Ekern

Ekern Municipality Bad Zwischenahn Coordinates: 53 ° 9 ′ 33 " N , 7 ° 59 ′ 43" E
Height :	7 m above sea level NN
Residents :	1179 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Postal code :	26160
Area code :	04403
Location of Ekern in Lower Saxony
	; Image wanted

Ekern is a district of the Bad Zwischenahn community in the Ammerland district in Lower Saxony . It is located south of Bad Zwischenahn itself, on the border with the neighboring municipality of Edewecht . In addition to Ekern itself, the peasantry also includes Burgfelde and Aschwege .

geology

The Ekern farming community south of the Zwischenahner Meer is characterized by the low-lying valley of the Aue and Speckener Bäke, which runs from northeast to southwest, and the parallel ridge of the Speckener, Ekerner, Aschweger and Querensteder Esches . To the east is the distinctive high moor complex of the Ekerner Moor, which today still gives a good idea of the moor character of earlier times.

history

Windmill Ekern

Ekern is an old Eschdorf . The name probably goes back to the word Eck-Hörn , which means something like oak bush . De Ekerner Esch is mentioned as early as 1359 as a cleared farmland. Due to its very late coupling, the field names of the individual pieces of ash have been preserved.

Prehistory and early history up to the Middle Ages - settlement finds and the emergence of the peasantry

Finds in the excavation field of the Querensteder dune show in the Paleolithic (approx. 10,000 BC) an at least temporary settlement by hunters and fishermen. From the Neolithic Age (around 3000 BC) traces of sedentary farmers can be found for the first time in the Eschboden of Ekern, Aschwege and Querenstede. Again in the Querensteder dune, circular ditch urn graves testify to a settlement that also lasted in the Bronze Age (approx. 1800 - 800 BC).

Around the birth of Christ, finds of post holes and pits first suggest Germanic hall houses in the area, which shaped the local architectural style into the 20th century. Up until the end of the migration period (approx. 500 AD), it can be assumed that the higher-lying Esch areas were settled relatively densely by farmers. In the early Middle Ages (from 800 AD), in the Frankish colonization phase, state structures emerged in the region for the first time through the county constitution. Partly newly settled farmers get into sovereign and ecclesiastical dependencies ( "tithe levies" ). The place names Ekern, Aschwege and Querenstede are mentioned for the first time in 1270 in the feudal register of the Counts of Oldenburg and Bruchhausen . However, it can be assumed that these settlements, like the other Eschdörfer in Ammerland, were built in the 10th century.

The high-yield ash soils , which were regularly divided among the long-established "householders" , were mainly used for agriculture . De Ekerner Esch was mentioned as early as 1359 as a cleared field. That the farming was profitable is shown by the mention of an Olteke de mülnere in the Oldenburg document book from 1371, which, together with the old field names " Mühlenacker " and " Mühlengarten ", indicates a water mill on the Speckener Bäke. Another early watermill existed at the confluence of the Bäke in the floodplain . This was the predecessor of the Querensteder mill built in 1802.

13th to 15th centuries - The Scusselsburg

Around 1295, the Scusselsburg was built in the swampy floodplain . It was a so-called Gräfteburg with a castle square of 26 × 22 m, which was surrounded by two moats separated by a wall. The current place names Burgfelde and Borgwisch can be traced back to the location of the Scusselburg. The castle was the ancestral seat of the extensive noble family von Aschwege (also: Aswede, Ascwede; related were among others the Junkers von Specken ), who were ministerials of the Oldenburg counts in the middle of the 13th century . The place name Aschwege goes back to the family seat of the von Aschwege family. As feudal lords , all householders in Ekern and Aschwege were subject to a tithing . In 1438 the ownership of the von Aschwege family passed into the ownership of the Knights of Fikensholt , and the family moved to Arkenstede Castle ( can be viewed today in the museum village of Cloppenburg ).

16th to 19th centuries - changes in the peasantry

The inferior or marshy lands were free for everyone to use as a meanness , whereupon several "mutts" settled here from the middle of the 16th century . They formed a new status group, as a result of which the peasantry in 1580 consisted of 12 socially determining householders and 4 mutts with minor rights. In the following centuries this led to a sharp increase in small-scale mutt and brinkitzer farms, interrupted by several plague epidemics (1450, 1459, 1638). While in 1681 60% house people and 40% mutt were counted ( country description of the Vogtey Zwischenahn ), the ratio of full farmers to mutt / brinkitzer turned to 19% to 71% by 1816. This shift and the population growth (inhabitants 1662: 216, 1769: 318, 1855: 454) changed the conditions of the peasantry fundamentally. On the one hand, the increased hunger for land on the hitherto common areas increasingly restricted the common law of householders and led to conflicts. On the other hand, the smallholders were often very poor due to poor soil conditions, bad harvests, cattle diseases and taxes (the obligation to tithe was not lifted until 1851): in 1784 25% of the poor in the parish of Zwischenahn came from Ekern.

The 19th century - the arrival of modernity

The beginning of the 19th century was marked by far-reaching upheavals. On the one hand, the common division that took place in 1807 as a " land reform " contributed significantly to the elimination of smallholder poverty and to the end of the dispute over land. As a result, househusband and mutt jobs could be increased. An extensive road and drainage network was created and new settlements such as B. in Ekernermoor became possible. Wall hedges , which were created to mark the property, are still characteristic of the landscape . On the other hand, in 1814 a state administrative reform ended the previous peasant-cooperative self-government. A sub-civil servant (" Bauernvogt ") was now responsible for the interests of the community.

From the second half of the 19th century, technical progress made its entrance. The Ekerner Mühle was built in 1865 as a Erdholländer , but after a fire it had to be replaced by today's gallery Dutch in 1910 . For the construction of the three-storey octagonal tower, the then modern Monier construction method (concrete with iron reinforcement) was practiced for the first time in Ammerland , which is why the mill is a special monument. Significant improvements came through the road expansion (1871 / '72: paving of the Edewecht - Zwischenahn road, 1891 Querensteder Strasse, 1908 paving Ekernermoorstrasse). In 1912 the rail connection with its own station followed, and electrification began at the same time. Agriculture became faster and easier with the advent of threshers , locomobiles, and later tractors . All of this caused the economy to flourish. New jobs were created in particular in the food and wood processing and in the modern brick factory in Lüers. Accordingly, the population increased to 535 at the turn of the century due to the influx of workers and craftsmen.

1918 to 1939 - Crises and National Socialism

This positive development ended abruptly after the First World War , when the fall in prices for agricultural products, the economic crisis and inflation also hit Ekern. As in many other places, this favored the rise of National Socialism . After the takeover of power in 1933 Ekern was also brought into line and the community was militarized . But people were generally satisfied, as the state measures supported the indebted agriculture and the recovering economy gave the unemployed again opportunities to work. In 1934, a new school was built, as parts of the old school building were from 1697. The number of inhabitants increased to 650 by 1939.

Second World War

During the Second World War , a barrack camp for prisoners of war was built at the Krüger inn , who had to help out in agriculture together with forced laborers . Until 1945 Ekern was spared acts of war except for a bomb emergency. The approaching end of the war was indicated at the turn of the year 1944/45 by conscription to the so-called “ Volkssturm ” and the first billeting of refugees from the east . In mid-April the front approached from the Edewecht area . To make it difficult for the Canadian troops to advance, important crossroads and all bridges were blown up in Ekern. On April 28th, Canadian tanks advancing from Dänikhorst and Portsloge reached Ekern. 21 German soldiers died in the fighting and three civilians were victims of low-level aircraft attacks. 24 properties burned down, the remaining houses and the railway systems were mostly badly damaged by shell hits and low-level aircraft fire. The Ekerner mill was just a torso without a cap, but remained in operation as a motor mill until 1963.

From the post-war period to today

After the liberation, denazification and “ democratization from below” were a priority; the first local elections took place in September 1946. With the influx of displaced people, the population grew to 886 by 1950. The Ekerner were busy with the re-establishment of damaged houses and the construction of various emergency shelters for locals and refugees (“ barrack time ”). There was a great shortage of food and heating material, and even the valuable tree nursery crops had to give way to vegetable growing. As soon as trains started running again , many hoarders from big cities showed up. Much was only available on the black market , black slaughtering and distilling were the order of the day. These chaotic conditions did not end until 1948 with the currency reform . The years of the " economic miracle " followed, and from the 1970s the settlement of large-scale industrial companies began (1972 Röben brickworks, 1993 Oltmanns plastics factory - today Pipelife, 1997 industrial area "Hahnenkamp"). Ekern, however, remained rural and characterized by the nursery industry. In 1964 it was connected to the public water supply, and in 1985/87 it was connected to the Zwischenahn sewer system . In 1991 the small train operation ended, the route of which was prepared for bicycle tourists in 1994. The Ekerner mill, which has only existed as a stump since the war, was extensively renovated in 1996–1999 and received, among other things, its old cap with the wings. At the turn of the millennium, 1,012 people lived in the peasantry.

History of the Burgforde School

In 1638 a schoolmaster was mentioned for the first time and in 1645 a secondary school in Eckern in Ekern. A school building followed in 1698 so that the children of the village would not have to make the long way to school to Zwischenahn. The inhabitants of the Ohrwege and Dänikhorst farmers also sent their children to this school in the 18th century. When the building at that time gradually became too small and the construction of a new school building was applied for on February 5, 1785, in which the parents of these farmers should also participate, they refused, but made it clear, even without participation in the estimated costs 260 Reichstalern continue to send their children to school in Burgfelde. The missing 160 Reichstaler (the church gave 100) were financed as a loan from the church, so that the new school building could be built in 1795.

The increasing number of pupils (despite the separation of Dänikhorst from the Burgfelde School Association) made a new building necessary around 1837. However, due to the expected high costs, the new building was not realized. Instead, the neighboring Kötterei of the deceased Johann Heinrich Schröder was sold to the school authorities by his widow on March 19, 1839. The costs for this were covered by the sale of the old school building. In 1901 the number of students was around 80 to 100.

After a fire in 1850, the school was partially destroyed and rebuilt. Today's school building was built in 1934 and had to be rebuilt after the war damage in 1945. From 1962, the elementary school was continued as a primary school with grades 1-4 and closed completely with a council resolution of June 16, 1970 and has been home to local associations since then.

economy

The brick industry in particular has established itself as an industry in Ekern, as extensive clay deposits were available here.
In Ekern there is a plant of the pipe manufacturer Pipelife , a subsidiary of the brick manufacturer Wienerberger .

literature

Karl Benke, Hellmuth Boelsen, Wilhelm Bruns, Heike Düselder, Gerd Fischer, Eilert Freese, Jürgen Günther, Michael Hansing, Klaus Harms, Wolfgang Hartung, Walter Helmerichs, Paul Hinrichs, Ulrich Hellweg, Günter König, Uwe Krüger, Günter Kühl, Axel Lüers , Bernhard Menke, Wilhelm Friedrich Meyer, Helmut Ottenjann, Christoph Reinders-Düselder, Karl Veit Riedel, Ilse-Jutta Sandstede, Wilhelm Sandstede, Gerd Schmidt-Möck, Carl-Heinz Schöfer, Peter Schulze, Gerd von Seggern, Erhard Steiner, Klaus Taux , Günther Wiechmann, Christian Wöbcken, Karl-Heinz Ziessow, Dieter Zoller, Dirk Zoller, Marianne Zoller: The Bad Zwischenahn community . People, history, landscape. Ed .: Municipality of Bad Zwischenahn. Friedrich Schmücker GmbH, Bad Zwischenahn 1994 (1062 pages; alternative title: Chronicle of the Bad Zwischenahn community on google-books ).

Johannes Tirre: Village history of the old farmers' sheep Ekern 1270 to 1999 - History and present of an Ammerland farmers in the community of Bad Zwischenahn . Ed .: Local association Ekern. 1st edition. Ekern. 1994. 528 pages.

Individual evidence

[1] Annual statistical report of the Bad Zwischenahn community as of December 31, 2019

[2] History of the Ekern mill on the website of the Ekern mill association