Weser-Ems - Geography and history
This Regierungsbezirk comprises five kreisfreie Städte and 12 Landkreise. Covering an area of 14 965 km2, it is about 110 km running east-west and nearly 200 km from north to south. It extends from the North Sea and the North Frisian Islands in the north to the Teutoburg Forest in the south, and from the Dutch border and the River Ems in the west to the River Weser in the east. The main towns are Oldenburg, which has a population of about 158 000 (mid-2003), and which is a centre for administration, services and science, and Osnabrück (population: about 167 000), the centre of Niedersachsen's third-biggest economic and industrial region.
The district has good transport links in the form of European routes E37 and E30 (the A1 and A30 motorways) and the A29 und A31 Federal motorways. The last, southern stretch of the A31, due for completion at the end of 2004, will provide even better links between the northern and western parts of the Bezirk with the economic centres on the Rivers Rhine and Ruhr. The A1 motorway, in particular, is one of its growth corridors.
A notable feature of this Regierungsbezirk, which comprises a large number of kreisfreie Städte and Landkreise, and which shares borders with Bremen and the Netherlands, is its high level of cooperation with its neighbours. At the end of 2002, there were 29 regional cooperation structures of various types. Municipalities in the Regierungsbezirk of Weser-Ems were taking part in 15 of them. There are five formal cross-border cooperation structures with the Netherlands alone.
Tourism and nature protection on the coast, highly productive agriculture in the south
In the northern part of the district, the East Frisian Islands constitute a natural border between the North Sea and the Wattenmeer, which is about 20 km wide. This unique environment for water birds and other animals has been turned into the 27 800-hectare Niedersachsen Wattenmeer National Park. The biggest source of income on the islands and on the East Frisian coast is tourism. Otherwise, the peripheral position of the East Frisian Landkreise of Aurich, Leer and Wittmund is such that they remain among the weakest parts of Niedersachsen in terms of economic activity and incomes, despite clear progress in closing the gap.
The area between Oldenburg and Osnabrück is characterised by robust growth in the economy, employment and population. Based on a highly productive agricultural sector, including its upstream and downstream activities in the industrial, commercial and services sectors, the Landkreise of Ammerland, Cloppenburg, Grafschaft Bentheim, Emsland, Oldenburg, Osnabrück and Vechta are growing at rates which are well above the average. The Cloppenburg/Vechta area, which is also known as the "Oldenburger Münsterland", holds a number of German records: nowhere are so many pigs, chickens and turkeys farmed as in this area, which also boasts the highest birth rate in Germany. The Landkreis of Grafschaft Bentheim has another special feature, namely its close ties with the Netherlands. The national border between Germany and its neighbour to the west has long since ceased to be a real barrier, and many Dutch citizens have opted to settle in a region where land and houses are less expensive and where more space is available.
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