Ritterhude
Encyclopedia
Ritterhude is a municipality in the district of Osterholz
, in Lower Saxony
, Germany
. It is situated on the Hamme River
, approx. 6 km southwest of Osterholz-Scharmbeck
, and 13 km northwest of Bremen
.
and the Wümme River
lowlands together with the glacially formed landscape Geest
with typically sandy and loamy soils.
. The house 'von der Hude' is being mentioned for the first time in a document in 1185. The castle 'Huda' was used in 1309 to protect the passage over the Hamme River
at the 'Heerweg' from Hamburg
to Bremen
. The number of inhabitants increased from 52 families in the year 1568 to 89 in the year 1710. In 1757, both castle and bridge were destroyed during the Seven Year's War.
Ritterhude belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648, the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union
by the Swedish and, from 1715 onwards, by the Hanoverian Crown. In 1823, the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region
.
Osterholz
Osterholz is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Wesermarsch, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg and Verden, and by the city of Bremen.-History:...
, in 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...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is situated on the Hamme River
Hamme River
The Hamme is a 48 km long river in Germany, Lower Saxony, north-east of Bremen. Its source is north of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. It flows through the moors north-east of Bremen called Teufelsmoor , and meets the river Wümme in Ritterhude. From this junction, the river is called Lesum...
, approx. 6 km southwest of Osterholz-Scharmbeck
Osterholz-Scharmbeck
Osterholz-Scharmbeck is a town and the capital of the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osterholz-Scharmbeck is situated in between the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven.-Neighbouring places:* Bremen * Delmenhorst...
, and 13 km northwest of Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
.
Geographical location
The natural landscape is characterized by extended fens, the alluvial wetlands and marshes of the Hamme RiverHamme River
The Hamme is a 48 km long river in Germany, Lower Saxony, north-east of Bremen. Its source is north of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. It flows through the moors north-east of Bremen called Teufelsmoor , and meets the river Wümme in Ritterhude. From this junction, the river is called Lesum...
and the Wümme River
Wümme River
The Wümme is a river in northern Germany. It is the left tributary of the Lesum, which runs into the river Weser.It runs 118 km across northern Lower Saxony and the state of Bremen, marking the border between the two states for part of its course....
lowlands together with the glacially formed landscape Geest
Geest (topography)
Geest is a type of slightly raised landscape that occurs in the plains of in Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils, usually mantled by a heathland vegetation, comprising glacial deposits left behind after the last ice age during the...
with typically sandy and loamy soils.
Organization of the Municipality
Since the reform of administration and reorganization of local government in 1974, today's municipality of Ritterhude was formed by the previously independent municipalities of Ritterhude (7.700 inhabitants), Platjenwerbe (2.300 inhabitants), Ihlpohl (2.000 inhabitants), Lesumstotel (800 inhabitants), Stendorf (600 inhabitants), and Werschenrege (400 inhabitants).Transportation
- The Ritterhude railway stationRitterhude railway stationRitterhude is the name of a railway station on the Bremen-Bremerhaven railway line. The station serves the town of Ritterhude in the district of Osterholz....
is connected via S-BahnS-BahnS-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...
to the Deutsche BahnDeutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
railway network. - Ritterhude is conveniently located near the German AutobahnGerman AutobahnenThe German autobahns are the nationally coordinated motorway system in Germany. In German, they are officially called Bundesautobahn , which translates as federal expressways...
(Cuxhaven–BremerhavenBremerhavenBremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
–BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
–WalsrodeWalsrode-Middle Ages:986 Foundation of Walsrode Abbey by Count Walo. The first recorded mentionof the town is dated May 7, 986.1383 The dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg grant Walsrode a town charter.1479 First recorded instance of Walsrode's coat of arms...
) and BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
no. 74 (BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
–StadeStadeStade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...
).
History
First mention in 1182 in a document of the monastery of OsterholzOsterholz
Osterholz is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Wesermarsch, Cuxhaven, Rotenburg and Verden, and by the city of Bremen.-History:...
. The house 'von der Hude' is being mentioned for the first time in a document in 1185. The castle 'Huda' was used in 1309 to protect the passage over the Hamme River
Hamme River
The Hamme is a 48 km long river in Germany, Lower Saxony, north-east of Bremen. Its source is north of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. It flows through the moors north-east of Bremen called Teufelsmoor , and meets the river Wümme in Ritterhude. From this junction, the river is called Lesum...
at the 'Heerweg' from Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
. The number of inhabitants increased from 52 families in the year 1568 to 89 in the year 1710. In 1757, both castle and bridge were destroyed during the Seven Year's War.
Ritterhude belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648, the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
by the Swedish and, from 1715 onwards, by the Hanoverian Crown. In 1823, the Duchy was abolished and its territory became part of the Stade Region
Stade (region)
The Stade Region emerged in 1823 by an administrative reorganisation of the dominions of the Kingdom of Hanover, a sovereign state, whose then territory is almost completely part of today's German federal state of Lower Saxony...
.