Edewecht

Edewecht (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.

Edewecht
Municipality
Church of Saint Nicholas
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Edewecht within Ammerland district
Edewecht Show map of Germany Edewecht Show map of Lower Saxony
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[1] (Ind.)
Area
• Total	113.50 km2 (43.82 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	22,908
• Density	200/km2 (520/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

Villages in the municipality and their population

• 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 to 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 these 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 in Poland (since 1996) ^[3]
• Wusterhausen/Dosse in Brandenburg Germany

Sons and daughters

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