Ahrensdorf near Friesoythe

Ahrensdorf Friesoythe parish Coordinates: 53 ° 5 ′ 32 ″ N , 7 ° 53 ′ 8 ″ E
Height :	8 m
Area :	11 km²
Residents :	260
Population density :	24 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	26169
Area code :	04497
Location of Ahrensdorf in Lower Saxony

Ahrensdorf is a district of Altenoythe in the district of Cloppenburg in Lower Saxony . Ahrensdorf lies on both sides of the coastal canal in the "Long Moor". The settlement area covers approx. 1,100 hectares with around 260 inhabitants. Ahrensdorf also includes Heinfelde , located to the north, with another 50 inhabitants.

location

Ahrensdorf lies on the coastal canal . The leading past on the north side of the village B 401 from Oldenburg to Papenburg true with every day more than 2,000 cars and trucks as much sail .

Harkebrugge (5 km)	Westerscheps (4 km)	Edewecht (4 km)
Kampe (4 km)		Barkendorp (2 km)
Friesoythe (8 km)	Hohefeld (6 km)	Edewechterdamm (4 km)

history

Until the 20th century

In more than 5,000 years, the "Long Moor", a strip between Papenburg and Oldenburg, has grown as a high moor. The "Long Moor" is approx. 9 km long, up to 4 km wide and is bounded in the north and south by rising geest areas in the localities of Harkebrugge , Edewecht and Altenoythe .

The Hunte-Ems Canal was completed in 1893 in order to develop the “Lange Moor” and other moorland areas . It served for drainage and as a transport route. The first massive residential building was built around 1905 (restaurant Helms - south side of the canal). Since 1908, 80 hectares of peat have been mined south of the canal in the so-called "Boswyk'schen Moor" .

1920–1930: peat farming and beginning settlements

Ahrensdorf owes its existence to the large-scale and industrial peat extraction . This was prepared in the years 1915–1918 by Torfwerk Oldenburg AG (Wilhelm Bosselmann). Several hundred prisoners of war from the Jordanshof moor in Husbäke were used to dig the necessary drainage ditches. From 1920 the peat factory was able to mine white peat on an area of 220 hectares .

In the years 1922–1926 the Hunte-Ems Canal was expanded to accommodate 600 t ships and in 1924 the “Langenmoor” bridge was built. This was of particular importance for Ahrensdorf, as it created a permanent connection between the northern and southern canal banks. Until now, the canal could only be crossed with difficulty by boats and ferry, the nearest road bridge was in the neighboring Edewechterdamm and the bridge in Kampe was not completed until 1928. The bridge is still a landmark of Ahrensdorf today and is immortalized on the flag and in the coat of arms of the rifle club.

In addition to the peat works, the “Oldenburgische Moorkulturgesellschaft” has been operating the agricultural “Moorgut Langenmoor” with a good 260 hectares since around 1920. Its focus was on grassland farming with dairy farming and the cultivation of grain, potatoes and beets. Seeds, fertilizers, etc. a. were transported by the small railway Bad Zwischenahn – Edewechterdamm via an in-house field railway (remaining route: today's route "Zur Kleinbahn" in Süddorf). In the hard times after the First World War, both the peat plant and the moor land attracted job seekers who also needed living space. So in 1925 two colonists were sent to “Barkendorp” at the east end of what is now Ahrensdorf.

At the beginning of 1928, the Oldenburg settlement office expelled 50 colonies on the north side of the canal between the road to Edewecht and the site of the peat factory . At the same time the peat factory was sold. From 1934 to 1936 most of the z. Partly moderately cultivated agricultural area of the Moorggut (151 ha) sold to the Oldenburg state for settlement .

1930–1945: Ahrensdorf village emerged

Today's Ahrensdorf was built on the area of the moorland in 1934, initially as the "Langenmoor Colony" . 15 full-time settlers were settled here, who lived in the most primitive emergency shelters until their commercial and residential buildings were completed. In 1935 the northern canal path was paved and the place name Langenmoor was renamed "Lüchtenborg" (after an SA man ). In 1936 it was connected to the power grid . In the same year the school was opened and on the south side of the canal the settlement of 14 part-time settlers ("Langenmoor-Süd") began on the peated Boswyk moor. The sweaty drainage work of the settlers was supported by workers from the RAD camp in Husbäke, so-called "Arbeitsmaiden" helped in the settler families. For them, the "RAD-Female Youth" camp was built in Ahrensdorf in 1938.

In April 1945, Ahrensdorf was heavily devastated by the bitter fighting over the Edewechterdamm bridgehead . The local canal bridge was blown up on April 14th, the buildings of the moorland were destroyed and many settler houses were seriously damaged by fire.

Ahrensdorf after 1945

At the end of the war there was a great housing shortage, refugees arriving were quartered in the former RAD camp. At that time, the coastal canal was of great importance for the sale of wood peat to Oldenburg or for the delivery of building materials to Ahrensdorf. For the people of Ahrensdorf, however, it was also an obstacle, as it could only be crossed with an improvised ferry or private boat until the destroyed pedestrian bridge was rebuilt in 1950. In September 1946, by decree of the military government, Lüchtenborg was renamed Ahrensdorf (in honor of the state economics official Ahrens from the Oldenburg settlement office).

The currency reform revitalized construction activity on both sides of the canal with many new settlers. In this context, the Heinfelde settlement was built in 1957 on the site of the former peat factory. The commissioning of two new peat factories brought an economic upswing, and the use of machines made agriculture much easier. The clinker street on the north side of the canal was improved in 1951 and dedicated to the federal highway 401 . During this time (1952) the coastal canal, which defines the townscape, was widened to its current size. In 1968, Ahrensdorf was connected to the supply network of the Oldenburg-East Frisian Water Association, which meant that the previously problematic supply from domestic wells or rainwater cisterns containing moor water could be ended.

Today the peat industry is extinct, the still formative agriculture has specialized in grassland with silage maize cultivation and dairy farming.

Political Affiliation

In old land maps, Ahrensdorf can be found in the "Altenoyther Moor", so it was included in the former municipality of Altenoythe . In 1974 Ahrensdorf was incorporated into Friesoythe as part of a regional reform . This did not meet with approval everywhere in the population, as large parts - also for religious reasons - saw themselves as belonging to Edewecht, which is 3 km northeast . Until 2006 there was a district head in Ahrensdorf.

Clubs and events

In 1952 the shooting club Ahrensdorf was founded, which organizes an annual shooting festival.

literature

Author collective: Chronicle 50 years of Ahrensdorf 1934–1984. Self-published. Ahrensdorf. 1984.