Ellenser dam
The Ellenser Damm is a dam that was built between 1596 and 1615, which led across the mudflats of the Black Brack and thus connected the Oldenburger Land in the south with the Jeverland in the north. The approximately four-kilometer-long dam connected the two islands Ellens and Ahm, which were Geestinseln in the Wadden Sea of the Black Brack. The first measures to damming the Black Brack were started from the island of Ellens. This is how the dam got its name.
history
With the death of Maria von Jever , the rule of Jever fell to the County of Oldenburg . The black brack , however, separated both parts of the country from each other. A connection was only possible via East Frisian area , which claimed road tolls for it. Therefore, Count Johann VII. Von Oldenburg planned to dike the entire bay against the will of the East Frisian Sielorte . In 1593 a first partial step was made, in which a dike leading north from the southern dike line was built to the island of Ellens . In 1595, the two Oberahmer Islands on the north side of Jever were tied back to the mainland. Another dike was built between 1596 and 1597, which led from Jeringhave over the island of Hiddels to the island of Ellens and thus drained the part of the bay south of the island of Ellens.
In 1597, East Frisia objected to the dike measures and in 1599 sued the Oldenburgers before the Imperial Court of Justice in Speyer . The documents and maps presented in the court proceedings are valuable documents today and describe the existing locations in great detail. The East Frisians justified their lawsuit with the loss of trade, shipping and fishing. The Oldenburgers referred to the reclamation of the ancient Oldenburg and Jever mainland. The legal dispute dragged on, which is why the Oldenburg family was initially forced to stop construction work in 1604. It was only possible to continue building in 1612 after the ruling Count Anton Günther assured that he would remove the dyke again if the complaint was dismissed. Ultimately, the legal dispute ended with a settlement long years after the dike was closed .
Two new sluices were planned for the discharge of the inland water , one on the Jeverland side and one on the Oldenburg side. A single channel was discarded because the necessary channel width could not be achieved with the technology possible at the time. The sewer was built years before the dam was closed. The first was created in 1603/1604 on the Oldenburg side. The second on the Jever side was built in 1608, but had to be demolished again as the location turned out to be very unfavorable. Instead, the second channel was relocated near the first channel on the Oldenburg side. Next to the sluices, two storm dikes were then built, whose task it was to regulate the water flow in the inland depths and to protect the construction site for the closure work.
The closure of the dam north of the two sluices caused great difficulties. In 1613 the Dutchman Christophel failed, then the dike builder freshwater, also from Holland, failed. It was not until July 31, 1615 that the bailiff von Zwischenahn Arend Stindt succeeded in closing the Ellenser Damm with great material expenditure. More than 1000 dike workers worked on the construction site for the closure . Around 100 soldiers ensured peace and order during the work. The earth required for the dam was brought by ship from the islands in the Jade Bay that still existed at the time. Around 180 ships of different sizes were used for this. The Oldenburg Ammerland had to deliver wood and Schlengen material. The materials used were 230,000 bundles of bushes, 100,000 fence posts, 400 posts with a length of seven meters, 200 tree rafters, 120 mast trees with a length between ten and 17 meters and 24 barrels. With the closure, around 1,600 hectares of land were reclaimed. Further land reclamation measures up to the middle of the 19th century made the black brackish land again.
Ellenserdammer Schanze
The new Ellenser Dam with the two sluices was of considerable strategic importance for the region. Therefore the Oldenburgers built a small fortification on the island between the two sluices, which was occupied by a dozen soldiers. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) troops of Count Ernst von Mansfeld , coming from East Friesland, occupied this fortification in 1622 and built a hill there . A short time later Count Anton Günter was able to negotiate the withdrawal of the foreign troops. Then he gradually expanded the hill into a fortress , which he had secured with a strong contingent of around 400 soldiers. By 1658 bastions were built to the north, west and even south. The entrances were secured with the help of drawbridges and guard houses and the inner fortress had a commandant's office , barracks as well as a powder and provisions house . Only after the end of the Thirty Years' War was the number of soldiers significantly reduced and the fortifications were partially dismantled from 1658. After Anton Günther's death, the fortification was razed and a customs house was built in its place .
literature
- Werner Brune (Ed.): Wilhelmshavener Heimatlexikon , Volume 1–3. Brune, Wilhelmshaven 1986–1987.
- Karl-Ernst Behre : The history of the landscape around the Jade Bay , Brune-Mettcker, Wilhelmshaven 2012, ISBN 978-3-941929-02-9
- Hans Egidius: The Black Brack: A region asserts itself against the forces of nature. CCV Concept Center Verlag 2000, ISBN 3-934606-00-8
- Wilhelm Janßen: The Ellenser dam and its fortifications . Isensee, Oldenburg 1997, ISBN 3-89598-465-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Werner Brune (Ed.): Wilhelmshavener Heimatlexikon , Volume 1, Brune Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Wilhelmshaven 1986–1987, page 253 ff.
- ↑ Karl-Ernst Behre: The history of the landscape around the Jade Bay , Brune-Mettcker, Wilhelmshaven 2012, ISBN 978-3-941929-02-9 , page 132 ff.
- ^ Karl-Ernst Behre: The history of the landscape around the Jade Bay , Brune-Mettcker, Wilhelmshaven 2012, ISBN 978-3-941929-02-9 , page 136 ff.
- ↑ Werner Brune (Ed.): Wilhelmshavener Heimatlexikon. Volume 1, Brune Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Wilhelmshaven 1986–1987, p. 254 f.