Butjadingen

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Butjadingen

Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Wesermarsch
Mayor	Rolf Blumenberg
Basic statistics
Area	129.02 km² (49.8 sq mi)
Elevation	2 m (7 ft)
Population	6,547 (30/06/2006)
- Density	51 /km² (131 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	BRA
Postal code	26969
Area codes	04733, 04735, 04736
Website	www.gemeinde-butjadingen.de Coordinates: 53°33′00″N 8°20′00″E / 53.55, 8.333333

Butjadingen is a peninsula and municipality in the Wesermarsch districts, in Lower Saxony, Germany.

[edit] Geography

Butjadingen is situated on the German North Sea coast. It is bordered on the west and southwest by the Jade River and on the east by the Weser River. It forms the northern part of the Wesermarsch district and has a rather low population. The town of Butjadingen is close to Nordenham which geographically is also part of the peninsula Butjadingen.

Typical view (Butjadingen)

The peninsula was formed during the Middle Ages when huge floods created today's North Sea coast lines. After the disastrous Second Marcellus Flood on January 13, 1362 (which occurred around the day of Marcelli Pontificis) Butjadingen temporarily became an island.

Pipe organ at the St. Laurentius Church, Langwarden (Butjadingen)

Its name is derived from Low German "buten" (=outside) and "Jade" and thus means the lands on the other side of the Jade river.

In front of the peninsula is the Wadden Sea which stretches between the Jade's and the Weser's mouths about 23 kilometres to the northwest beyond the Mellum island. It is part of the Nationalpark Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer (Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park), one of three German Wadden Sea National Parks.

[edit] Economy

Agriculture and tourism constitute the bulk of its economic activity. The main tourist sites are the villages of Tossens, Burhave and Eckwarden. There are ferries across the Weser from Nordenham to Bremerhaven and (during summer months) across the Jade from Eckwarderhörne to Wilhelmshaven. In Nordenham there is a train station with several connections per day to Bremen.