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Coordinates: 53°8′N 8°13′E

Oldenburg
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	urban district
Population	158,341 source (2005)
Area	102.96 km²
Population density	1,538 /km²
Elevation	5 m
Coordinates	53°8′ N 8°13′ E
Postal code	26001-26135
Area code	0441
Licence plate code	OL
Mayor	Gerd Schwandner (No party, supported by the CDU)
Website	oldenburg.de

Oldenburg (Low German: Ollnborg) is an Independent City in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 158,341 (as of 2005) which makes it the fourth biggest in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Brunswick and Osnabrück. In German, the city is known officially as Oldenburg (Oldenburg) or Oldenburg (Oldb) to distinguish it from Oldenburg, Schleswig-Holstein.

Contents 1 History 2 Demography 3 Economy and Infrastructure 3.1 Traffic 3.2 Media 3.3 Education 3.4 Agriculture 4 Personalities 4.1 Honorary Citizens 4.2 Famous People from Oldenburg 4.3 Famous People who worked in Oldenburg 5 External links

The town was first mentioned in 1108, at that time known under the name of Aldenburg. It became important due to its location at a ford of the navigable Hunte River. Oldenburg became the capital of the County of Oldenburg (later a Duchy, Grand Duchy and Republic), a small state in the shadow of the much more powerful Hanseatic city of Bremen.

In the 17th century, Oldenburg was a wealthy town in a time of war and turmoil and its population and power grew considerably. In 1667 the town was struck by a disastrous plague epidemic and, shortly after, a fire destroyed Oldenburg. The Danish kings, who were also counts of Oldenburg at the time, were not much interested in the condition of the town and it lost most of its former importance. In 1773, Danish rule ended. It was only then that the destroyed buildings in the city were rebuilt in a Classicist style.

In 1893 a canal connecting the Hunte and the Ems rivers was finished connecting the port of Oldenburg with the North Sea which greatly increased the city's economic importance.

In 1945 after World War II, Oldenburg grew to more than 100,000 inhabitants when refugees migrated into the city that was only sparingly bombed during World War II. In 1946, Oldenburg became part of the new German Land of Lower Saxony.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Demographic evolution of Oldenburg between 1502 and 1900

1502	1667	1702	1769	1816	1828	1837	1855	1871	1880	1890	1900
~ 2,300	~ 4,300	~ 5,000	6,959	6,278	6,800	9,280	11,370	13,928	20,575	23,118	26,635

Up to 1870, it's only estimated data.

Demographic evolution of Oldenburg between 1910 and 2004

1910	1919	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1989	1995	2000	2004
30,242	32,540	55,485	80,605	122,809	122,337	131,545	136,764	140,785	151,382	154,832	158,394

The city centre of Oldenburg is surrounded by a ring of highways (Autobahnen) consisting of A28, A29 and A293. Oldenburg is part of the railway connections between Norddeich-Leer-Oldenburg-Bremen and Wilhelmshaven-Oldenburg-Osnabrück. InterCity railway connections to Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden and an InterCityExpress connection to Frankfurt exist.

Oldenburg is connected to shipping through the Küstenkanal, a ship canal connecting the rivers Ems and Weser. With 1.6 Million tons of goods annually it is the most important non-coastal harbour in Lower Saxony.

Bicycles play a very important part in personal transport.

Because of its close proximity to the city of Bremen, the city is only about half an hour drive from the Bremen Airport.

• Nordwest-Zeitung, daily newspaper for the region
• Oldenburger Sonntagszeitung, weekly newspaper
• Huntereport, weekly newspaper
• Mox, fortnightly information magazine
• Oldenburger Stachel, alternative monthly newspaper
• sisol, school information
• Oldenburg Eins, local semi-open TV and Radio station

• Carl von Ossietzky University, founded 1973 and named after Carl von Ossietzky
• Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) Oldenburg, founded 1971

The city is in a largely agricultural area. There are farms near and even in the city. Common agricultural activities are the cultivation of livestock (especially dairy cows and other grazing animals) and crops such as asparagus, corn, and kale.

• 1917: Paul von Hindenburg, General and later President of Germany during the Weimar Republic
• 1928: Dr. h.c. Helene Lange, Politician (DDP) and women's rights activist
• 1944: August Hinrichs, Artist
• 1961: Prof. Bernhard Winter, Painter
• 1963: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Karl Jaspers, Philosopher, Psychiatrist and political author
• 1992: Horst Janssen, Artist

In 1937 Adolf Hitler and Carl Röver were made honorary citizens, but this was reverted in 1948

• 2006: Mike Oldenburg, Rich Prosecutor, Genius person Died 2???

• 1426, Christian of Oldenburg, † 1481, king of the Kalmar Union.
• 1683, Burkhard Christoph von Munnich, † 1767, military commander, political figure
• 1776, May 4: Johann Friedrich Herbart, † August 14 1841 Göttingen, Philosopher, Psychologist and Teacher
• 1803: Markus Nathan Adler, † 1890, Rabbi
• 1818, December 21: Marie Frederike Amelie, Princess of Oldenburg and Queen of Greece 1836-1862 † Bamberg May 20 1875
• 1842, February 5: Karl Graf von Wedel, † December 30 1919 Stockholm, Governor of Alsace-Lorraine (Elsaß-Lothringen) between 1907-14
• 1848, April 9: Helene Lange, † May 13 1930 Berlin, Politician, Teacher and women's rights activist
• 1852, November 16: Friedrich August, Duke of Oldenburg 1900-1918
• 1865, July 22: Dr. Karl Rudolf Heinze, † May 28 1928 Dresden, prime minister of Saxony October 26 to November 13 1918 and Governor of Saxony 1923
• 1873, February 26: Johann Schütte, Airship constructor
• 1875, April 2: Theodor Diedrich Wilhelm Francksen, † June 14 1914, Art collector
• 1879, April 18: August Hinrichs, † June 20 1956 Huntlosen, Author
• 1883, February 23: Karl Jaspers, † February 26 1969 Basel, Philosopher and Author
• 1888: Theodor Pekol, † 1958, Bus constructor and operator
• 1894, August 17: Otto Suhr, † August 30 1957 Berlin, Politician SPD and Lord Mayor of Berlin
• 1934, October 7: Ulrike Meinhof, † May 9 1976 Stuttgart (suicide), journalist and terrorist (Red Army Faction)
• 1946, March 24: Su Kramer alias Gudrun Kramer, Singer
• 1952, July 17: Judith Jupe, Singer
• 1959, January 17: Andrea Clausen, actress at Burgtheater in Vienna
• 1974, May 28: Hans-Jörg Butt, Soccer player
• 1990, March 19: Romke Kotten, inventor of the Kottentiere

• Hermann Ludwig Ehlers, * 1904 Schöneberg near Berlin, † 1954, Politician (CDU), President of the Bundestag, worked in the city council of Oldenburg at the beginning of his career
• Horst Janssen, * November 14 1929 Oldenburg, † August 31 1995 Hamburg, Artist, lived in Oldenburg
• Johann Heinrich Suhrkamp, * March 23 1891 near Oldenburg, March 31 1959 Frankfurt, founder of the Suhrkamp Publishing House
• Cäcilie von Oldenburg, died there in 1844

Johannes Ullrich Model and Singer

• Official City Website
• Tourist Information
• http://www.oldenburg-geschichte.de/ (German)