Ohne, Germany
Ohne is a community in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography. Location. Ohne lies between Nordhorn and Steinfurt on the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia. The community belongs to the Joint Community ("Samtgemeinde") of Schüttorf, which has its seat in the like-named town. The community of Ohne in the southernmost and southeasternmost parts of the Joint Community of Schüttorf, shows a distinct, very compact village site and lies right on a ford on the river Vechte. With a self-contained village centre above the Vechte Valley, Ohne's settlement development, unlike any other  rural community's, is characterized not by scattered locations but rather by an accumulation of homesteads and buildings. Even the scattered homesteads lie quite near the village itself with its church, play group and various other institutions typical of a village. Beyond the village site, the municipal area is marked by widespread agricultural land (also places without farms) and in the westernmost part by woods that stretch to Bad Bentheim. Neighbouring communities. Ohne's neighbours are Samern, Suddendorf, Brechte and Wettringen, the last two of which lie in Westphalia. History. The area was already settled by the Old Stone Age . The village is Grafschaft Bentheim's oldest. It was Frankish immigrants who established the village of “Oen” in Carolingian times. On the edge of the site where the village's original centre was, settlement spread outwards. The shape that the village has today was brought about not least of all by the Vechte Valley with its broad floodplain and, in the more recent past, by farmlands abutting the village site. The village's name was first mentioned in 1213 in the monosyllabic form “On” (in German, a final "-e" is usually pronounced, and given the “schwa” sound, making the name  “Ohne” two syllables). In Ohne is also found the municipal area's only windfarm, built according to municipal planning and already realized. Politics. Municipal council. Ohne's municipal council is made up of 9 councillors. Mayor. The mayor Charlotte Ruschulte was elected on November 2011. Culture and sightseeing. The village has kept its traditional village character. L 68 (state highway) and K 25 (district road) keep through traffic well away from the village road. The finely designed, small village square lying in the middle of the village, where the warriors’ memorial once stood, is marked by old tree growth. There  are four pollarded lindens and a further linden trimmed in a more usual way, and also two tall hawthorn trees. The square also still fulfils transport functions. The roadways are cobbled, and red paving stones have been laid over the park areas. The surrounding buildings fit in quite harmoniously with their red-brick façades or red clinker dressing. Atypically, the village church does not stand right on the square, but rather one row of buildings back. From the square, a path runs through natural areas down to the Vechte. With its tall hawthorn trees, the path leads behind the church  to a wooden bridge over the river. There are a table and benches for those who wish to tarry. East of the river, the path continues, bordered on each side by hedges, and ends at the district road as a cycling path. Clubs. One peculiarity at some clubs is that some members come from the community of Haddorf, which is in North Rhine-Westphalia, outside Ohne's state of Lower Saxony. Buildings. The Evangelical-Reformed church is said to be Grafschaft Bentheim's oldest church, built as it was in the earlier half of the 13th century. Economy and infrastructure . Transport. Autobahn A 31 can be reached 8 km from the community. Since the beginning of May 2007, the "Bürgerbus", line 510, has been running from Schüttorf by way of Ohne and Bilk to Wettringen, and by way of Haddorf, Ohne and Samern back to Schüttorf. The drivers work for free, and manage to keep the considerable costs down. Two tourist cycling path projects, the "Grafschafter Fietsentour" ("Fietse" is a local word for “bicycle”) and the "Vechtetalroute" (“Vechte Valley Route”) lead through the village, showing the visitor how tightly knit the village is, and revealing something of communal life. Development . In the community of Ohne, with its building lots as shown in its hitherto operative land use planning, there are still development opportunities to be had that will largely fulfil foreseeable demand.