Saterland
Saterland (
Saterland Frisian:
Seelterlound) is a
municipality in the
German federal state of
Lower Saxony. In 2003, it had 12,790 inhabitants. It occupies an area of 123.5
km2 and lies between the cities of
Leer,
Cloppenburg, and
Oldenburg.
In
medieval times, Saterland was a
sandy region occupying an area of about 15
km long by 1-4 km wide surrounded by
marshes. It was settled between the
10th and
13th centuries by
Frisians from
East Frisia. Being relatively isolated, the inhabitants developed their own form of the
Frisian language,
Saterland Frisian, which survives to this day. The
"Saterfriesen," as the speakers of this language are called in
German, are the smallest
minority recognized by the
federal government.
The municipality was formed in
1974, when the smaller municipalities
Strücklingen (
Strukelje in
Saterland Frisian),
Ramsloh (
Roomelse),
Sedelsberg (
Seeidelsbierich) and
Scharrel (
Schäddel) were merged.
On the area of the municipality of Saterland is the
VLF transmitter DHO38, a large VLF transmitter of the
German Navy for sending commands to
submarines.
*
Official site of the municipality (in German)
