Ammerland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Oldenburg and the districts of Oldenburg, Cloppenburg, Leer, Friesland and Wesermarsch.
The "Ammerland" was first mentioned in the 10th century. The word is believed to derive from "Ameri", which is an old word meaning "swamp". In the time of Viking raids small ring-like castles were built in order to protect the defenceless hamlets.
For many years there was few interest in this swampy region. In the 14th century it became part of the county of Oldenburg. The counts established strongholds in the region, which was the frontier against the lands of the untamable Frisians.
The district was established in 1933 in the rough borders of the historical region.
Ammerland is characterised by a very plain countryside, many fens and swamps, and lots of windmills. The latter are a symbol of the district, which calls itself sometimes the "land of windmills".
The central point of the district is the Zwischenahner Meer, a lake with an area of 5.5 kmē (Meer is the German word for "sea"; this is somewhat strange for such a small lake, but lakes are generally rare in Lower Saxony, what may be the reason for the exaggerated name).
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The coat of arms displays:
- top left: the red stripes from the arms of the counts of Oldenburg
- top right: the golden cross of the county of Bentinck (1733-1818 in Varel[?]; Wiefelstede was a part of this county)
- bottom left: the acorn symbolising the common oaks of the Ammerland
- bottom right: the red zigzag lines are an ancient symbol of the Ammerland
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Official website (http://www.ammerland.de/) (German)
Touristical website (http://www.ammerland-touristik.de/) (German)
