Varel
Varel (German pronunciation: [ˈfaːʁəl] ) is a town in the district of Friesland, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Jade River and the Jade Bight, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Wilhelmshaven and 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Oldenburg. With a population of 23,984 (2020) it is the biggest town in the district of Friesland.
Varel | |
|---|---|
 Pedestrian area in Varel | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Varel within Friesland district <imagemap>File: Varel in FRI.svg | 240x240px poly 590 1322 697 1158 673 1127 707 1117 762 1043 763 1032 733 1031 756 978 819 959 866 1004 878 1012 864 1023 871 1032 820 1046 812 1101 784 1134 762 1361 758 1398 651 1410 650 1390 638 1376 643 1339 618 1351 Bockhorn poly 763 1365 779 1151 796 1123 823 1041 846 1043 868 1031 875 1006 904 985 928 979 947 985 967 1006 981 1034 1025 1069 1046 1118 1042 1133 1063 1159 1062 1182 1051 1185 1049 1199 1056 1212 1057 1232 1031 1270 1009 1274 979 1293 961 1323 919 1344 896 1331 858 1334 837 1302 809 1313 Varel poly 469 1138 626 1027 663 968 698 925 705 945 742 966 811 938 823 956 795 972 773 968 754 972 753 1016 742 1035 764 1038 760 1047 737 1065 703 1121 671 1127 683 1156 697 1163 657 1209 677 1216 641 1228 635 1228 636 1243 649 1249 642 1253 636 1254 639 1261 627 1263 628 1273 617 1274 591 1319 515 1275 Zetel poly 660 960 636 931 615 935 627 902 588 908 620 826 642 828 638 812 682 801 682 782 708 793 716 806 758 811 767 804 771 809 789 808 802 814 810 828 809 839 797 839 798 894 805 914 812 933 755 965 737 966 706 947 703 923 671 961 638 931 Sande poly 428 838 419 827 465 809 483 774 511 756 523 718 543 719 548 699 574 716 602 721 611 706 628 694 620 662 635 642 639 624 650 619 684 579 703 572 715 564 734 571 739 604 746 611 751 626 757 630 764 647 789 655 785 665 762 675 749 683 762 707 784 709 787 723 781 735 769 741 774 756 783 773 788 785 796 791 794 802 777 810 771 804 763 798 756 807 732 807 720 809 704 810 684 783 679 788 678 797 654 801 639 806 636 819 644 829 627 834 609 833 604 825 582 816 557 812 534 806 515 804 486 821 431 837 Schortens poly 427 840 419 819 452 809 465 812 481 787 473 780 496 766 514 754 523 718 530 714 540 721 546 706 563 699 569 720 584 718 590 712 601 718 604 709 621 707 628 692 620 655 633 644 629 626 609 596 599 608 601 591 593 591 587 597 549 583 545 597 541 607 510 613 509 632 473 627 458 631 452 643 441 650 439 672 441 690 423 704 419 719 426 751 409 789 400 795 409 842 422 845 429 835 420 824 446 808 Jever poly 710 565 726 546 747 527 773 512 781 495 804 491 810 497 854 480 889 553 902 561 979 713 979 731 943 790 913 780 894 792 923 809 897 835 847 842 804 832 795 803 802 792 794 785 786 785 768 739 788 721 788 706 772 699 758 695 758 679 784 668 795 652 788 647 770 648 759 629 754 615 760 592 741 572 724 566 Wilhelmshaven poly 1031 31 1104 31 1105 116 1027 118 1030 30 Friesland (district) poly 552 563 586 593 602 583 627 621 663 600 690 572 707 562 723 549 774 506 783 485 804 498 854 472 836 438 769 456 732 347 736 298 749 282 724 263 611 244 527 247 476 245 434 244 402 261 443 373 439 414 441 426 455 437 445 453 447 475 435 464 425 478 444 491 433 496 476 505 482 528 471 548 475 568 449 583 469 615 482 626 516 622 511 604 538 600 544 590 545 561 Wangerland poly 675 101 698 69 721 104 730 176 701 184 Minsener Oog poly 933 8 1400 12 1398 446 929 450 Lower Saxony poly 421 48 459 97 640 98 663 32 419 22 Wangerooge poly 396 1216 428 1255 490 1216 511 1270 446 1418 2 1420 4 1335 42 1330 49 1315 91 1303 113 1320 Leer (district) poly 451 1418 508 1275 615 1347 640 1340 635 1376 646 1391 649 1410 761 1397 765 1368 812 1306 831 1314 863 1337 917 1342 963 1326 978 1289 1006 1276 1006 1290 990 1312 1004 1339 1004 1368 1045 1376 1044 1392 1058 1407 1147 1407 1149 1420 Ammerland poly 20 1331 393 1214 385 1122 308 1119 310 1103 349 1073 321 1013 279 1040 245 1022 246 986 266 979 249 932 153 957 146 848 89 778 123 748 101 678 19 683 Aurich (district) poly 374 1147 396 1215 422 1228 425 1247 494 1218 469 1145 651 1011 669 961 638 932 614 934 619 909 596 913 606 823 528 807 412 848 394 793 420 758 426 711 417 707 431 701 433 649 471 616 454 604 450 588 478 531 471 507 426 499 410 477 413 464 428 467 441 435 435 427 441 421 439 393 441 366 395 262 5 325 2 658 104 673 125 745 94 774 153 846 156 955 254 932 284 957 253 1001 325 1009 Wittmund (district) poly 1010 1273 1033 1267 1061 1241 1046 1125 1124 1136 1222 1049 1209 1022 1248 991 1250 824 1243 777 1098 787 1114 604 1231 520 1308 547 1371 630 1418 656 1422 1405 1151 1418 1144 1405 1086 1412 1043 1389 1046 1370 1017 1358 1015 1336 994 1311 1013 1293 Wesermarsch poly 1 120 53 140 99 136 145 74 281 64 364 72 367 92 308 102 257 130 198 128 159 116 148 152 113 142 48 172 39 179 1 168 Wittmund (district) desc bottom-right </imagemap> | |
  Varel  Varel | |
| Coordinates: 53°23′49″N 08°08′10″E / 53.39694°N 8.13611°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Lower Saxony |
| District | Friesland |
| Subdivisions | 32 districts |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2021–26) | Gerd-Christian Wagner[1] (SPD) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 113.53 km2 (43.83 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 12 m (39 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 24,397 |
| • Density | 210/km2 (560/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 26316 |
| Dialling codes | 04451 |
| Vehicle registration | FRI |
| Website | www.varel.de |
Geography
Varel is located south of the Jade Bight at the North Sea on the Geest. Over time, the city expanded into lower areas as the construction of dykes helped to secure these areas from floods.
The environment of Varel is shaped by agriculture, forests and the sea.
Neighbour municipalities
Jade in the district of Wesermarsch is the Eastern neighbour municipality of Varel. In the South of Varel one will find the municipalities Rastede and Wiefelstede which are part of the district of Ammerland. The municipality of Bockhorn is located in the West of Varel. Bockhorn is also part of the district of Friesland.
Segmentation of the city
Varel is segmented into 21 localities. Besides the downtown area these are Altjührden, Borgstede, Büppel, Dangast, Dangastermoor, Grünenkamp, Hohelucht, Hohenberge, Jeringhave, Jethausen, Langendamm, Moorhausen, Neudorf, Neuenwege, Obenstrohe, Rallenbüschen, Rosenberg, Seghorn, Streek and Winkelsheide. Further villages in the municipality are Almsee, Bramloge, Brunne, Jethausermoor, Logemoor, Plaggenkrug, Rahling, Rotenhahn, Schwarzenberg, Tange, Vareler Schleuse and Wilkenhausen.
Usage of areas
A little more than three fourths of the area of Varel is agricultural land. The size of the forest – around ten percent of the total size – is remarkably high for a city at the North Sea coast.[3]
Castle church
The castle church is the oldest building in Varel. The first part of the church is believed to have been built in 1144.[4] The tower was added between 1200 and 1250, originally as twin towers, which were rebuilt in today's form first in 1651 and then in 1737. The altar, font and pulpit were carved in 1613 – 1618 by Ludwig Münstermann. The altar is nearly 10 metres (33 ft) high and is one of the main works of Northern German Mannerism.
Before the Protestant Reformation, the patron saint was Saint Peter. Today, the castle church is a Lutheran church, with no patron saint. The church was formerly one of the buildings of the castle, which was demolished in the 19th century soon after a fire destroyed most parts of it.
Notable people
- Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg (1715–1800), ruling Countess of Varel and confidante of Voltaire and Frederick the Great
- Johann Gerhard Oncken (1800–1884), founder of the German and continental European Baptist churches
- Lothar Meyer (1830–1895), developed modern periodic table of the elements independently of Dmitri Mendeleev.[5]
- Oskar Emil Meyer (1834–1909), physicist, studied the viscosity of gases.
- Frederick Ludwig Hoffman (1865–1946), statistician.[6]
- Wilhelm Hegeler (1870–1943), writer and novelist.[7]
- Friedrich Wegener (1907–1990), Nazi pathologist, studied granulomatosis with polyangiitis
- Hildegard Behrens (1937–2009), singer (dramatic soprano)
- Hans-Paul Bürkner (born 1951), CEO of the Boston Consulting Group
- Heiko Daxl (1957–2012), media artist, exhibition curator, art gallery owner and design / art collector; grew up locally
- Massiv in Mensch (founded in 1996), Industrial music duo
Sport
- Carl Carls (1880–1958), chess champion
- Ines Varenkamp (born 1963), cyclist
- Markus Eichler (born 1982), cyclist
- Deniz Undav (born 1996), footballer who has played over 260 games
- Esther Henseleit (born 1999), professional golfer
International relations
Varel is twinned with:
See also
References
- ^ "Direktwahlen in Niedersachsen vom 12. September 2021" (PDF). Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen. 13 October 2021.
- ^ "LSN-Online Regionaldatenbank, Tabelle A100001G: Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes, Stand 31. Dezember 2022" (in German). Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Varel, Stadt. "Zahlen, Daten, Fakten". Stadt Varel.
- ^ "Stadt Varel - Sehenswürdigkeiten". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 348–349.
- ^ . Collier's New Encyclopedia. Vol. V. 1921.
- ^ . Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. XIV. 1920.
- ^ Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 5 June 2002; retrieved on 11 September 2009.
External links
- Official site (in German)