoversche Westbahn, connecting Osnabrück withHanover in 1855. It was extended toRheine in 1856. TheKöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft connected Osnabrück with Bremen in 1871, and withMünster in 1873. This turned the town's main station,Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof, into a significant railway interchange.
Today the following railway lines are used for public transport:
Media related toLandkreis Osnabrück at Wikimedia Commons
 Urban and rural districts in the state ofLower Saxony in Germany | |
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