  delmenhorst () is an urban district (kreisfreie stadt) in lower saxony, germany. it has a population of 74,500 and is located  west of downtown bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the city of oldenburg is  to the northwest. the city has a total area of ; and a population density of approx. 1200 inhabitants per kmÂ². since 2006 the mayor has been patrick de la lanne (spd). ==history== delmenhorst was first mentioned in a charter in 1254, after the count of oldenburg, otto i, bought the place near the river delme in 1234. a castle to protect the newly founded settlement was established in about 1247. the following count, otto ii, made the castle his residency; delmenhorst was declared an independent town on 15 july 1371 under bremen's law. after a short period under the governance of the bishop of bremen from 1421 to 1436 delmenhorst returned under the custody of oldenburg. delmenhorst later was infamous for its robber-baronship under the count gerd. its reign ended in 1482 thanks to a siege laid to the castle under the leadership of the bishop of mÃ¼nster. therefore the town now was under mÃ¼nster authority until finally count anton i won back the town as well as the castle in 1547. when the last heir of anton, christian, died in 1647, delmenhorst again fell under oldenburg custody. as oldenburg belonged to danish kings and the oldenburg regent of that time was a relative of the danish king, delmenhorst was thereafter under danish control. in 1767 delmenhorst was bought by tsarina catherine ii, but was given up to new oldenburg in 1773. in 1777 delmenhorst was declared a dukedom of oldenburg. in 1806 a french and dutch army occupied the territory; delmenhorst was a part of the french empire under napoleon from 1811 to 1813. in the industrial age delmenhorst experienced great economic growth, thanks to bremen. since bremen was in a different duty zone, merchants who wanted to export manufactured goods outside o
Towns_in_Lower_Saxony