Otter (Lower Saxony)

Basic data
State :	Lower Saxony
County :	Harburg
Joint municipality :	Tostedt
Height :	47 m above sea level NHN
Area :	34.13 km 2
Residents:	1721 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	50 inhabitants per km 2
Postcodes :	21259, ; 21255 (Riepshof)
Area code :	04182
License plate :	WL
Community key :	03 3 53 027
Address of the ; municipal administration:	Todtshorner Weg 9 ; 21259 Otter
Website :	www.otter.de
Mayor :	Birgit Horstmann ( CDU )
Location of the municipality of Otter in the Harburg district

Geographical center of the municipality of Otter

Schünhoff village shop in Otter

Otter is a municipality in the Samtgemeinde Tostedt in the Harburg district and a municipality in Lower Saxony .

geography

Geographical location

Otter is located south of Hamburg in the extreme northwest of the Lüneburg Heath . There Otter lies east of the 101 m high Otterberg and southwest of the Harburg Mountains .

Neighboring communities

Community structure

The Otter community includes the towns of Otter, Groß Todtshorn, Klein Todtshorn and Ottermoor, as well as the farms Wümmegrund, Knick, Riepshof and Schillingsbostel.

history

The settlement of the region around Otter can be traced back to the second millennium BC through prehistoric finds.

The oldest known document with the name "Otter" appeared in 1319. In the treasury register of 1497 it was written "Otther" for an unknown reason. In other documents it is always called otter.

Incorporations

Today's municipality of Otter has existed since July 1, 1972. At that time, the independent municipalities of Todtshorn and Otter merged as part of the Lower Saxony regional and administrative reform .

The Hauenstein

The Hauenstein is reminiscent of the historic border between the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and the Diocese of Verden.

At the place of the historical Hauenstein (Low German behaven = carved stone), this boulder, which was set in 2007, reminds us of the boundary stone that has strengthened the controversial border area of the upper Wümme between the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and the Diocese of Verden since the Middle Ages. The border was finally established in 1575 and marked with boundary stones in 1580 after disputes over this area had raged since the 13th century. The Harburg Office of the Principality of Lüneburg and its Bailiwick of Tostedt, the Winsen Office with its Amelinghausen Bailiwick and the Rotenburg Office of the Diocese of Verden met with its Bailiwick of Schneverdingen at this three-border corner.

The beech from Todtshorn

Memorial stone of the beech of Todtshorn

The beech from Todtshorn is also known as Tilly beech or Napoleon beech . The vernacular says that there was a stately beech tree at this point, which is said to have had an imposing size as early as the Thirty Years' War . In the poem Die Buche von Todtshorn , Friedrich Freudenthal describes around 1900: She defied both Napoleon and Tilly, the Swedish hordes and the Cossacks. From the summit of the 79 m high Todtshorn Mountain, 100 m away, you have a strategically good view of the surrounding landscape. In 1972 the beech became part of the coat of arms of the municipality of Otter.

The killer oak of Otter

On December 4, 1878, the cattle dealer Friedrich Renken was shot and robbed of his money. The butcher Heinrich Cohrs from Otter was convicted as the perpetrator. To commemorate the deed, the innkeeper Christoph Brockmann planted an oak in 1879, which was known as the Otter's Murder Oak by the writer Friedrich Freudenthal. In 2016 a memorial stone was placed next to the oak.

politics

Municipal council

The municipal council, which was elected on September 11, 2016, is composed as follows:

CDU 5 seats
SPD 2 seats
UW Otter 2 seats
BWL Otter 1 seat
Single nomination for 1 seat

(Status: local election on September 11, 2016)

mayor

After the local elections in 2001, Peter Luba was elected mayor of the municipality. However, in the course of internal disputes, he resigned from his post. In December 2004, Herbert Busch from the CDU and Gesa Sasse from the UWO competed against each other in the upcoming election of the mayor. Busch, who was mayor of the municipality from 1978 to 1996, could be sure of the support of the councilors of the CDU and SPD. Sasse, the previous deputy mayor under Peter Luba, was nominated by the UWO. After Luba had apparently followed up on his announcement that he would abstain from the secret election, there was a stalemate . By drawing lots , the 62-year-old Herbert Busch was finally chosen as the new mayor.

coat of arms

Blazon : The coat of arms of the municipality of Otter shows in the shield in green a raised silver three-mountain, topped with two blue wavy ribbons , below with a green beech .

Meaning: The Dreiberg should represent the Otterberg. The wavebands stand for the two rivers Oste and Wümme . The landmark of the district Todtshorn is symbolized by the beech (popularly "Napoleon beech").

Culture and sights

Otter Ohnhorstblick playground

Otterberg 001

Schützenverein Otter from 1908 eV

The Schützenverein Otter von 1908 eV is the largest club in Otter with over 200 members. The aim of the association is to maintain and expand the tradition of shooting sports. For this reason, practice and condition shooting takes place in the shooting range on Sundays between April and September. In addition to the traditional shooting festival on the first weekend in June, there is an initial and final shooting (April and September) and the king's ball in January. The shooting club is also known regionally for its large marching band .

"Blauer Dampf" pipe club

The pipe club was founded in 1919 and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. The pipe club is particularly valued by the population for hosting numerous festivities. For example, the children's masquerade took place in the former local restaurant "Trump" for many years . To this day there is also the traditional Boßeln around the Otterberg, which is the point of attraction for many Boßel teams from the area. The pipe club also holds internal pipe and cigarillo smoking competitions. The aim here is to keep the pipe or cigarillo burning for as long as possible.

Dart Club Otter e. V.

The Dartclub Otter eV was founded in August 2017 and has been a registered association since 2019. The club is a member of the district darts association Lüneburger Heide von 2008 eV and has been participating in the league since the 2018/2019 season. In the summer of 2019, the darts club had to move to a larger clubhouse due to the great growth. The Otter darts club currently has 17 members (as of July 2019) and is the first official darts club in the Harburg district.

Regular public events

Every year in January there is the fir tree shredding by the Otter volunteer fire brigade.
The Easter fire , which is organized by the volunteer fire brigade on the Otterberg, takes place every year on Easter Vigil.
The shooting festival of the Otter shooting club traditionally takes place on the first weekend in June.
The lantern parade takes place every year in October and is organized by the fire brigade.
Old-timer show flights, every year at the beginning of September.
Boßeln around the Otterberg of the Blauer Dampf pipe club

Economy and Infrastructure

Fire Department Otter

Primary school otter

Wümme in the nature reserve Obere Wümmeniederung

The sheepfold at Riepshof

Public facilities

The kindergarten of the Otter community consists of two groups.

education

There is one elementary school in the municipality , which is run only once per year. A sports hall is attached to the primary school, which is used by the school and the kindergarten, but also by various sports groups.

Volunteer firefighter

The Otter Volunteer Fire Brigade has around 50 active members and has a TSF-W and an MTF . After retiring from active service, there is the possibility of joining the age and honor department . In addition, through the work in the youth fire brigade founded in 2004, one actively tries to recruit new blood. After a construction period of around 18 months, the new fire station was opened in 2016 after the old one had become too small. The volunteer fire department Otter is funded by the development association supports the fire service, in which are members more than 200 citizens of the community.

Village shop

Otter has a small village shop where you can find all kinds of everyday goods. The shop has been in the hands of the current operator since May 1st, 2016. In April 2017, the village shop in Otter (DinO for short) received the "Goldener Pike" culture award in the "Village life" category.