Westoverledingen
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Westoverledingen within Leer district
Westoverledingen Show map of Germany Westoverledingen Show map of Lower Saxony
Coordinates: 53°9′N 7°28′E / 53.150°N 7.467°E / 53.150; 7.467
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Leer
Subdivisions	12 Subdivisions
Government
• Mayor (2021–26)	Theo Douwes[1]
Area
• Total	111.9 km2 (43.2 sq mi)
Elevation	4 m (13 ft)
Population  (2021-12-31)[2]
• Total	21,539
• Density	190/km2 (500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	26810
Dialling codes	0 49 55
Vehicle registration	LER
Website	www.westoverledingen.de

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 2024 or 2025.

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.^[3]

References