Editing Diepholz (district)

{{short description|District in Lower Saxony, Germany}}
{{Infobox District DE
| name=Diepholz
| state=Lower Saxony
| capital=[[Diepholz]]
| area=1987
| Kreisschlüssel    = 03251
| district_admin    = Cord Bockhop 
| admin_party       = CDU
| carsign=DH, SY
| url= [http://www.diepholz.de diepholz.de]
| map={{Germany district OSM map |parent_subdivision = Q1197}}
|image_coa = DEU Landkreis Diepholz COA.svg
|image_flag = Flagge Landkreis Diepholz.svg
}}
'''Diepholz''' ({{IPA|de|ˈdiːphɔlts}}) is a [[districts of Germany|district]] in [[Lower Saxony]], [[Germany]]. It is bounded by (from the northeast and clockwise) the districts of [[Verden (district)|Verden]], [[Nienburg (district)|Nienburg]], [[Minden-Lübbecke]] (in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]), [[Osnabrück (district)|Osnabrück]], [[Vechta (district)|Vechta]] and [[Oldenburg (district)|Oldenburg]], and by the cities of [[Delmenhorst]] and [[Bremen (city)|Bremen]]. The most populous municipality is [[Stuhr]] at the border to [[Bremen]].

== History ==
From the 12th century to 1585 Diepholz was a sovereign [[Lordship, later County, of Diepholz|Noble Lordship, later County]], within the [[Holy Roman Empire]] that was ruled over by the [[Lordship, later County, of Diepholz|Noble Lords, later Counts, of Diepholz]]. At the beginning of the 16th century there was great pressure from the powerful duchy of [[Brunswick-Lüneburg]], which tried to annex the smaller states. By forming an alliance with the neighbouring [[County of Hoya]] and asking for help from the [[Holy Roman Emperor|emperor]] himself the state of Diepholz managed to survive some more decades. In 1585 the ruling family became extinct, and Diepholz was eventually annexed by Brunswick-Lüneburg.

In 1932, the district of Grafschaft Diepholz (County of Diepholz) was established by merging the former districts of Diepholz and Sulingen. The former district of Diepholz was roughly identical to the medieval state, while the Sulingen district had been a part of the County of Hoya.

The present district of Diepholz was formed in 1977 by merging the former district of Grafschaft Diepholz (County of Diepholz) with parts of the former district of Grafschaft Hoya (County of Hoya), while the town [[Hoya, Germany|Hoya]] itself became part of the district [[Nienburg (district)|Nienburg]].

== Geography ==
The district extends from the southern outskirts of Bremen to the border of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the south there is the [[Dümmer]], a lake with an area of 16&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, which is surrounded by fens. Many rare bird species breed in the reeds around the lake. The northern portions of the district are occupied by forests and agricultural lands.

== Coat of arms ==

The lion is taken from the original arms of the Count of Diepholz. The bear claws are from the arms of Count of Hoya. This combination symbolizes the merger of County of Diepholz and County of Hoya in 1977.

== Cities and municipalities ==
{{Imagemap Germany district DH|Municipalities in DH.svg|300px{{!}}thumb{{!}}Clickable map of towns and municipalities in the district}}
{|
! align=left width=25%|Towns
! colspan=3 align=center width=75%|[[Amt (political division)|Samtgemeinden]]
|- valign=top
||
#[[Bassum]]
#[[Diepholz]]
#[[Sulingen]]
#[[Syke]]
#[[Twistringen]]
<br>
'''Free municipalities'''
#[[Stuhr]]
#[[Wagenfeld]]
#[[Weyhe]]
||
*'''1. [[Altes Amt Lemförde]]'''
# [[Brockum]] 
# [[Hüde]] 
# [[Lembruch]] 
# [[Lemförde]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Marl, Lower Saxony|Marl]] 
# [[Quernheim]] 
# [[Stemshorn]] 
*'''2. [[Barnstorf (Samtgemeinde)|Barnstorf]]'''
# [[Barnstorf]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Drebber]] 
# [[Drentwede]] 
# [[Eydelstedt]]
*'''3. [[Bruchhausen-Vilsen (Samtgemeinde)|Bruchhausen-Vilsen]]'''
# [[Asendorf]] 
# [[Bruchhausen-Vilsen]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Martfeld]] 
# [[Schwarme]] 
# [[Süstedt]] 
||
*'''4. [[Kirchdorf (Samtgemeinde)|Kirchdorf]]'''
# [[Bahrenborstel]] 
# [[Barenburg]]
# [[Freistatt]] 
# [[Kirchdorf, Lower Saxony|Kirchdorf]]<sup>1</sup> 
# [[Varrel]] 
# [[Wehrbleck]] 
*'''5. [[Rehden (Samtgemeinde)|Rehden]]'''
# [[Barver]] 
# [[Dickel]] 
# [[Hemsloh]] 
# [[Rehden]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Wetschen]] 
||
*'''6. [[Schwaförden (Samtgemeinde)|Schwaförden]]'''
# [[Affinghausen]] 
# [[Ehrenburg, Lower Saxony|Ehrenburg]] 
# [[Neuenkirchen, Diepholz|Neuenkirchen]] 
# [[Scholen]] 
# [[Schwaförden]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Sudwalde]] 
*'''7. [[Siedenburg (Samtgemeinde)|Siedenburg]]'''
# [[Borstel, Lower Saxony|Borstel]]  
# [[Maasen]] 
# [[Mellinghausen]] 
# [[Siedenburg]]<sup>1</sup>
# [[Staffhorst]] 
|-
|||colspan=3 align=center|<sup>1</sup>seat of the Samtgemeinde
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Landkreis Diepholz}}
* {{Official website|http://www.diepholz.de}} {{in lang|de}}
* [http://www.bildergalerie-diepholz.de Pictures from Diepholz] {{in lang|de}}
* [http://www.duemmer.de Lake Dümmer] {{in lang|de}}
* [http://www.bilderdiepholz.de/bilderdiepholz historical pictures of Diepholz]
{{Germany districts lower saxony}}

{{coord|52.67|8.58|display=title|format=dms}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Diepholz (district)| ]]
[[Category:Districts of Lower Saxony]]