Meppen

Meppen (German pronunciation: [ˈmɛpm̩] ( listen ) ) is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from the word Mappe, meaning "delta".

The town lying on the mouth of the Hase into the Ems in the central part of the Emsland between the cities of Lingen and Papenburg. Lying about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Dutch border, the town has an area of 188.45 km2 and is 15 m above sea level. The population was 34,196 as of 30 June 2005.

Quarters of Meppen:

1st Altstadt Historical centre of Meppen with historical town hall. 2nd Esterfeld 3rd Feldkamp 4th Kuhweide 5th Neustadt 6th Nödike 7th Schleusengruppe

Following villages are situated in Meppen: In 1974, 13 independent municipalities in the close vicinity of the town were integrated into Meppen.

Meppen, formerly a fortified town, boasts 12 centuries of history.

The first documented mention of Meppen is in 834, in a deed of donation by Frankish emperor Louis the Pious, transferring a missionary establishment of that name to the abbey of Corvey.

945 -- Emperor Otto the Great grants the town the rights to mint coins and collect tolls, followed in 946 by market rights.

1252—Countess Jutta von Vechta-Ravensberg sells her possessions to the Bishop of Münster. Meppen becomes part of the Niederstift Münster (i.e. Lower Prince-Bishopric of Münster).

1360—Meppen is granted the right to build city fortifications by Bishop Adolf of Münster, and thereby, town rights. Over the next three centuries until 1660, Meppen is built up as a fortified town.

1762—at the end of the Seven Years' War, the fortifications are demolished. Some walls remain standing today, however.

1803—Resolutions of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss assign Meppen to Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg, to compensate for the loss of his possessions on the west bank of the Rhine. Meppen becomes the capital of the dukedom of Arenberg.

1811—Meppen is incorporated into the First French Empire as a cantonal seat.

1813–1814—Occupation by Prussia.

1814–1815—Resolutions of the Congress of Vienna assign Meppen and the Duchy of Arenburg to the Kingdom of Hanover.

1855—Meppen connected to the Hannoverschen Westbahn railway line upon its opening.

1866—Hanover becomes a province of Prussia.

1871—Part of the German Empire.

1938—Kristallnacht: the German police and SA broke down into Jewish houses and carried out mass arrests, beatings and tortures of Jews. Germans burned down the synagogue and destroyed Jewish homes and enterprises. Some Jews were deported to the Oranienburg concentration camp.[3]

1939—German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag VI-B established in Meppen-Versen, in which initially around 5,000 Polish prisoners of war were held after the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, and then from 1940 to 1942 French, Belgian, Polish, Soviet and other POWs were held there.[4]

1943—Italian prisoners of war brought by the Germans to the Stalag VI-B.[4]

1944—Stalag VI-B converted into a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp.[4][5] Over 1,700 men were imprisoned there and used as forced labour,[5] and over 20% of them died.[6]

1945—Prisoners of the subcamp were evacuated by the Germans to Bremen, most in a death march, in which at least 50 prisoners died, sick ones by train, and then they were mostly transported to the Neuengamme concentration camp.[5][6]

1946—The state of Prussia is abolished after the World War II. Meppen becomes part of the newly created Land of Lower Saxony.

1977—District reforms in Lower Saxony unite the former districts of Lingen, Meppen and Aschendorf-Hümmling in the district of Emsland, with Meppen as administrative seat.

Between September and April the Meppen Theatre Group (Theatergemeinde Meppen) offers a comprehensive programme. Productions take place in the Meppen Theatre and Concert Hall, which was designed by Eberhard Kulenkampff and completed in 1959. It also acts as a school hall for the Windthorst Gymnasium. The programme includes both touring theatre productions as well as musical events of various genres.

From May to September, the Emsland Open Air Stage at Meppen (Emsländische Freilichtbühne Meppen) offers visitors a family musical and an evening event, mostly based on musical productions. More than 30,000 visitors come each year to the open air theatre in Esterfeld Forest to see large musical performances involving casts of up to 100.

(*including the villages belonging to the town of Meppen)

Meppen is twinned with:[7]

Town hall

Gymnasium

A street in the town centre

Buildings in the town centre

Museum

Pedestrian zone on Bahnhofstraße

Meppen's old harbour

Vormeppen railway station

Ems River in Meppen

Installing the new lifting bridge in 2007