Varel

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coat of arms Germany map
Coat of arms of the city of Varel
Varel
Map of Germany, position of the city of Varel highlighted

Coordinates: 53 ° 24 '  N , 8 ° 8'  E

Basic data
State : Lower Saxony
County : Friesland
Height : 6 m above sea level NHN
Area : 113.54 km 2
Residents: 24,017 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density : 212 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code : 26316
Area code : 04451
License plate : FRI
Community key : 03 4 55 026
LOCODE : DE VAR
City structure: 21 districts

City administration address : 		Windallee 4
26316 Varel
Website : www.varel.de
Mayor : Gerd-Christian Wagner ( SPD )
Location of the city of Varel in the district of Friesland
Bockhorn (Friesland) Varel Zetel Sande (Friesland) Schortens Jever Wilhelmshaven Landkreis Friesland Wangerland Minsener Oog (zu Gemeinde Wangerooge) Mellum Wangerooge Landkreis Leer Landkreis Ammerland Landkreis Aurich Landkreis Wittmund Landkreis Wesermarsch Landkreis Wittmundmap
About this picture

Varel [ ˈfaːʀəl ] is a town and independent municipality in the district of Friesland , on the Jade Bay in Lower Saxony and south of Wilhelmshaven . With 24,017 inhabitants, it is the largest city in the Friesland district.

Geographical location

Varel is located south of the Jade Bay on the North Sea on a ridge . In the course of urban development and in connection with secure dykes , Varel has also expanded into the lower-lying areas.

The Wapel flows east of Varel and flows into the Jade and thus into the Jade Bay in front of the Wapeler Siel . The core town of Varel is surrounded by the Südend Leke and Nordend Leke as a drainage system, which drain into the Jade Bay via a sluice at the Varel harbor.

The area around Varel is characterized by agriculture , forest and the sea. The agricultural areas have partly been wrested from the sea by dikes and partly made arable by cultivating the moorland .

Neighboring communities

Jade in the Wesermarsch district is the eastern neighboring municipality of Varels. In the south, Varel borders on the communities of Rastede and Wiefelstede in the Ammerland district and in the west on the community of Bockhorn . Varel is located in the extreme south-east of the district of Friesland and therefore has a common (land) border with only one other municipality in the district, namely Bockhorn.

City structure

Varel is divided into 21 districts. These consist of the city center and the districts of Altjührden , Borgstede , Büppel , Dangast , Dangastermoor , Grünenkamp , Hohelucht , Hohenberge , Jeringhave , Jethausen , Langendamm , Moorhausen , Neudorf , Neuenwege , Obenstrohe , Rallenbüschen , Rosenberg , Seghorn , Streek and Winkelsheide . Other localities are Almsee, Bramloge, Brunne, Jethausermoor, Logemoor, Plaggenkrug, Rahling, Rotenhahn, Schwarzenberg, Tange, Vareler Schleuse and Wilkenhausen.

Land use

A little more than three quarters of the urban area of ​​Varel consists of agricultural land. What is also remarkable is the comparatively high proportion of forest areas for a city on the North Sea coast, which just exceeds ten percent.

Land use Area in km²
Buildings and open spaces 12.6
Traffic areas 6.7
Forest areas 10.1
Bodies of water 2.8
Agricultural land 76.8
other uses (e.g. green areas, sports areas, cemeteries) 4.6
total area 113.5

history

Origins

Varel forest

The exact origin of the name Varel is not known. An explanation says that it means (like Driefel ) "Trift am Walde" or it comes from the word Farloh (path through the forest). Others suspect that the word Farle is a combination of the Frisian words fran and le or lo . This would mean something like "sacred forest". This is supported by the fact that today's church square was once a Frisian place of worship. Furthermore, it is claimed that Varel or Farle was a name for the meeting point of a Germanic hundred. In addition, the root word Varel refers to the stem line Zar (Zarel), thus via cer (Zar) to a boundary or closure.

The first settlement finds are burial mounds and finds along the East Frisian Heerstraße in the Altjührden-Seghorn area (around 3000–2000 BC) as well as an urn cemetery in Borgstede, Jeringhave and Bramloge, as well as a boardwalk between Büppel and Jethausen (around 2000–750 BC). ). A Chaukische settlement in Oldorf (Varelerhafen) (approx. 1st century) is also considered to be certain .

Varel was the Gaukirche (= main church) of the Varel district ("Quadrans Varel") of the Gaus Rüstringen evangelized by Willehad after 783 , which was divided into four quarters for administration. After storm surges in the 12th to 14th centuries, especially the second Marcellus flood of 1362, the northern part of this district, which was then called the Bant district, was separated from Varel and the Frisian Wehde by the Black Brack . Varel became the center of its surrounding region in the 13th century. Varel was first mentioned in 1123 as Meierhof "Farle" in a letter from Pope Kalixt II to the Benedictine monastery in Rastede .

Rule of the Oldenburg and Bentincks

Model of the castle

In the middle of the 15th century, Varel, which previously belonged to the Frisian tribal area and was last ruled by chiefs, came under the influence of the Oldenburg Counts' House. From 1577 Varel was the seat of an independent office in the county of Oldenburg . In the middle of the 17th century, as a result of a testamentary decree of Count Anton Günther von Oldenburg , Varel formed an imperial count's rule under Oldenburg suzerainty. First the Aldenburg counts ruled, later by marriage the imperial counts von Bentinck . From 1811 to 1813, Varel belonged to the French Empire for a short time, like the rest of the Oldenburg region, and was the seat of a mairie of the same name .

After the end of the French occupation in 1813, the imperial counts' rule Varel was rebuilt and now again formed part of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg as the Varel office , but did not pass through the Oldenburg until 1854 with the purchase of the remaining Bentinck rule (end of the Bentinck succession dispute ) State finally in it.

With effect from December 8, 1832, the two farmers formed Nordende and Südende, d. H. the actual place Varel, within the parish of Varel the stain Varel with its own local administration, local committee and a local councilor. On May 1, 1856, this part of the parish of Varel became the municipality of Varel ( city ​​II. Order ), and the rural municipality of Varel was formed from the remaining part of the parish. On May 1, 1858, the municipality of Varel was granted the status of an official city (first order city).

After the New Years flood in 1855 , a large part of the population of the island of Wangerooge was resettled. Some of them founded the settlement "Neu-Wangerooge" at the Varel harbor. Wangeroog Frisian was spoken there until around 1950 .

From the last quarter of the 19th century until the administrative reform of 1933, the Varel office - with its official seat in the city of Varel - comprised the rural community of Varel and the communities of Jade, Schweiburg, Bockhorn, Zetel and Neuchâtel. It formed an official association with the municipality of Varel. In the German Empire, Varel was a stronghold of left-wing liberalism, the Varel daily newspaper Der Gemeinnützige was the unofficial central organ of the left-wing liberals in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. A social democratic club landscape also developed in Varel, in addition to the party organization (SPD) there were a large number of workers' sports and cultural associations. Due to an undemocratic right to vote at the local level, the city council and city magistrate remained the undisputed domain of the bourgeoisie.

After the First World War

After the November Revolution in 1918, a socialist workers 'and soldiers' council presided over by Albert Sonnenmoser ( USPD ) ruled in the Varel district association, and thus also in the municipality of Varel, initially from November 1918 to February 1919 . The mayor Wilhelm Oltmanns, elected in 1908 and re-elected in 1916, the four councilors, who were also elected during the emperor's time, and the 18 city councilors initially remained in their offices. On April 6, 1919, city council elections were held for the first time under democratic suffrage. Further city council elections in the Weimar Republic took place in November 1921, 1924, 1927 and 1930. The bourgeois parties and electoral groups always made up the majority in the city council until 1930, the USPD (1919 and 1921), the SPD (1919 to 1933) and the KPD (1924 to 1933) remained in the minority. Mayor Oltmanns resigned in the summer of 1920 and was made an honorary citizen of the city of Varel in May 1921. In August 1921, the city council elected Max Berlit as his successor.

In the course of the national right-wing orientation, the German National People's Party (DNVP) became the strongest political party in Varel in the twenties, and the first local group in the Free State of Oldenburg of the right-wing Kampfverband Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten , was established in Varel as early as 1920 . In the summer of 1928, the Sparkasse scandal shook the city of Varel, the mayor elected in 1921, Max Berlit, was ousted from office and committed suicide on August 5, 1928. He was succeeded again by Wilhelm Oltmanns, who temporarily administered the office from July 1928 to February 1929 and was then re-elected mayor by the city council - this time "for life".

In the final phase of the Weimar Republic, the municipality of Varel suffered from a considerable deficit in the city budget and was burdened with an above-average number of unemployed and welfare recipients. Sometimes violent clashes between the NSDAP and its organizations (especially SA and SS) with the communists and the republican protection organizations Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold and Eiserne Front aggravated the local political climate.

From 1930

In the city council elections in November 1930, the NSDAP local group of Varel , founded in April 1928, became the strongest faction in the city council and, after the transfer of two bourgeois councilors, had an absolute majority with 11 out of 18 seats. In early 1931, Varel received a city council chairman, Friedrich Wegener senior - father of Paul Wegener , later NSDAP Gauleiter Weser-Ems, and the well-known doctor Friedrich Wegener junior - and a deputy mayor (businessman Hans Flügel ) with a National Socialist party membership card . In the Oldenburg state elections in May 1932, the National Socialists won an absolute majority in the state parliament, and the Free State of Oldenburg thus received the first purely National Socialist state government in Germany (Prime Minister Röver).

After the Nazi takeover of power in the Reich in spring 1933, the National Socialist government retired Mayor Oltmanns. He was succeeded by the National Socialist Gustav Menke (until 1940). City council and city council were initially politically into line with the introduction of the German Municipal Code finally eliminated in 1935 local self-government. The other mayors during the Nazi era were Wilhelm Gerstenberg (1941/42) and Otto Ahlers (1943–1945). The bourgeois parties, including the German Nationalists, had dissolved by the summer of 1933, the KPD and SPD and their subsidiary organizations had been banned and their functionaries and members were exposed to particular persecution by the Nazi regime.

With the administrative reform of Oldenburg in May 1933, the Varel District Association was dissolved and merged with the Jever Office to form the newly formed Friesland Office. The municipality of Varel lost its official seat and at the same time its status as an independent “city of the first order”, it was now subject to the supervision of the office (from January 1, 1939: district) of Friesland as a “city of the second order”. From 1937 onwards, the rural municipality of Varel was called "Municipality of Varel-Land".

From March 1934, the city of Varel was the seat of the NSDAP district leadership for the district of Friesland (district leader: Kaufmann Hans Flügel); this was also the seat of the leadership of SA Standard 19 as well as the district leaderships of other National Socialist associations and divisions of the district of Friesland. Born in Varel, Paul Wegener, who was temporarily NSDAP local group leader in Varel before the seizure of power, rose to the position of NS Gauleiter Weser-Ems in 1942. The last commandant of the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp, SS-Sturmbannführer Fritz Suhren , was also a native of Varel (Suhren was executed in 1950 for his Nazi crimes).

Jewish life

A small minority of Jewish citizens lived in Varel from the end of the 17th century. As traders and traders, they got involved in the city's cultural, social and political life. The “Jews in Varel” working group researched the traces left by the Jews in the city, created a map of where Jews lived until the Nazi era, and put together a historical city tour on the subject.

The Schwabe family (later: Schwabe-Barlewin) ran a textile trade - wholesale and department store - at Haferkampstrasse 10 in a building that was considered unique in the Oldenburger Land - with a tower-like round core. After the National Socialists came to power, humiliation, marginalization and economic destruction began. In September / October 1938 the family members were able to flee to the USA via Hamburg. In 1975 the building was demolished for traffic planning reasons. Only parts of the tiled stove could be saved by local historians.

Memorial plaque for the Schwabe-Barlewin family in Varel

The Jewish citizens of the city - insofar as they could not emigrate or flee in time after the Nazi seizure of power - were legally and socially discriminated and marginalized. Jewish property was "Aryanized" . The last Jews living in Varel were housed in the Jewish old people's home at Schüttingstrasse 13. 29 of the residents there were deported in October 1941 (six people) and in July 1942 (23 people) to the so-called Ghetto Litzmannstadt (via Emden and Berlin) and the Ghetto Theresienstadt (via Bremen and Hanover), some of them further to the extermination camps Auschwitz and Chelmno (Kulmhof) . None of the deportees survived. On Synagogenweg, which was renamed in 1999, a memorial plaque was placed in 2014 on the former synagogue opposite, which was destroyed in the November pogrom in 1938 . The inscription reads: "In memory of the Varel synagogue, the church of the Jewish community of our city built in 1848, destroyed on November 10, 1938. and in Hebrew: I cry about it, my eye, my eye is in tears" ( Klgl 1, 16  EU ).

End of war

During the Second World War, a large number of foreign civil workers and prisoners of war lived in Varel, some of whom were used for forced labor under sometimes miserable living conditions . Although Varel was in the immediate vicinity of Wilhelmshaven, which was attacked more than 100 times by allied bomber associations during the Second World War, the city was spared from further destruction, there were only individual bomb damage and several casualties in low-flying attacks in the final phase of the war.

During the war, the Vareler Hafen heavy flak battery was built at the Vareler Hafen .

After 1945

Downtown of Varel

After the occupation without a fight on May 6, 1945 by units of the 2nd Canadian Army, Varel belonged to the British occupation zone and since November 1946 to the newly formed state of Lower Saxony . Varel was temporarily the seat of the British district military government for the district of Friesland. The first elected mayor after the war was Adolf Heidenreich ( SPD ).

The sluice sluice was built in Dangast between 1955 and 1958, thus ensuring drainage far into East Frisia. The connections of the sluices and the migration of the dikes are represented in mosaics. As early as 1961, Varel became a location for the German armed forces by occupying the former barracks of the Kriegsmarine . The site administration took over the former Hansa building (see Hansa-Lloyd , in 1994 the Varel site administration was dissolved).

The great storm surge in 1962 led to further eruptions of the Geest in Dangast. The Vareler lock is endangered. Planning to raise the dykes and a new lock begins. In the same year, construction work begins on a new town hall on Windallee. In 1972 both Varel municipalities were united to form today's municipality of Varel. In the years up to 1975 the Autobahn 29 was built. Varel will have two motorway junctions. The windmill was repaired during these years and expanded as part of the local history museum. It is still fully functional.

Between 1977 and 1980, Varel belonged to the district of Ammerland together with Zetel and Bockhorn. The background at the time was the amalgamation of the remaining parts of the Friesland district with the Wittmund district, which, however, was politically controversial and was reversed after a lawsuit by the Lower Saxony State Court in Bückeburg . After the districts of Wittmund and Friesland were restored, the three mentioned municipalities also came back to the district of Friesland.

In the second half of the 1970s, the seawater spring bath and the Deichhörn spa were built in Dangast (Deichhörn spa and the Kursaal opposite were dismantled in 2016/2017). In the inner city, the pedestrian zone was created against initially great resistance from business people . In 1977 the new chamber lock at Vareler Hafen (Wilhelm-Kammann lock) and the new Vareler Siel were put into operation. In 1983, the state of Lower Saxony recognized the district of Dangast as a North Sea resort and a place with a mineral spring spa.

Varel has been an independent town under the Lower Saxony Municipal Constitutional Act since 1986 . The city administration also takes on tasks of the district administration for the Varel citizens. This can be explained on the one hand by the number of inhabitants in Varel and on the other hand by the fact that Varel is the furthest away from the district seat of Jever of all the municipalities belonging to the district.

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Incorporations

On July 1, 1972, the main part of the dissolved municipality of Varel-Land was incorporated. A smaller part of this community came to Wiefelstede.

Outsourcing

On January 1, 1980, a part of the area with then about 80 inhabitants was assigned to the neighboring municipality of Wiefelstede.

Christian communities

Evangelical Lutheran Church

With the Reformation , the majority of the Varel population became Evangelical Lutheran . The Varel parish with the districts of Varel, Büppel, Dangastermoor and Obenstrohe belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg . The main church is the castle church .

Roman Catholic Church

In the second half of the 19th century a Catholic parish was established again in Varel . The neo-Gothic St. Boniface Church was built between 1855 and 1858. After the community had grown rapidly after the Second World War due to the influx of displaced persons, the new St. Boniface Church was built in 1965–1967 . The old church was converted into a parish hall. The community belongs to the Bischöflich Münster officialate .

Association of Evangelical Free Churches

The Association of Evangelical Free Churches is represented in Varel with the following congregations:

The beginnings of the Varel Baptist Congregation (also known as the Evangelical Free Church Congregation) go back to 1843. The first major worship meetings in a private house are documented from 1849. In 1858 the first church of the Baptist congregation was built. Today's Friedenskirche on Mühlenstrasse is the second church in the community. It was built in 1922. Varel is also the birthplace of the Baptist founding father Johann Gerhard Oncken (1800–1884).

A Seventh-day Adventist church is located at Lerchenstrasse 6.

New Apostolic Church

A congregation of the New Apostolic Church has existed in Varel since 1928 . In 1978 the congregation was able to move into its own church building on Bahnhofstrasse.

  • Evangelical Lutheran Castle Church

  • Catholic St. Boniface Church

  • Peace Church of the Varel Baptists

  • New Apostolic Church Varel

politics

City council

The city council of Varel consists of 32 council women and councilors. The stipulated number for a city with a population between 20,001 and 25,000 is typically 34 councilors. By resolution of the city council, this number was reduced by two council members. The city council is elected by local elections for a five-year term. The current term of office began on November 1, 2016 and ends on October 31, 2021.

The full-time mayor Gerd-Christian Wagner of the SPD is also entitled to vote in the city council.

The last local election on September 11, 2016 resulted in the following:

Political party  Proportional votes  Number of seats  Change voices  Change seats
SPD 27.27% 9 −2.56% −1
CDU 19.65% 6th - 02.10% −1
Future of Varel 28.62% 9 + 13.36% +4
Alliance 90 / The Greens 9.18% 3 - 01.65% 00
BBV 04.25% 1 - 01.33% −1
FDP 04.59% 1 + 01.07% 0
The left 02.43% 1 + 00.59% +1
Individual applicant Breitenfeldt 02.03% 1 + 02.03% +1
Westerman lone applicant 01.92% 1 + 01.92% +1

The turnout in the 2016 local elections was 58.54%, above the Lower Saxony average of 55.5%. For comparison: in the previous local elections on September 11, 2011, the turnout was 57.56%.

mayor

town hall

In the last mayor elections on June 16, 2014, the previous incumbent Gerd-Christian Wagner (SPD) was re-elected full-time mayor . In the runoff election , Wagner received 56.52% of the vote, his opponent Rainer Rädicker 43.47%. The turnout was 49.87%. Gerd-Christian Wagner began his further term of office on November 1, 2014.

List of the mayors of Varel

  • 1945–1946: Adolf Heidenreich , SPD
  • 1946–1948: Bernhard Albrechts, FDP
  • 1948–1949: Adolf Heidenreich, SPD
  • 1949–1950: Bernhard Albrechts, FDP
  • 1950–1952: Adolf Heidenreich, SPD
  • 1952–1961: Karl Nieraad, CDU
  • 1961–1976: Wilhelm Kammann , SPD
  • 1976–1981: Karlheinz Bäker, CDU
  • 1981–1996: Karl-Heinz Funke , SPD
  • 1997-2001: Hans Fabian, SPD
  • 2001–2006: Wolfgang Busch, SPD
  • since 2006: Gerd-Christian Wagner , SPD

Representatives in the Land and Bundestag

Member of the State Parliament Olaf Lies

In the elections to the Lower Saxony state parliament , Varel belongs to the state electoral district 070 Friesland , which includes the entire district of Friesland. The direct mandate was won on October 15, 2017 by Olaf Lies from the SPD. On November 22, 2017, Lies was elected Minister for the Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection of Lower Saxony. The electoral term ends in 2022.

Varel belongs to the parliamentary constituency Friesland - Wilhelmshaven - Wittmund . It includes the city of Wilhelmshaven and the districts of Friesland and Wittmund . The directly elected MP is Siemtje Möller (SPD). No party candidate from the constituency entered the Bundestag via the parties' list.

coat of arms

The blazon reads: “In blue a black grooved, silver, tinned city wall with a central, open blue portal, each with a round blue window, a leaning golden anchor in the middle, a growing, two-tier pinnacle tower with a retracted upper step , both steps with a black arched window in the middle, accompanied at the top by an equal-armed golden anchor cross at the top and a golden rose at the back . "

According to the city's main statute: The coat of arms of the city of Varel shows a silver city wall with a tower and archway in an ultramarine-blue field. The wall strokes are black. To the right of the tower is a golden rose and to the left of the tower is a golden anchor cross. In the archway lies a golden anchor leaning to the left.

The city wall with tower and archway commemorates the acquisition of city rights in 1856. The golden anchor in the archway indicates the importance of the port for the city and the symbols of the “golden anchor cross ” (rule of the counts of Bentinck ) and the "Golden Rose" (rule of the Counts of Aldenburg ).

flag

The flag of the city of Varel shows a white cross on a blue background. The colors of the city of Varel are: white-blue.

Town twinning

Spijöök Museum

Culture and sights

Museums and Archives

“Soviet nuclear submarine” of the SULO class in front of the Spijöök Museum

Buildings

Attractions

Nordseebad Dangast - harbor

The North Sea resort of Dangast offers the only free beach on the German North Sea coast and was the summer residence of the Brücke painters in the middle of the 20th century . A rich artistic tradition has been preserved there.

The Varel harbor with the Wilhelm Kammann lock is the connection across the Jade Bay to the North Sea. In the port area, traces of the once Danish Christiansburg can still be found with the ramparts and ditches (site plan at the port).

In the city ​​center

  • the legendary HANSA car production building ( Lloyd (Auto) ) and the Hansa housing estate in Koppenstrasse and the racing driver's cab have been preserved.
  • Obenstrohes is the Mühlenteich nature reserve with the Mühlenradbassin, an orchid refuge .
  • the only preserved cellar house is located on Logemoorweg near the Bramloge castle complex .

Sports

Various sports clubs in Varel enable most sports to be practiced. In addition to football and athletics , swimming , handball , sailing , triathlon , bosses , volleyball , badminton , riding and rugby should also be mentioned.

Well known beyond Varel is the SG VTB / Altjührden (meanwhile HSG Varel or HSG Varel-Friesland), which played in the 2nd handball Bundesliga for 24 years between 1981 and 2011 and is currently 8th in the all-time table of this league occupied. The syndicate has also produced the German national team players Jan Fegter and Johannes Bitter, as well as some first division players . The home games of SG VTB / Altjührden take place in the Manfred-Schmidt-Sporthalle Altjührden, in which the sports of badminton , fistball and gymnastics are offered by the Altjührden gymnastics club.

SC Varel has been offering rugby for a long time. The club has won several regional championships and produced various national and national players since the 1930s. SC Varel is the only rugby club in the Weser-Ems area and is one of the oldest active rugby clubs in Germany today.

Regular events

  • Varel music competition in April
  • Spring festival in April / May
  • Asparagus mile in May
  • Beach Handball Cup Dangast at the end of June
  • Pottery market in August
  • Vareler Wednesday Live, every Wednesday during the summer holidays on the Schlossplatz
  • Lock festival (directly at the Vareler lock) in July
  • Holi Beach in Dangast around August / September
  • Kramermarkt in September
  • Horse and foal market in October
  • Pumpkin Festival in October
  • Festival of lights in the city center
  • Christmas market in November
  • Vareler Bahnhof : Culture at the halt six times a year

Culinary specialties

Sculpture group Krabbenpulerin in the pedestrian zone

As in many places on the North Sea coast, fish and garnets (crabs) are of particularly good quality, often freshly caught from the fishing boat.

In winter, after the first frost, kale with smoked pork and pee is recommended after a long walk. Activities such as bowling , broom throwing and loo shooting are also part of the winter fun before the communal kale meal .

Economy and Infrastructure

Varel is mainly characterized by medium-sized companies. One focus is the aircraft industry with the Airbus subsidiary Premium-Aerotec and the supplier Deharde. In the food sector, the manufacturer Bahlsen has a production plant in Varel.

A high priority, the tourism in Dangast with its medicinal spring spa.

Varel is a great was the barracks of the Bundeswehr . On September 9, 2007, the paratrooper battalion 313 with 1060 soldiers said goodbye to the Varel population with an open day. The Varel location was closed and the battalion was relocated to Seedorf .

Varel is the seat of a local court .

Agriculture continues to be an important cultural and economic factor. In addition to cattle breeding (milk and meat production), sheep are also kept, especially on the dike.

The paper and cardboard factory Varel GmbH extends over a wide area. In 2018, the NDR reported a noticeably high number of cancer cases in the vicinity of the factory.

traffic

Varel station in 2018

The city is located on the A 29 federal motorway between Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven and can be reached via two exits ( Varel-Obenstrohe and Varel / Bockhorn ).

Varel is still on the B 437 , which among other things connects the A 29 with the A 27 . The opening of the Weser Tunnel on January 20, 2004 suddenly increased the volume of traffic on this formerly quiet main road. Before the opening of the Weser Tunnel, the federal road was dismantled internally. The former federal highway B 69 also ran through Varel. Most of the route sections are now classified as state roads .

Varel harbor
Shrimp cutter VAR-16 in front of the Vareler Schleuse (2011)

From the train station in the northeast of the city, trains of the NordWestBahn run every hour on the Wilhelmshaven – Oldenburg line to Wilhelmshaven and Osnabrück via Oldenburg. There are also four direct connections to and from Bremen every day . The nearest train stations are Rastede (south) and Sande (north). Buses to Friesische Wehde can be reached from the station forecourt . Oldenburg can be reached with the 340 bus via Jaderberg , Rastede, Wahnbek .

From 1893 the network of the Varel branch lines was built and in 1913 the Varel – Rodenkirchen railway line opened. All of these routes have now been closed.

As is common in many parts of northern Germany, the bicycle is one of the most popular means of transport in and around Varel. Bicycle paths have been developed along the federal and most of the state roads. Varel is connected to the European long-distance cycle path network ( EuroVelo ). The EV 12 ( North Sea Coast Cycle Route ) leads from Wilhelmshaven via Dangast and Varel along the Jade Bay to the north and on to the Weser. There is a well-developed bike path along the old B 69 to the south in the direction of Oldenburg. The east-west connection runs along the B 437.

View from the Vareler Sielschleuse to the Jade Bay at low tide

Varel can also be reached via the direct lake waterway with lock and harbor. The Vareler Hafen, once the largest German port in America ( Oldenburg was the first German country to sign a trade agreement with the United States ), is now mainly a pleasure boat harbor .

The Vareler Seeschleuse , newly built in 1977, is a sluice gate and can only be opened if there is a tie between the outside and inside water. The lock was renamed "Wilhelm-Kammann-Schleuse" in 1984 after the long-time mayor of Varel Wilhelm Kammann. From the port the sea route leads over a Priggenweg in the Wadden Sea of the Jadebusens to the barrel route to Wilhelmshaven and from there to the North Sea. In the northern part the fairway is indicated by the Arngast lighthouse . Tides can be requested from the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency .

From 1877 to 1913, the control was made easier by the Vareler Siel lighthouse.

media

In Varel, the subscription newspaper mainly reads the Nordwest-Zeitung ( Oldenburg ) with the local section and its own editorial department Der Gemeinnützige .

The Friesländer Bote advertising paper appears weekly and is distributed free of charge to households in Varel and the neighboring communities of Bockhorn, Zetel and Jade (total circulation around 28,000 copies) and is widely accepted. The Friebo existed for 25 years in November 2006. In addition, the Jade-Weser-Zeitung advertising paper appears monthly with a total circulation of 13,000 copies.

Regarding regional broadcasting , the North German Broadcasting ( NDR ) and Radio Bremen can be received terrestrially in the urban area . Radio Jade from Wilhelmshaven is the local and non-commercial citizen radio in the city of Varel. The broadcaster is one of 15 citizens of Lower Saxony's broadcasters. It started broadcasting on September 30, 1997 and is funded by the Lower Saxony State Media Authority with funds from the license fee.

education

Varel has a total of six primary schools . With the primary school Osterstraße (the building was formerly used as a technical center, teacher training institute and most recently as a boys 'school), the former girls' school at Am Schloßplatz and the harbor school, there are three primary schools in the city area. In the rural area there are another three primary schools in Büppel, Langendamm and in Obenstrohe ( Georg Ruseler primary school).

Secondary education 1 is made up of

  • two main schools
    • Secondary school with orientation level Arngaster Strasse (1974–2002), now Haupt- und Realschule Arngaster Strasse
    • Secondary school with orientation level Obenstrohe (until 2002), secondary school trial until 2007 , now Haupt- und Realschule Obenstrohe
  • two secondary schools
    • Haupt- und Realschule Arngaster Straße .
    • Secondary and secondary school in Obenstrohe

In the course of the introduction of the Oberschule in Lower Saxony, the school locations Varel Arngaster Straße and Obenstrohe have chosen this type of school and changed their name to Oberschule Varel and Oberschule Obenstrohe .

There are also several vocational schools in Varel at a common location. The Fachgymnasium Wirtschaft is also located here. The Pestalozzi School is a special school and is located in the former Realschule building on Oldenburger Straße. Another special school is the Von Aldenburg School of the Varel orphanage. It is a special school with a focus on "Emotional and Social Development". The building of the former Catholic elementary school is now an adult education center and district music school .

Established businesses

A number of industrial companies produce in Varel. The largest company is the Premium Aerotec Varel plant, which manufactures aircraft parts. The factory, which belongs to the Airbus Group , was outsourced to the newly founded company in 2009. Aircraft construction has a long tradition at the Varel plant. Aircraft companies such as VFW-Fokker , Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) and DASA were already producing here .

Other industrial companies include the Varel paper and cardboard factory , the Heinen mechanical engineering group with the Heinen Tobacco, Heinen Systems, Heinen Freezing and Heinen Drying divisions, and the baked goods manufacturer Bahlsen , which operates its second largest plant in Varel after the headquarters in Hanover . One of the oldest companies is the Alexander Speith metal foundry. Since 1926 aluminum castings in all common alloys have been manufactured and finished in Varel.

In the service sector , one of the largest furniture stores in Northern Germany is Maschal-Möbel in the Altjührden district.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Lothar von Meyer
Johann Gerhard Oncken , founder of the continental European Baptist congregations
Ferdinand Hardekopf, poet, publicist, translator

Personalities who have worked in the city

Memorial plaque for the Schwabe-Barlewin family, Neumarktstrasse
  • Gerd the Brave (1430–1500) initiated the first major expansion of the castle church in 1481
  • Anton I von Aldenburg (1633–1680), imperial count and governor of the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, as well as sovereign of Kniphausen and Varel, died in Varel
  • Maria Rampendahl (1645–1705) was the last woman accused of being a witch (and acquitted) in Lemgo and moved here with her husband Hermann Hermessen from Varel, a journeyman barber, for the last 22 years of her life, where she also died
  • Abraham Trembley (1710–1784), Swiss zoologist, was tutor for the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg for about two years , who spent part of his youth in Varel
  • Eilert Hörmann called Meischen (1785–1865), master blacksmith
  • Hedwig envelope (1794–1861), poet and writer, lived in Varel from 1848 until her death. Detailed biography:
  • Wilhelm Grundmann (1795–1860), church musician and composer, publisher of the "Preludes to the Oldenburg Choral Book", worked in Varel from 1820 to 1836, among other things as organist at the castle church and director of the "Vareler Singverein von 1820"
  • Johann Otto Böckeler (1803–1899), an important botanist, lived in Varel from 1827 and was initially an employee, from 1829 owner of the old pharmacy
  • Dietrich Klävemann (1814–1889), administrative lawyer; City director and mayor (1859–1880), head of the singing club, honorary citizen of Varel (1882)
  • August Friedrich Wilhelm Haese (1824–1912), Baptist pastor and Metta Schütte. They were the first couple in Germany to get married under civil law . Date of marriage : July 12, 1855
  • Julius Preller (1834–1914), painter
  • Gustav Schwabe-Barlewin (1856–1933), businessman, 1885–1933 head of the synagogue community in Varel
  • Ernst Ahnert (1859–1944), important stenographer, among others, of Bismarck's speeches (1895) and the peace negotiations in Versailles (1919); lived and worked in Varel from 1884 to 1897
  • Gertrud Storm (1865–1936), editor of works and letters from her father Theodor Storm and Storm biographer; lived in Varel from 1898 to 1924
  • Georg Ruseler (1866–1920), local poet
  • Rudolf Schauder (1868–1930), worked in Varel from 1899 to 1930 as organist, composer and director of the "Vardeler Singverein von 1820"
  • Olga Potthast von Minden (1869–1942), painter
  • Erich Heckel (1883–1970), painter, bridge artist
  • Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884–1976), painter, bridge artist
  • Franz Radziwill (1895–1983), painter
  • Edo Osterloh (1909–1964), Protestant pastor, senior church councilor and minister of education in Schleswig-Holstein
  • Willy Hinck (1915–2002), painter and photographer
  • Gerd Lüpke (1920–2002), writer, radio author, translator, radio announcer and reciter, who is particularly known in the Low German-speaking area
  • Wilhelm Kammann (1922–1980), former member of the state parliament (1959–1978) and long-time mayor (SPD)
  • Judith von Eßen (1924–2004), sculptor
  • August Osterloh (* 1933), City Director of the City of Varel from 1972 to 1996, previously City Director of Varel-Land from 1966 to 1972.
  • Karl-Heinz Funke (* 1946), former state and federal minister of agriculture, long-time mayor, non-party (formerly SPD)
  • Peter Behrens (1947–2016), musician, grew up in Varel
  • Bernd Lange (* 1955), politician (SPD / SPE), MEP 1994–2004
  • Heiko Daxl (1957–2012), media artist and exhibition curator
  • Holger Frerichs (* 1958), paramedic and author
  • Jan Fegter (* 1969), national handball player

Ten mark banknote

Excerpt from the 10 Deutsche Mark note with Varel as the measuring point

In June 1825, Carl Friedrich Gauß stayed temporarily in Varel for surveying work. The 10 Deutsche Mark note in the fourth series ("BBk III") showed a sketch on the reverse of the triangulation of Wangerooge and Neuwerk with Varel as the measuring point .

literature

  • Georg Sello: Östringen and Rüstringen. Ad. Littmann, Oldenburg 1928.
  • Albrecht Eckhardt, Heinrich Schmidt (ed.): History of the state of Oldenburg. 3. Edition. Holzberg, Oldenburg 1998, ISBN 3-87358-285-6 .
  • Hans Patze , Ernst Schubert (ed.): History of Lower Saxony. 3 volumes. Lax, Hildesheim, (last volume 3, part 1: 1998, ISBN 3-7752-5901-5 )
  • Hermann Oltmanns: Ortsfamilienbuch (= Ortssippenbuch ) Varel (on CD-ROM), 2002.
  • Authors' group (Buchtmann, Frerichs, Funke, Klün, Schiffhauer, Janssen, Soltau, Metelmann, Wildvang): 150 Years of Varel City Rights - Contributions to Varel History, published by the City of Varel and the Heimatverein Varel e. V. City of Varel and Heimatverein Varel, Varel 2006, ISBN 3-9807784-4-4 .
  • Rudolf Brahms: History of an Unloved Minority. The development of the Jewish community in Varel from its beginnings in the 17th century to its demise during the National Socialist era . Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-89995-382-4 .
  • Holger Frerichs : From the monarchy to the republic - the political upheaval in Varel, the Frisian Wehde and in Jade / Schweiburg 1918/19. CCV Verlag, Varel 2001, ISBN 3-934606-08-3 .
  • Holger Frerichs: The March into the Third Reich. Documentation on the history of the NSDAP in the Varel, Friesische Wehde and Jade / Schweiburg area from the beginnings to the seizure of power in 1933. Verlag Hermann Lüers, Jever 2002, ISBN 3-9806885-7-7 .
  • Holger Frerichs: Varel under the swastika - texts and documents on the history of Varels 1933 to 1945. Verlag Hermann Lüers, Jever 2007, ISBN 978-3-9809226-9-2 .
  • Holger Frerichs: The bombing war in Friesland 1939 to 1945. 3rd edition. Verlag Hermann Lüers, Jever 2002, ISBN 3-00-002189-2 .
  • Holger Frerichs: The end of the war in Varel in 1945 - the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Allied occupation in the southern district of Friesland in 1945/46. Verlag Hermann Lüers, Jever 2004, ISBN 3-9809226-1-8 .
  • Holger Frerichs: Searching for clues. The Jewish retirement home in Varel 1937–1942. The Weinberg family, the 40 residents of Schüttingstrasse 13 and the deportation in 1941/42. Verlag Hermann Lüers, Jever 2012, ISBN 978-3-9815257-0-0 .
  • Hans Sauer: Ferdinand Hardekopf - writer and stenographer. In: Oldenburger Jahrbuch Volume 116 (2016) pp. 111–128.

Web links

Commons : Varel  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Varel  - travel guide

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. ↑ City of Varel - figures, data, facts - residents according to districts ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2009 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 on May 6, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.varel.de
  3. ↑ City of Varel - figures, data, facts - area according to type of use ( memento of the original from April 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been 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 on May 6, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.varel.de
  4. ↑ [1] Staroslovan; Quarterly publication on the maintenance of the Old Slavonic language, history and culture, page 10, accessed on May 14, 200.
  5. ↑ Where is Neu-Wangerooge? Storm surge in 1854 destroyed Wangerooge. Radio Bremen, Northwest scene , September 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ Melanie Hanz: When Alt-Wangeroog went under on the New Year of 1855. In: Nordwest-Zeitung , January 3, 2015.
  7. ^ Jewish life in Varel on the Varel website
  8. ↑ Flyer: Jewish life in Varel - A historical city tour, PDF file
  9. ↑ This Wikipedia page gives an overview of the life of the Jews in East Frisia
  10. ^ Table of contents of the book by Holger Frerichs about the history of the Schwabe-Barlewin family
  11. ↑ Holger Frerichs in an interview on the history of the Schwabe-Barlewin family - skip advertising!
  12. ^ Family Schwabe-Barlewin on the website of the city of Varel
  13. ↑ "Schwabes Garten" on the Vareler website
  14. ↑ Memorial plaque on the site of the former Varel synagogue
  15. ↑ Holger Frerichs (Schlossmuseum Jever), Varel: The Synagogue and its Destruction 1938
  16. ↑ a b Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality register 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, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 175; 249; 276 .
  17. ↑ Web presence of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Varel
  18. ↑ Web presence of the parish of St. Bonifatius
  19. ↑ Internet presence of the Baptist Congregation Varel: Johann Gerhard Oncken ( Memento of the original of April 28, 2012 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 April 9, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.baptisten-varel.de
  20. ↑ Internet presence of the New Apostolic Church Community in Varel
  21. ↑ Bylaws of the city of Varel to reduce the number of MPs ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been 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 November 9, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.varel.de
  22. ↑ a b City of Varel - overall results of the city council election 2016 , accessed on November 9, 2016.
  23. ↑ The CDU gets the most votes nationwide. September 12, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016 .
  24. ^ City of Varel - overall result of the runoff election for mayor on June 16, 2014 , accessed on October 25, 2014.
  25. ↑ Olaf Lies: About me , accessed on August 17, 2019
  26. ↑ Allocation of constituencies to the Federal Returning Officer , accessed on August 17, 2019.
  27. ^ Nordwest-Zeitung: Bundestag election: These members represent our region . In: NWZonline . ( nwzonline.de [accessed September 29, 2017]).
  28. ↑ a b Main Statute of the City of Varel ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2014 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; 43 kB), accessed on November 13, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.varel.de
  29. ↑ Curiosity Museum In Varel "Spijöök" opens with fishing games. In: NWZ ONLINE. Nordwest-Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, accessed on January 9, 2020 .
  30. ↑ Ev.-luth. Parish of Varel - The Schuke organ , accessed on May 12, 2011.
  31. ^ Monument-protected station bridge is to be demolished. Süddeutsche Zeitung , January 19, 2018, accessed on August 26, 2020 .
  32. ↑ Germany's smallest pub ( Memento from January 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  33. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) 15. Varel music competition: the audience also votes@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nwzonline.de
  34. ↑ Varel horse and foal market , Traute Börjes-Meinardus, September 28, 2017, Nordwest-Zeitung
  35. ↑ NDR: paper mill: fear of air pollution. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
  36. ↑ Railway line Varel – Rodenkirchen on laenderbahn.info.
  37. ↑ Information about the Wilhelm-Kammann-Schleuse in Varel , accessed on February 1, 2015.
  38. ↑ Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency - tide forecast for Vareler Schleuse  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 25, 2009.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bsh.de  
  39. ↑ NWZ-Online regional edition Varel ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 25, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nwzonline.de
  40. ↑ City of Varel, Education ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2014 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 May 14, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.varel.de
  41. ↑ See "Der Gemeinnützige" (Vareler local newspaper) of February 29, 1928
  42. ↑ http://www.bremerfrauengeschichte.de/2_Biografien/huelle.html
  43. ↑ Article about the remains of the lock in the non-profit , accessed on October 25, 2009.
  44. ^ G. Waldo Dunnington: Carl Friedrich Gauss: Titan of Science . The Mathematical Association of America, 2004. page 133
  45. ↑ It contains 23,270 families and over 70,000 people. All data from the church registers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Varel from 1676 to 1900, grave sites and plates from the time before the beginning of the church bookkeeping, house and farm registers from around 1570, as well as supplementary data from church registers of other parishes were recorded and incorporated.