Osterheide

Osterheide
Unincorporated area
Location of Osterheide within Heidekreis district
Osterheide Show map of Germany Osterheide Show map of Lower Saxony
Coordinates: 52°51′N 9°44′E / 52.850°N 9.733°E / 52.850; 9.733
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Heidekreis
Government
• Mayor	Andreas Ege
Area
• Total	177.99 km2 (68.72 sq mi)
Elevation	62 m (203 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[1]
• Total	4,437
• Density	25/km2 (65/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Dialling codes	05163, 05167
Vehicle registration	HK

Osterheide is an unincorporated area in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany.

The 177.99 square kilometres (68.72 sq mi) area has 2,463 inhabitants (as at 31 December 2020). Its administrative seat is the village of Oerbke; other villages are Ostenholz and Wense. The districts of Osterheide and Lohheide cover the Bergen-Hohne Military Training Area.

History

In 1935 the German armed forces, the

. Today Osterheide covers the NATO Bergen-Hohne firing ranges in Heidekreis district which were established in 1958.

Legal status

According to § 16 of the Lower Saxony Municipality Regulations (NGO) the management of unincorporated or unparished areas is to be governed by a regulation. The extant version of this regulation was issued on 4 December 1996. This states that "the delivery of public services for the area's sphere of activity is the responsibility of the land owner" which in the case of Lohheide and Osterheide, is the Federal Government. The constitution of an unincorporated area is different from that of a municipality. Its instruments are the district principal (Bezirksvorsteher) and a council of elected representatives of the inhabitants. The mayor is proposed by the land owners and then elected by the council. The participation rights of the inhabitants are limited to the election of representatives as well as the opportunity to ask questions and listen to the public proceedings of the council.

Cultural monuments and places of interest

Amongst the cultural monuments and places of interest in and around Osterheide are:

• in Oerbke (west):
  • Cemetery of the Unknown Soldiers (German:Friedhof der Namenlosen), a
    Second World War
    are buried in mass graves
• in and around Ostenholz' (southwest):
  • Timber-framed church with wooden tower dating from 1724
  • Hoher Stein, a monument in memory of the communities evacuated in 1936 in order to establish the military training area
  • dolmens
    in the south of the training area
• in
  Wense
  (northwest):
  • The estate chapel (Gutskapelle), a splendid church dating from 1558

References

1. Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen
   .

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