Westoverledingen (, ) is a municipality in the Leer district in Lower Saxony, Germany.
It contains about a dozen villages. The biggest of them are Flachsmeer, Völlen and Ihrhove, where the town hall is located. Völlen lies at the southern edge of the municipality, close to the Meyer-Werft shipyard in Papenburg. Many villagers are employed there.
Most villages have interesting old churches, including five that date from the Middle Ages.
The Bundesstraße 70 the connects the municipality to Papenburg and Leer. Westoverledingen does not have a train station. The Emsland Railway passes the municipality between stations Leer and Papenburg. The Ihrhove–Nieuweschans railway splits off from it towards Weener station. The Ihrhove railway station is to be reopened in 2026.
A touristic bicycle trail, following the Ems, goes through Westoverledingen.
Westoverledingen's economy is dominated by agriculture. Many of its inhabitants, however, have a job in nearby towns like Leer or Papenburg.
Villages
Westoverledingen is divided into 12 Ortsteile for administrative purposes. The larger ones have their own elected local councils (Ortsrat) while the smaller ones have a local representative (Ortsvorsteher) appointed by the municipal council.Gemeinde Westoverledingen: Ortsbürgermeister und Ortsvorsteher, last visited on 16 March 2022.
VillagePopulationGemeinde Westoverledingen: Bevölkerung, last visited on 16 March 2022. 31 December 2020Local government Breinermoor 325 Ortsvorsteher Driever 108 Ortsvorsteher Esklum 187 Ortsvorsteher Flachsmeer 4737 Ortsrat Folmhusen 584 Ortsrat Grotegaste 116 Ortsvorsteher Großwolde 1670 Ortsrat Ihren 1968 Ortsrat Ihrhove 3626 Ortsrat Mitling-Mark 168 Ortsvorsteher Steenfelde 2254 Ortsrat Völlen 5771 Ortsrat
References