Twist (Emsland)

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 52 ° 39 '  N , 7 ° 6'  E
Basic data
State :	Lower Saxony
County :	Emsland
Height :	19 m above sea level NHN
Area :	105.61 km 2
Residents:	9605 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	91 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	49767
Primaries :	05936, 05935, 05946
License plate :	Tbsp
Community key :	03 4 54 054
Address of the municipal administration:	Flensbergstrasse 7 49767 Twist
Website :	www.twist-emsland.de
Mayor :	Petra Lübbers ( CDU )
Location of the municipality of Twist in the Emsland district

Twist [ tvi: st ] (also dialect- close [ twi: st ]) is a municipality in the Lower Saxony district of Emsland and is located in the Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen Nature Park directly on the Dutch border.

geography

Geographical location

The municipality is located in the western part of the district directly on the Dutch border on the federal motorway 31 and the federal road 402 / Europastraße 233 .

Neighboring communities

In the north, Twist borders on the city of Haren (Ems) , in the east on the city of Meppen and the municipality of Geeste , in the south on the municipality of Wietmarschen and the integrated municipalities of Neuenhaus and Emlichheim in the county of Bentheim and in the west on the municipality of Emmen in the province Drenthe in the Netherlands .

Community structure

The municipality of Twist consists of the following districts:

Adorf Lever sea Hesepertwist with "settlement" New rings Rühlermoor / Rühlerfeld Rühlertwist with Bült Schöninghsdorf

history

The area of ​​today's Twist municipality was settled in Adorf on the southwestern bank of the border river Aa from 1775 . In 1784, the Prince-Bishop of Münster, Max Franz, fulfilled the wishes of hiring people from Hesepe in the Mark to be allowed to settle in the high moor on the Twist in the area of ​​today's Alt-Hesepertwist road . At that time the area was a relatively barren and poorly accessible high moor and offered only a meager livelihood. Only about 100 years later, with the completion of the south-north canal, was it possible to systematically drain and peat large areas of the moor . This significantly improved living conditions. Up to 3,000 workers - mainly seasonal workers and cross-border commuters - found employment here in the municipality's oldest branch of industry.

The brothers Eduard Schöningh and Ferdinand Schöningh are the founders of the Schöninghsdorf district. Today's area of ​​the Schöninghsdorf district consisted of raised bogs at the time. For peat extraction and agricultural use of the land, Eduard initially envisaged a manor with leased individual farms; From 1872 he and some Meppener notables acquired around 450 hectares of moorland, which was later increased to 1,500 hectares. Out of these plans, Schöningh sien dorp, today's Schöninghsdorf, finally developed in 1875 .

In the 1950s, the economic upswing began with the development of the oil deposits and a company that produced plastic pipes. For a long time, oil production shaped the townscape through the numerous oil production fields with their feed pumps , also known as "head noders". Until the mid-1990s, oil production, along with the plastics industry, was Twist's main employer. From this point on, oil production was no longer profitable due to the oil prices at the time, which is why many production sources were shut down. Due to the later rise in oil prices, the oil industry is still present here, but no longer important as an employer.

With the beginning of the 1975/76 school year, the educational offer in the Twist community was expanded to include a secondary school, the so-called school center Twist. The school, designed by architect Peter Grohmann, Greven, was built in Twist-Mitte, the geographic center of the community. At the beginning of the 1975/76 school year only the first phase of construction was finished, the orientation level students were temporarily taught in the Ansgar School. Four weeks after the start of classes, the school was inaugurated on August 29, 1975 and presented to the public with two open days on August 30 and 31. In the first year 450 young people attended the new school; in 1981, after starting the orientation level and establishing a secondary school branch, the maximum number of 974 students was reached. With the reforms of changing state governments, school operations were adapted to the respective requirements and the orientation level was abolished from 2003, the open all-day school was introduced in 2004 and a cafeteria was opened in 2007.

In 1986 the community celebrated its 200th anniversary with a parade with numerous floats and groups of feet. The motifs of the individual floats and groups of feet were related to the history of the community or recreated the townscape. A replica of the Church of St. George was on a float.

On March 26, 1995, border controls between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands ended in accordance with the Schengen Implementation Agreement . This also directly affected the border crossings between the municipality of Twist and its neighboring Dutch municipality of Emmen , so that an unhindered border crossing has been possible since that day.

Since the year 2000, tourism has played a greater economic role in the municipality, for which farmers have built up holiday resorts as a second pillar. The creation of some man-made swimming lakes including camping facilities and bike paths made Twist more attractive to tourists. The creation of the Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen Nature Park had a positive effect in 2006. New bike paths, a viewing platform and information boards on flora and fauna were created.

In August / September 2011, the residents and their guests celebrated the 225th anniversary of the Twist. The 10-day anniversary celebration was opened with the twist show . The show, performed as a play, presented the history of the Twist in the Low German language in a humorous way from its beginnings to the present day. Part of this 10-day anniversary event was, among other things, a “Club Day”, during which the entire club life of the community was presented. There were also concerts with cover bands from Queen and Pink Floyd during the festival week. The choirs of the community presented themselves musically to the guests in “Twist makes music”. The anniversary was concluded with a parade with floats and foot groups on the history of the community.

Incorporations

Hesepertwist and Rühlertwist are considered the original parts of the community, which was founded in this form in 1964.

In 1968 Schöninghsdorf joined on a voluntary basis. On the occasion of the municipality reform in Lower Saxony, the municipalities of Adorf, Hebelermeer, Neuringe and, from the dissolved municipality of Emslage, the districts of Rühlermoor and Rühlerfeld were added on March 1, 1974 . Neuringe and Adorf had previously belonged to the Grafschaft Bentheim district. As a result of the incorporation, these two localities initially belonged to the Meppen district, after which it became part of the new Emsland district. This exchange meant an important change for the language and denominational character of the new Twist congregation: the Protestant-Reformed culture and the other variant of the Low German language, which is strongly oriented towards the Netherlands, have since been part of everyday parish life, which was previously predominantly Emsland-Catholic.

Population development

The following table shows the population twists. This also includes the places that were incorporated until 1974.

Population development between 1848 and 2016

year	Residents		year	Residents
1848	1,442		1971	6,777
1871	1,622		1975	7,826
1885	1,847		1980	7,848
1905	2,578		1985	7,814
1925	3,409		1990	8,419
1933	3.713		1995	9.132
1939	3,995		2000	9,426
1946	4,310		2005	9,640
1950	4,739		2010	9,606
1956	5,329		2015	9,676
1961	5,807		2016	9,563
			2017	9,574

Origin of name

For a long time it was assumed that the name Twist came about due to disagreement over the border with the Netherlands. Therefore one spoke of the Twistrich, which in Low German means something like controversial border or twist area, where twist means dispute .

Recent studies by the name researcher Jürgen Udolph have shown that twist is more derived from twistel (meaning, Zwiesel; something that forms a fork ', also' two '). Zwisila means fork-shaped branch. The dichotomy / division is also shown in Middle Low German twist , i.e. zwist . [This also includes twistelik (conflicted), twisten (in conflict, argument) and twisteringe (conflict, conflict).] For further clarification, Udolph also consulted languages ​​derived from Germanic: Old English twisla means river division, Norwegian kvisl means river division, arm of the river ; Old Norse kvistr means branch. The basic meaning of Twist can only be: divided settlement; place at a fork .

Pronunciation of the community name

A linguistic peculiarity is that twist is not pronounced like the dance, but with a stretched "i", thus like "Twiest". Furthermore - at least in part - the phrase “on the twist” is used instead of “in twist”. Locals therefore say that you come “from the twist” and not “from the twist”.

politics

Twist has the status of a unified church .

Municipal council

The Twist parish council consists of 24 councilors. This is the specified number for a municipality with a population between 9,001 and 10,000. The 24 council members are elected by local elections for five years each. The current term of office began on November 1, 2016.

The full-time mayor Petra Lübbers (CDU) is also entitled to vote in the municipal council.

After the last municipal elections in Lower Saxony in 2016 on September 11, 2016, three parties and voting communities belong to the municipal council :

• CDU - 16 seats
• SPD - 4 seats
• WGT (Voting Community Twist) - 4 seats

mayor

Petra Lübbers (CDU) has been the full-time mayor of Twist since November 1, 2019.

Honorary Mayor	Term of office	Community directors	Term of office
Hermann Nottberg (CDU)	1964-1976	Hans Möller	1964-1986
Josef Egbers (CDU)	1976-2004	Klaus Schütte	1986-1992
		Günter Göken	1992-2004

Full-time mayor	Term of office
Ernst Schmitz (CDU)	2004-2019
Petra Lübbers (CDU)	since 2019

Mayor of the former municipality of Rühle

• 1940–1964 Hermann Lemper

From 1940 to 1964, Hermann Lemper was the mayor of Rühle. Since he was not in debt during the National Socialist era, the British military government left him in office. He died on March 17, 1964 in Rühlerfeld.

coat of arms

The coat of arms of the municipality of Twist shows a blue and white black grouse with red reinforcement in a yellow shield and seven buckwheat fruits placed 4 to 3 in a black shield base .

flag

The colors of the municipality flag are yellow and black. The flag contains the colors as well as the coat of arms.

Family policy

In May 2007 the local council decided to give more support to families with children. For this purpose, discounts have been set on building sites for private homes. Families with two or three children receive discounts and families with four children receive a building site free of charge. On the one hand, children are taken into account who are under 15 years of age when the property is acquired, and on the other hand, those who are born up to ten years after the property was acquired.

Partner municipality

Taos, Missouri , USA

Culture and sights

Buildings

Catholic parish church St. Georg, Twist-Bült

The Catholic parish church of St. George is the first church in the Twist area. The old churchyard was laid out in 1788 and used until 1962. A converted farmhouse served as the first place of worship from 1799. In 1819/20 a stone church was built, which was replaced in 1855 by a new building by Josef Niehaus . Only the tower of this building remains today. Construction of the current church began in 1964, and the inauguration took place in 1966. Inside the church there are baroque statues of St. George, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. John the Evangelist. The organ was manufactured in 1991 by the organ builder Simon .

Catholic Church of St. Ansgar, Twist settlement

The striking and unusual round nave has a spiral structure that ends in a tower. The church was built in brick and concrete from 1964 by Theo Burlage and Bernhard Niebuer from Osnabrück. The inauguration took place in 1966.

Catholic Church of St. Franziskus, Schöninghsdorf

In 1926 a church building association was founded to replace the barrack, consecrated as an emergency church in 1903, on the property of today's rectory in Schöninghsdorf. The St. Francis Church was built according to plans by the architect Theo Burlage in the Expressionist style. Construction work on the new church began in December 1928. The first service was held in the church on December 8, 1929; the actual consecration took place in August 1930 by Bishop Berning. The altar crucifix of the suffering Christ on the cross in the choir, designed by Wolfdietrich Stein, symbolizes the suffering of people in the war years 1914–1918. With a height of five meters, it takes up the entire height and width of the choir room.

There are dials on three sides of the tower. These do not show numbers, as usual, but an iron cross with the years 1914 and 1918. The remaining 33 hour digits on the three sides of the tower are represented by nameplates of the fallen soldiers from Schöninghsdorf and Provinzialmoor. Underneath is the day of death.

Catholic Church of St. Vinzenz von Paul, Hebelermeer

Neo-Gothic single-nave brick building with church interior reaching into the roof, built by Johann Bernhard Hensen in 1865/66 . In the parish church of St. Vinzenz von Paul zu Hebelermeer there are two rococo busts of Ignatius von Loyola and Franz Xaver , which were created by the sculptor Johann Heinrich König (1705–1784) from Münster (Westphalia). The busts probably came to the church from Meppen .

Catholic Church of St. Marien, Adorf

In 1950, construction work began on St. Mary's Church under the architect Nikolaus Sanders. The red brick building corresponds to a hall church with a rectangular choir, which is separated from the nave by a triumphal arch. Initially, the church only had a simple roof turret, which was replaced by a tower in 1979.

Ev.-luth. Nazareth Church, Twist Settlement

After the Second World War, many Protestant Christians who had been expelled from the former eastern German territories moved to the Twist community, which was previously inhabited by a majority of Catholic Christians. The foundation stone for the Nazareth Church on the canal was laid in 1953. In 1959 the church got its distinctive porch above the main entrance. On the roof there is a ridge turret with three bells.

Ev.-ref. Church, Schöninghsdorf

The ev.-ref. From 1907. Church on the North-South Canal is probably the oldest moor church in the border area and used to serve as a place of prayer for Dutch and German peat workers. The Dutch queen widow Emma contributed financially to the construction, which is why the church is also known as the Emma Chapel . The architect was Wilhelm Jänecke . In the course of an extensive renovation at the end of the 1980s, remains of the original Art Nouveau painting were uncovered, which had disappeared under thick layers of paint and plaster over the past decades. The black Art Nouveau ornaments on the gallery and on the side walls were restored in 1989, as the restorers found enough traces for a restoration. However, only fragments of a gold bronze mosaic could be found on the choir niche. However, after old photos of the church emerged, this mosaic was also restored in 1992. The last church service took place in January 2019 and the church was closed.

Ev.-ref. Church, Neuringe

Organ in Neuringe

The Evangelical Reformed chapel in Neuringe was built in 1897. The organ in this chapel, which was brought to Neuringe from the Evangelical Reformed Church in Emlichheim in 1904, is an unusual feature. The oldest elements of this organ date from 1542 and were probably created by the organ builder Georg Slegel . The organ got its present appearance in 1719. In 1866/67 the organ was rebuilt by the organ builder Haupt . The pipe works date from the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. This organ is one of the oldest and most valuable in the area of ​​the Reformed regional church.

Museums and cultural events

In the artificially created center of the Twist community, there are numerous retailers as well as the town hall and two home houses . Many cultural events take place in the home houses, e.g. B. Blues concerts. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Museum is in the immediate vicinity of the homes . The museum, founded in 1999, initially used the basement of the home houses. In 2009 the company moved into a new building, which significantly upgraded the exhibition. The museum shows the extraction and processing of oil and natural gas, which Twist can look back on a long tradition.

• Photo gallery Twist
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  Town hall in Twist-Mitte

• 

  Catholic Church of St. Ansgar, district of Twist settlement

• 

  Commercial building in the center of Twist

• 

  Old and New Energy

• 

  Typical picture: oil pump, also called head nod

• 

  Home houses in Twist-Mitte

• 

  School by the lake , formerly the Twist school center (secondary school)

• 

  Cormorant colony in the Moor International Nature Park

• 

  Sculpture Nord Stream double pipeline

• 

  Indoor swimming pool in the center of the twist

• 

  Catholic Church of St. Georg,
  Twist-Bült district

• 

  Mariengrotte in Twist-Bült

Nature parks

In 2006, the district of Emsland, the county of Bentheim and the Dutch province of Drenthe jointly founded the International Nature Park Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen, or also often called the International Nature Park Moor . This nature park covers large parts of the municipality of Twist and is home to unique flora and fauna. In addition, the nature park is the winter home of numerous migratory birds every year. Until the planned colonization and cultivation in the 19th century, the Bourtanger Moor was once one of the largest contiguous raised bogs in Europe with 1,200 km² . As part of various projects, areas have been and are being rewetted by closing drainage ditches , thus making renaturation possible. Former peat mining areas are currently being renatured in the area of ​​the Schöninghsdorf district, in which the moor is already "growing" again. A very successful example of renaturation in the area of ​​the International Nature Park Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen is the nature reserve Bargerveen in the Netherlands. In this nature reserve, peat mining was stopped on parts of the area in 1968. Since then, a natural moor landscape has developed there very successfully and the moor has been brought back to life.

Furthermore, in the Neuringe district, there is the Neuringer Wiesen nature reserve , which is also characterized by a lively moor landscape.

Sports

There are sports clubs in every district, some of which practice different types of sport. Football is the dominant sport, but handball, swimming, horse riding, tennis, table tennis, basketball as well as dance and gymnastics are also offered. There is also a disabled sports group for the mentally and physically disabled and a cardiac sports group for people with vascular diseases. There is also a barefoot path in the center of the Twist community, adjacent to the indoor swimming pool, which opened in 1980 .

Culture

In the home houses regular folk and blues concerts, organized by the home club. The Pättges drivers and classic car enthusiasts are affiliated with the Heimatverein . The Pättgesfahrer regularly go on bike tours, during which the area around Twist is explored.

Economy and Infrastructure

economy

Until the mid-1990s, the oil, gas and peat industries dominated the economy in Twist. Since then, many jobs have been lost in this sector. These could largely be replaced by new settlements of small and medium-sized companies, especially in the industrial area on the motorway. The largest employer in the municipality is the Dutch company Wavin , which produces plastic pipe systems and is the European market leader in this segment.

tourism

In recent years, tourism has been gaining momentum as a new industry in Twist. The main focus of tourism is in the Neuringe district. In addition to numerous holiday apartments, there is also a campsite with a public swimming lake and a pony farm. There is an indoor play paradise for children in Neuringe. In 2011, motorhome parking spaces were created in the community center near the indoor swimming pool and the school lake .

In addition, a focus was placed on bicycle tourism in tourism. The routes developed here bring the Twist community closer to tourists. In addition, cycle routes lead through the nature reserve International Nature Park Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen and to renaturation areas, which are rewetted and thus restore the original landscape.

traffic

Road traffic

Twist is located directly on the A 31 , also known as the Emsland motorway, and can be reached via the Twist, Meppen-Nord / Schöninghsdorf and Wesuwe / Hebelermeer junctions . The A 31 runs from the North Sea coast near Emden to Bottrop in the Ruhr area. Twist is also connected to the B 402 / E 233 , which serves as a traffic axis between Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Scandinavia. On the Dutch side, the E 233 has been upgraded to the A 37 since it was upgraded to four lanes in 2008 . This runs from the German-Dutch border (the former Hebelermeer / Zwartemeer border crossing) to the Hoogeveen motorway junction . On the German side, the E 233 has a four-lane, motorway-like character from the border to the junction with the A 31.

Air traffic

The closest international airport is Münster / Osnabrück Airport , which is 100 km away in Greven. The Dusseldorf airport is the nearest airport hub for intercontinental flights, about 180 km away, the international Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is approximately 200 km away. Due to the connection to the federal motorway 31 and the Dutch motorway A 37 , the last two airport hubs can be reached over the entire distance via the motorway.

education

schools

The five primary schools in the municipality are located in the various districts (except for the Leverermeer and Neuringe). In 2009, these elementary schools were converted into all-day schools through the establishment of cooking and dining facilities, with which the pupils are guaranteed warm meals .

With the Schule am See , the former Twist school center, the community also has a secondary and secondary school . This was expanded into an all-day school in 2007 through renovations and extensions. In the school year 2012/2013 this school was converted into a high school.

Kindergartens

There is a kindergarten each in the districts of Schöninghsdorf, Rühlerfeld, Twist-Siedlung and Twist-Bült . The nursery school is run by the Kath. Parish of the respective district. All -day care and crèche places for small children are also offered in the kindergartens .

Personalities

Honorary citizen

• 1981: Hermann Nottberg (1911–2006), member of the Lower Saxony state parliament and mayor of the communities of Hesepertwist and Twist
• 2012: Josef Egbers (1938–2016), Mayor of the Twist community, member of the Meppen and Emsland districts and deputy district administrator of the Emsland district

Medal of Honor of the Twist Municipality

In 2016, Twist Municipality introduced the Twist Municipality Medal of Honor .

• 2016: Heiner Reinert (* 1947), for voluntary work in the cultural, social and local political areas
• 2017: Horst-Heinrich Bechtluft (* 1944), for special services to the common good

Sons and daughters of the church

• Hermann Nottberg (1911–2006), member of the Lower Saxony state parliament and mayor of the communities of Hesepertwist and Twist
• Bernd Kötting (1938–2019), journalist
• Reinhold Tattermusch (* 1967), soccer player

Personalities who have worked on site

• Franz von Fürstenberg (1729–1810), statesman and promoter of raised bog cultivation
• Johann Gerhard Bekel (called Hermann Eilers ), (1745–1795), high moor pioneer
• Hermann Flensberg (1750–1824), lieutenant and pioneer of raised bog cultivation
• Ferdinand Schöningh (1815–1883), publisher and pioneer of raised bog cultivation
• Eduard Schöningh (1823–1900), officer, politician and pioneer of raised bog cultivation
• Hermann Levelink (1912–1988), entrepreneur and local history researcher
• Bernd Deters (* 1961), football player
• Mario Reig (* 1965), soccer player

literature

• Werner Kaemling: Atlas on the history of Lower Saxony , Gerd J. Holtzmeyer Verlag, Braunschweig 1987, ISBN 3-923722-44-3
• Hermann Abels: The place names of the Emsland, in their linguistic and cultural-historical significance , Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag, Paderborn 1929
• Ernst Förstemann, Hermann Jellinghaus (Ed.): Old German Name Book , Volume II, 1 and 2: Place Names , Bonn 1913/1916 (Reprint: Volume II, 2, Hildesheim 1967/1983, ISBN 3-487-01733-4 )

Web links

Commons : Twist  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the Twist community

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Office for Statistics Lower Saxony, LSN-Online regional database, Table 12411: Update of the population, as of December 31, 2019  ( help ).
2. ↑ Adorf makes Twist older In: NOZ, January 24, 2011; Accessed October 14, 2015.
3. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer GmbH, Stuttgart and Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 257 and 258 .
4. ↑ Ems Vechte Welle ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed July 26, 2007 
5. ^ NDR 1 Place Name Research . Accessed November 10, 2011
6. ^ Lower Saxony Municipal Constitutional Law (NKomVG) in the version of December 17, 2010; Section 46 - Number of MPs , accessed on September 1, 2013
7. ^ In Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung of October 19, 2017: "The Hermann-Lemper-Straße in Rühlerfeld" ; accessed on May 4, 2019
8. ↑ ^{a b} Main statutes of the municipality of Twist ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 67 kB), accessed on September 1, 2013 
9. ^ Meppener Tagespost : Farewell to the Moorkirche. Congregation holds last service in Schöninghsdorf , article from January 7, 2019, accessed on January 9, 2019.
10. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ Manfred Fickers: Medal of Honor and Certificate of Honor. Twist honors Horst-Heinrich Bechtluft and Gregor Santel , in: Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung , August 11, 2017, accessed on August 16, 2017.