Edewecht

Edewecht
Municipality
Church of Saint Nicholas
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Edewecht within Ammerland district
Location of Edewecht
Edewecht Edewecht
Coordinates: 53°07′33″N 07°58′57″E
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Ammerland
Subdivisions	15 districts
Government
• Mayor (2021–26)	Petra Knetemann (Ind.)
Area
• Total	113.85 km2 (43.96 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population  (2024-12-31)
• Total	22,632
• Density	198.79/km2 (514.86/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	26188
Dialling codes	04405
Vehicle registration	WST
Website	www.edewecht.de

Edewecht (German pronunciation: [ˈeːdəˌvɛçt]; Low German: Erwech) is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) west of Oldenburg.

Villages and populations

• Friedrichsfehn Nord 1,747
• Friedrichsfehn Süd 3,185
• Husbäke 1,005 (known for the bog bodies found there; see: List of bog bodies)
• Jeddeloh I 1,101
• Jeddeloh II 1,333
• Kleefeld 439
• Klein Scharrel 1,229
• Nord Edewecht I 2,246
• Nord Edewecht II 2,548
• Osterscheps 1,604
• Portsloge 1,962
• Süddorf 608
• Süd Edewecht 2,256
• Westerscheps 554
• Wildenloh 805
• Wittenberge 386

total: 23,008

• Edewecht only 7,050
• Friedrichsfehn only 4,932

Source: website of the Edewecht Municipality.

Date: June 30, 2020.

The population figures include people who have a second home in Edewecht besides a dwelling elsewhere, and legally residing foreigners.

History

Edewecht was the scene of severe fights during the last weeks of the Second World War. Coming from Friesoythe in the south, on April 17, 1945, Canadian troops had to conquer Edewecht in fierce house-by-house fighting against fanatic German paratroopers and other soldiers. The famous German artist Joseph Beuys, who was a young man in those days, was one of the Wehrmacht paratroopers defending Edewecht, and got injured on April 27 during battle.

This battle was the fifth time that Edewecht was destroyed in a war. The first four times were in the 15th and 16th centuries. Edewecht had been a border watch location between Eastern Frisia and the County of Oldenburg for many centuries.

Twin towns

Edewecht is twinned with:

• Krosno, Poland
• Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary
• Wusterhausen/Dosse, Brandenburg, Germany

Notable people

• Hein ten Hoff (1919–2003), German boxer

References

Notes