Hümmling (hills)
Encyclopedia
The Hümmling is a ground moraine landscape, up to high, in the Emsland
region on the North German Plain
in the western part of the German state of Lower Saxony
.
and the district of the same name, an the drainage area of Ems river. It is limited by the Ems valley in the west and the Saterland
in the east. It is located around the village of Sögel
which is about 22 km northeast of Meppen
. Various streams rise in the Hümmling which discharge into the Hase to the south, the Ems to the southeast and the Leda to the north.
s of the megalith
culture in the Hümmling hills.
In times of the Holy Roman Empire
, Hümmling region was the northern part of the diocese and clerical territory of Münster
, called the Niederstift Münster (i. e. "Lower Foundation of Münster"). In those days, Emsland was a part of the region of Westphalia
. Clemens August, prince-bishop of Münster
ordered to build Clemenswerth Castle to be built as a summer residence for his hunting holidays. It became a main example of Westphalian Baroque
. When ge tried to use their soccage in order to build that castle, the peasants of the "Free Hümmling" fought a log successful trial at the Imperial Chamber Court in Wetzlar that they were not enfeoffed to anyone.
After short periods under the rule of the Duchy of Arenberg (1803 to 1810) and then the French Empire
(1810 to 1814), Hümmling hills as a part of northern Emsland region became the west of the Kingdom of Hanover
(1814 to 1866). After the annexion of that state by the kingdom of Prussia
it belonged to the Province of Hanover
.
flour with syrup, apple sauce, cranberries
, egg, cheese, bread or rye bread
.
The 'national anthem' of the Hümmlings is the Hümmelske Bur, a song, which typecasts the characteristics of the local population.
There is still a local dialect
, the Hümmlinger Platt, which belongs to the Northern Low Saxon
group of West Low German dialects. Not until about 1975 were generations born that grew up speaking High German.
The Hüven Mill is a technological attraction in the Hümmling. It is the last fully preserved combined wind-
and watermill
in Europe.
in the Hümmling who, in addition to the Catholic faith, also belong to the New Apostolic Church
and other Protestant faiths (Pentecostalists, Baptists).
Emsland
Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , the district of Bentheim and the Netherlands .- History :For a long time the region of the Emsland was...
region on the North German Plain
North German plain
The North German Plain or Northern Lowland is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain...
in the western part of the German state of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
.
Location
The wooded Hümmling, which is about 28 km long and only a few kilometres wide, is situated in the northern part of the region of EmslandEmsland (region)
Emsland is the name of a region on the Ems River in western Lower Saxony and northern North Rhine-Westphalia. It is divided into the so-called Hanoverian and Westphalian Emsland....
and the district of the same name, an the drainage area of Ems river. It is limited by the Ems valley in the west and the Saterland
Saterland
Saterland is a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Leer, Cloppenburg, and Oldenburg...
in the east. It is located around the village of Sögel
Sögel
Samtgemeinde Sögel is a Samtgemeinde in the district Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany.The following towns are situated in Sögel:...
which is about 22 km northeast of Meppen
Meppen
Meppen can mean:*Meppen, Germany, a town in Germany*Meppen , a village in Drenthe, Netherlands...
. Various streams rise in the Hümmling which discharge into the Hase to the south, the Ems to the southeast and the Leda to the north.
History
There are over 100 more or less well-preserved dolmenDolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
s of the megalith
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...
culture in the Hümmling hills.
In times of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, Hümmling region was the northern part of the diocese and clerical territory of Münster
Bishopric of Münster
The Bishopric of Münster was an ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony...
, called the Niederstift Münster (i. e. "Lower Foundation of Münster"). In those days, Emsland was a part of the region of Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
. Clemens August, prince-bishop of Münster
Bishopric of Münster
The Bishopric of Münster was an ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony...
ordered to build Clemenswerth Castle to be built as a summer residence for his hunting holidays. It became a main example of Westphalian Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
. When ge tried to use their soccage in order to build that castle, the peasants of the "Free Hümmling" fought a log successful trial at the Imperial Chamber Court in Wetzlar that they were not enfeoffed to anyone.
After short periods under the rule of the Duchy of Arenberg (1803 to 1810) and then the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
(1810 to 1814), Hümmling hills as a part of northern Emsland region became the west of the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
(1814 to 1866). After the annexion of that state by the kingdom of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
it belonged to the Province of Hanover
Province of Hanover
The Province of Hanover was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, along with some other member states of the German Confederation...
.
Culture
A typical Hümmling speciality is the Baukweiten Janhinnerk, a pancake made of buckwheatBuckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
flour with syrup, apple sauce, cranberries
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
, egg, cheese, bread or rye bread
Rye bread
Rye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...
.
The 'national anthem' of the Hümmlings is the Hümmelske Bur, a song, which typecasts the characteristics of the local population.
There is still a local dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
, the Hümmlinger Platt, which belongs to the Northern Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon is a West Low German dialect.As such, it covers a great part of the West Low-German-speaking areas of northern Germany, with the exception of the border regions where Eastphalian and Westphalian are spoken...
group of West Low German dialects. Not until about 1975 were generations born that grew up speaking High German.
The Hüven Mill is a technological attraction in the Hümmling. It is the last fully preserved combined wind-
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
and watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
in Europe.
Religion
The Hümmling is 93 % Roman-Catholic. After the Second World War there was a large number of refugees from the old eastern provinces of Germany and, since 1990 there have also been ethnic German immigrants from the former Soviet UnionHistory of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union
The German minority in Russia and the Soviet Union was created from several sources and in several waves. The 1914 census puts the number of Germans living in Russian Empire at 2,416,290. In 1989, the German population of the Soviet Union was roughly 2 million. In the 2002 Russian census, 597,212...
in the Hümmling who, in addition to the Catholic faith, also belong to the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
and other Protestant faiths (Pentecostalists, Baptists).
Elevations
The elevations and land cells in the Hümmling hill country and its near vicinity include (heights in metres above sea level (NN)):
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Rivers and streams
The rivers and streams that rise in and near the hill country of the Hümmling, include the:- Loruper Beeke, rises in the Hümmling, southeast tributary of the Ohe
- MarkaMarka (river)Marka is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Lower Saxony...
, rises in the Hümmling, east of Werlte, right headstream of the Sagter Ems, which discharges into the Leda - MittelraddeMittelraddeMittelradde is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany....
, rises on the eastern edge of the Hümmling and passes it to the southeast, northern tributary of the Hase - NordraddeNordraddeNordradde is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany....
, rises in the middle of the Hümmling, near the Theikenmeer, northeastern tributary of the Ems - OheOhe (Sagter Ems)Ohe is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany....
, rises in the centre of the Hümmling, leaves it in a northern direction, left headstream of the Sagter Ems - Sagter EmsSagter EmsSagter Ems is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Lower Saxony...
, results from the confluence of Marka and Ohe north of Friesoythe-Neuscharrel - SüdraddeSüdraddeSüdradde is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Lower Saxony...
, rises east of the Hümmling, northern tributary of the Hase
Settlements
The settlements in and around the Hümmling include:
|
Neubörger Neubörger is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.... Rastdorf Rastdorf is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.... Sögel Samtgemeinde Sögel is a Samtgemeinde in the district Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany.The following towns are situated in Sögel:... (centre) Spahnharrenstätte Spahnharrenstätte is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.... |
Stavern Stavern is a small Norwegian town located in the municipality of Larvik, south of the city of Larvik in Vestfold.The port and naval base of Stavern was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . Even though it was an important port it was first given its status as a town July 1, 1942... (southern edge) Surwold Surwold is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.... (northern edge) Werpeloh Werpeloh is a municipality in the Emsland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.... (centre) Werlte Samtgemeinde Werlte is a Samtgemeinde in the district Emsland in Lower Saxony, Germany.The following towns are situated in Werlte:... |
Sources
- Matthias Bähr, Widerstand vor dem Reichskammergericht: Als die "freien Hümmlinger" nach Wetzlar zogen (1739-1768), in: Emsländische Geschichte Bd. 15. Hrsg. von der Studiengesellschaft für Emsländische Regionalgeschichte, Haselünne 2008, ISBN 3-9808021-6-7, S. 468-577
- Wilhelm Ludwig Heermann: Unser Hümmling, unsere Heimat. Gedichte und Erzählungen aus alten Zeiten. Goldschmidt, Werlte 2002, ISBN 3-927099-79-1
- Werner Franke et al.: Der Hümmling mit Sögel, Werlte und Nordhümmling. Reihe Landschaften im Emsland. Emsländischer Heimatbund, Sögel 1995, ISBN 3-88077-077-8
- Autorenkollektiv: Der Hümmling. Ein Heimatbuch. Herausgegeben vom Katholischen Kreislehrerverein des Kreises Hümmling. (Fotomechanischer Nachdruck der Ausgabe von 1929.) Goldschmidt, Werlte 1979
- Holger Lemmermann: Auf dem freien Hümmling. Ländliches Leben in vier Jahrhunderten (1530-1870). 2. Auflage. Emsländischer Heimatbund, Sögel 1995, ISBN 3-88077-126-X
- Lothar Riedel: Die Hümmlinger Kreisbahn. Die Verkehrsgeschichte der schmalspurigen Kleinbahn Lathen-Sögel-Werlte. Röhr, Krefeld 1983, ISBN 3-88490-138-9