Saterland

Saterland (Saterland Frisian: Seelterlound) is a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Leer, Cloppenburg, and Oldenburg. It is home to the Saterland Frisian ethnic group who speak Frisian in addition to German.

Saterland
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Saterland within Cloppenburg district
Essen
Saterland
Saterland
Coordinates: 53°2′N 7°43′E
CountryGermany
StateLower Saxony
DistrictCloppenburg
Subdivisions4 districts
Government
 • MayorThomas Otto (Ind.)
Area
 • Total123.62 km2 (47.73 sq mi)
Elevation
5 m (16 ft)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total13,701
 • Density110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
26683
Dialling codes0 44 92 (Scharrel, Sedelsberg) 0 44 98 (Ramsloh, Strücklingen)
Vehicle registrationCLP
Websitewww.saterland.de

The municipality of Saterland was formed in 1974, when the smaller municipalities Strücklingen (Strukelje in Saterland Frisian), Ramsloh (Roomelse), Sedelsberg (Seeidelsbierich) and Scharrel (Schäddel) were merged.

A bilingual German-Saterland Frisian road sign

History

In medieval times, Saterland was a sandy region occupying an area of about 15 km long by 1–4 km wide surrounded by marshes. It was settled between the 10th and 13th centuries by Frisians from East Frisia. Being relatively isolated, the inhabitants developed their own form of the East Frisian language, Saterland Frisian, which survives to this day. The "Saterfriesen," as the speakers of this language are called in German, are the smallest minority recognized by the federal government.

Notable places

On the area of the municipality of Saterland is the VLF transmitter DHO38, a large VLF transmitter of the German Navy for sending commands to submarines.

References
  1. Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen, LSN-Online Regionaldatenbank, Tabelle 12411: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, Stand 31. Dezember 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.