Essel

Essel
Essel
Location of Essel within Heidekreis district
Coordinates	52°41′22″N 9°38′37″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Heidekreis
Municipal assoc.	Schwarmstedt
Local subdivisions	4 Ortschaften
Mayor	Bernd Block (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	34.06 km2 (13.15 sq mi)
Elevation	27 m  (89 ft)
Population	1,076 (31 December 2010)
- Density	32 /km2 (82 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	SFA
Postal code	29690
Area codes	0 50 71
Website	www.essel.de

Essel is a municipality in the Heidekreis district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Most of the village is located on the southern bank of the river Aller. The A 7 motorway runs through the village.

Subdivisions

The municipality of Essel comprises 4 subdivisions:

• Essel
• Engehausen
• Stillenhöfen
• Ostenholz Moor

History

Essel was first mentioned in 1251 as Esele. The surveillance of the Aller crossing at Essel and control of Aller shipping was undertaken by the 3 lords of Hademstorf. In the 14th century their seat was at Uhlenburg. This castle was situated in the Aller valley between Essel and Buchholz (Aller) and was destroyed in 1394 by the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Another castle was built in the 13th century at Engehausen - Blankenburg Castle - on the site of which a manor house was subsequently built.