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.
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) 1
- Wusterhausen/Dosse in Brandenburg Germany
Sons and daughters
- Hein ten Hoff (1919-2003), German boxer
References
"Krosno Official Website - Partner Cities". (in Polish) © 1998 - 2001 Urząd Miasta Krosna. Archived from the original on 2007-09-13. Retrieved 2008-10-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20070913205613/http://www.krosno.pl/?node=30 ↩