Leer

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Template:Infobox Town DE Leer is a city in the Leer District of northwestern Germany on the border with the Netherlands, located at the river Ems.

It has a railway connection to Groningen, Netherlands.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Politics
4 Culture
5 Economics and Infrastructure
6 Education
7 Personalities
8 External links

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Geography

Leer had been a settlement long before it was first mentioned in written documents. Originally the city was situated close to the point where the river Leda flows into the Ems, but today the mouth of the Leda is part of the city. Even though Leer is some 30 km (19miles) away from the coast, it can be reached by large ships via the Ems. Leer lies close to the Dutch border, the district of Leer shares a border with the Dutch province of Groningen.

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History

In 791 AD Saint Ludger built the first chapel in East Frisia at the western edge of the settlement Hleri/Leer. This chapel is mentioned in a written document from 850 AD for the first time. There are however many traces of earlier settlements in the area, including crude flint tools that are dated back to the second millennium BC.

During the 14th and 15th Century Leer was home town of the Ukena family which was one most influential East-Frisian chieftain families of that time.

Town privileges were awarded in 1823 by George IV, King of Hanover.

In 1854 Leer became connected to the "Hannoversche Westbahn" railway, which at that time connected Emden and Rheine in the Ruhr area. In 1856 the Westbahn became connected to the central German railway network.

Unlike Emden, Leer only suffered little damage by Allied bombings in World War II. The city was occupied by Canadian Troops on April 28th, 1945.

On 1 October 1955 Leer got the status of an independent city.

Religions:

Leer is a traditional Protestant city and home to both the Lutheran and Reformed churches. The German Reformed Church has its head office in Leer. Furthermore Leer offers an unusually large variety of smaller religious communities, especially Baptists, Mennonites, Methodists, Adventists and Mormons. Even though Eastern Frisia is a mainly a Protestant region, there is a small Roman Catholic community in Leer.

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Politics

Since 1964 the city's government is led by the Social-Democratic Party SPD. The major oppositional parties are the Christian Democratic Union Party CDU, the Green Party and the AWG, an independent local party.

Local council:

SPD: 42 % / 16 Seats
CDU: 26 % / 10 Seats
AWG: 16 % / 6 Seats
Grüne: 11 % / 4 Seats
FDP: 5 % / 2 Seats

The mayor of Leer is Wolfgang Kellner.

Twin Towns:

Trowbridge (GB)
Elbląg (PL)

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Culture

Buildings:

Harderwykenburg
Haneburg
Evenburg
Philippsburg
Telecommunication tower "Leer-Nüttermoor" (Height:160 meters)

City Hall in Leer

City Centre in Leer

Each year in autumn the Gallimarkt is held. Traditionally a cattle-market, the Gallimarkt is now one of the largest fairs in Northwest Germany. Since 2002 the Open Air rockfestival "Rock am Deich" (Rock at the Dyke) is held annually in the city.

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Economics and Infrastructure

Two German motorways cross north of Leer, the A 28 (Leer - Bremen) and the A 31 (Emden - Oberhausen). The city itself has three junctions to the motorways. Despite rumors of its forthcoming closure, Leer railway station is still in use. Leer is still connected to the German railway network and also offers trains to Groningen. The airfield Leer-Papenburg north of the city offers limited passenger flights to nearby airfields. The closest international airport is Bremen International Airport.

Leer is home to many German shipping companies — about 20 per cent of the German merchant fleet are registered in Leer. The Bünting group [1] is seated in Leer and is one of the city's main employers. Although Bünting owns several German supermarket chains the company is best known for their tea, which is available all over Germany.

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Education

In Leer are seven primary schools and numerous secondary schools. The two gymnasiums , Teletta Gross Gymnasium and Ubbo Emmius Gymnasium, educate more than 1,500 pupils each and are two of the largest gymnasiums in Lower Saxony. Additionally Leer offers further education at two vocational schools.

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