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( Oldenburg)
Coordinates 53°08'38?N 8°12'50?E? / ?53.14389, 8.21389 The town was first mentioned in 1108, at that time known under the name of Aldenburg. It became important due to its location at a ford of the navigable Hunte River. Oldenburg became the capital of the County of Oldenburg (later a Duchy, Grand Duchy and Republic), a small state in the shadow of the much more powerful Hanseatic city of Bremen. In the 17th century, Oldenburg was a wealthy town in a time of war and turmoil and its population and power grew considerably. In 1667 the town was struck by a disastrous plague epidemic and, shortly after, a fire destroyed Oldenburg. The Danish kings, who were also counts of Oldenburg at the time, were not much interested in the condition of the town and it lost most of its former importance. In 1773, Danish rule ended. It was only then that the destroyed buildings in the city were rebuilt in a Classicist style. In 1893 a canal connecting the Hunte and the Ems rivers was finished connecting the port of Oldenburg with the North Sea which greatly increased the city's economic importance.
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