Administrative district Osnabrück

The administrative district of Osnabrück lies in the southwest of the German federal state Lower Saxony

With 2.121 km² it is as big the second largest administrative district in Lower Saxony. It incompasses 38 municipal areas, among them eight towns. Besides 17 municipalities and four velvet municipalities, 17 member municipalities exist. The size of the municipalities lies between, less than, 7,000 and more than 45,000 inhabitants. The administrative district forms the main part Osnabrücker land.

Geography

The northern two thirds of the district belong to Norddeutschen lowland; the mountain ranges from Teutoburger Woods and Wiehengebirge run from the west to the east by the southern third of the district. The Hase River then flows through the district from the north to the south. In the eastern part flows the Hunte.

The administrative district forms together with the town free of Osnabrück. This divides the district beside others into the under regions Artland, Grönegau and Wittlager land.

Tecklenburger land in the west is the regional continuation of the Osnabrücker land in the neighboring federal state North Rhine-Westphalia. Often it is ascribed to be Münsterland, although it belongs to the Osnabrücker land historically.

Neighboring districts

The southern part of the district borders on North Rhine-Westphalia, in the west in Kreis Steinfurt, in the south to the districts Warendorf and Gütersloh as well as in the east to the districts Herford and Minden-Lübbecke.

The north district borders the administrative district Emsland in the west, in the north in administrative district Cloppenburg and in the east on the administrative districts Vechta and Diepholz.

Towns and municipalities

(inhabitant on the June 30th, 2006)

Unity Municipality

Velvet municipality with its member's municipalities

* seat of the velvet local government

History

The administrative district in its form today originated on July 1, 1972 from them reform of a district, to the so-called "Osnabrück law". The district was formed from the administrative districts Bersenbrück, Melle, Wittlage and the mass of the old administrative district Osnabrück. Municipalities Atter, Pye, Nahne, Voxtrup, Therefore, Gretesch and Lüstringen were included in 1972. The part of town Sutthausen was already included on the 1st of January 1970 from the former municipality Holzhausen.

The former district Melle united in 1972 to the town Melle. Altkreis Wittlage enclosed the today's municipalities bath food, Bohmte and Ostercappeln, the old district Bersenbrück the today's town Bramsche and today's velvet municipalities Artland, Fürstenau and new churches. The administrative district at that time Osnabrück had been increased already in 1932 when former district Iburg was dissolved and in this district was integrated.

Today the administrative district encloses Osnabrück together with the town of Osnabrück in the possibly area former Hochstifts Osnabrück which was an imperial-immediate prince's diocese till 1802. In 1803 the area was assigned by imperial deputation head end Viennese congress kingdom Hannover. From 1807 to 1813 it was under French rule to until 1866 then again belonged to the kingdom of Hannover. This year the kingdom annexed Prussia as a result of Deutschen of war Hannover, so that also the former prince's diocese Osnabrück came to Prussia. Since the 1st of November, 1946 this region is a part of the newly founded federal state Lower Saxony.

The area reform of 1972 led beside the change of borders also to the fact that the number of the local authority districts decreased by a pool to bigger unities considerably. Thus there were in 1961 in the administrative districts at that time another a total of 261 independent municipalities (95 in the old district Bersenbrück, 56 in the old district Melle, 79 in the old district Osnabrück, 31 in the old district Wittlage). Six of these were incorporated in 1972 in the town of Osnabrück. The remaining ones were summarized to 34 unity municipalities existing today. Besides, united in the north circle 17 of the unity municipalities to four velvet municipalities.

Affiliated of a circle municipalities in the old circle in 1910

Astrup, Atter, Belm, Bissendorf, Therefore, Ellerbeck, to guest, Georgsmarienhütte, grief mountains, Gretesch, holders, Harderberg, Hasbergen, Haste, Hellern, Himbergen, Hollage, Holsten-Mündrup, Holte-Sünsbeck, Holzhausen, Hörne, Icker, Jeggen, Krevinghausen, to Kronsundern, Lechtingen, Linne, Lüstringen, Malbergen, Nahne, Natbergen, Nemden, Ohrbeck, Powe, Pye, Rulle, Schelenburg, Schinkel, Schledehausen, Stockum, Bauerschaft Stockum, Gut Uphausen-Eistrup, Vehrte, Voxtrup, Wallenhorst, Wellingen, Wersche, Wissingen, Wulften.

To these 49 municipalities the municipalities of the district Iburg distraught at that time came in 1932.

Policy

Head of the district authority

Manfred Hugo is a full-time head of the district authority since the 1st of July, 2002. He is with it a political representative and boss of the management. From 1993 until June, 2002 the lawyer was an honorary head of the district authority of the administrative district. Hugo studied jurisprudence and political sciences in Münster. As a judge and public prosecutor he worked from 1969 until June, 2002. Last he was a presiding judge in the district court of Osnabrück.

Kreis assembly

Every five years the citizens select their representatives of the district Osnabrück into the Kreis assembly. The next choice takes place in the autumn 2011. Since the last local election on September 10, 2006, 68 selected delegates and the district administrator belong to the Kreis assembly.

The Kreis assembly is the uppermost organ of the administrative district. All five years the citizens chose the administrative district Osnabrück its representatives in the Kreis assembly. Since the local election on the 10th of September, 2006 the Kreis assembly consists of 68 representatives. The committee of a district prepares the decisions of the Kreis assembly and decides affairs which the kreis assembly must not decide. Eleven are eligible to vote and an advisory Kreis assembly representative.

Composition of the Kreis assembly since 2006:
* CDU - 34 seats
* SPD - 24 seats
* Alliance 90 / the Greens - 5 seats
* FDP - 4 seats
* UWG - 1 seat

Partnerships of a district

Since 1999 a partnership exists to Powiat Olsztyński ("Allenstein") in the north-east of Poland. From historical attachment and in view of the entry of Poland in the European Union the administrative district performs his special contribution to the development of the German Polish friendship to Osnabrück. During the past years resulted narrow municipal connections to Polish distrists. Thus the administrative district as well as the municipality signed bath food in 2002 a declaration about the collaboration with the district Walcz (In German crown); to the district Gryfino (Greifenhagen) narrow contacts exist.

Scenery federation

Scenery federation Osnabrücker land, an incorporated society looks after cultural interests under sponsorship of the administrative district and the town free of circle of Osnabrück.

Religion

The area of the administrative district Osnabrück is mixed since Reformation confessional. With Westphalian Friede the parishes were split confessional without changing, nevertheless, the mixture decisively. The decisive denominations are Lutheran, which to Evangelisch Lutheran land church of Hannover and Catholics which belong to diocese Osnabrück. Because Osnabrücker land bordered in formerly reformed territories, there is since the 19-th century member of the Reformed Church in the administrative district. The confessional distribution has itself in spite of train from Home-expelled changes after 1945.

Traffic

* Federal motorway A 1 from Cologne after Bremen and Hamburg
* A 30 from Amsterdam after Bad Oeynhausen with connection in A 2 after Berlin – Warsaw
* A 33 from Osnabrück about Bielefeld and Paderborn to A 44
* Federal highway B 51 Cologne-Bremen
* B 65 Osnabrück-Hannover
* B 68 Paderborn – Bielefeld – Cloppenburg
* B 214 Lingen – Brunswick
* B 218 Fürstenau-Bohmte

Rail traffic

Hanoverian west road was completed in Osnabrück in 1855 from Hannover, its lengthening followed after the Rheine in 1856. Köln-Mindener railroad company connected Osnabrück in 1871 with Bremen and in 1873 with Münster. With it the town had become a significant road interchange.

An other connection opened to the north, Oldenburgische state road, in 1876. The town Fürstenau in the northwest of the district was connected in 1879 from Rheinischen railroad company with section the Rhine-Quakenbrück to the railroad network. The state road net was completed in 1886 by Preussische state road with section Osnabrück Bielefeld ("Haller Willem").

In addition, Wittlager circular path opened in 1900 a branch line Holzhausen-Heddinghausen with connection with the mainline Osnabrück-Bremen. The distance to Bohmte followed in 1914 after Damme. From Ibbenbüren to Gutersloh through bath Iburg and bath Laer in the south edge of the Teutoburger Wald-Eisenbahn (TWE) operated since 1900/01. North of the circle was opened in 1904 by small road Lingen-Berge-Quakenbrück (gauge 750 mms). By 1915 Ankum-Bersenbrücker railroad received municipality in Ankum and a rail connection with the mainline.

Today districs belonging to traffic society administrative district Osnabrück (VLO) pursues the freight traffic between Hasbergen and Georgsmarienhütte-Oesede (Georgsmarienhütten-Eisenbahn und Transport GmbH) and on the rail line of the former "Wittlager circular path". In addition, the part from Lower Saxony of the section "Haller Willem" belongs to it.

The railroad network reached a maximum circumference of more than 300 km. Of it the passenger traffic on 121 km was closed down:
* In 1952: Small road Lingen-Berge-Quakenbrück (29 km)
* In 1962: Wittlager circular path Damme-Hunteburg (6 km) and Ankum-Bersenbrücker railroad (5 km)
* In 1966: Wittlager circular path Hunteburg Bohmte Prussian village Olden (24 km)
* In 1968: Ibbenbüren Gutersloh TWE (15 km)
* In 1969: Section Quakenbrück-Rheine (34 km)
* In 1978: Hasbergen-Oesede (8 km)
* In 1984: "Haller Willem" Osnabrück Dissen bath Rothenfelde (Reactivated in 2005).

Today the following railroad lines are served with the personal close traffic:
* Section Löhne-Rheine with long-distance traffic to Amsterdam – Bad Bentheim – Osnabrück central station-Hannover-Berlin
* Section Wanne-Eickel-Hamburg with long-distance traffic to Cologne Osnabrück Hbf-Bremen-Hamburg
* Section Oldenburg-Osnabrück
* Section Delmenhorst Osnabrück to about Vechta
* Section Osnabrück Bielefeld "Haller Willem" Operators in the close traffic are German Railways Regio Lower Saxony, northwest road and Westphalian's road.

External links

* [http://www.gemeindeverzeichnis.de/gem1900/gem1900.htm?hannover/osnabrueck.htm Gemeindeverzeichnis 1910]
* [http://www.lkos.de/ Official website] (German, English, Dutch, Polish, Russian)