Ochtrup

Ochtrup
Ochtrup
Location of the town of Ochtrup within Steinfurt district
Coordinates	52°12′20″N 7°11′25″E / 52.20556°N 7.19028°E / 52.20556; 7.19028Coordinates: 52°12′20″N 7°11′25″E / 52.20556°N 7.19028°E / 52.20556; 7.19028
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Steinfurt
Town subdivisions	3
Mayor	Kai Hutzenlaub (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	105.54 km2 (40.75 sq mi)
Elevation	55 m  (180 ft)
Population	19,430 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	184 /km2 (477 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	ST
Postal code	48607
Area code	02553
Website	www.ochtrup.de

Ochtrup is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km west of Rheine and 20 km east of Enschede.

History

An early mention of the town was „Ohtepe“ (the eastern Epe or Ostepe) in the year 1143. A Christian church was established there in 1203.

Between Dezember 25 and Dezember 30, 2005, the town was often off the German power grid, and was the topic of national news.^{[citation needed]} The cause was a heavy snow storm with very wet snow. The power poles and cables between Gronau and Ochtrup were encrusted with a thick layer of ice. Due to the increased weight and the heavy storm most power poles toppled. Emergency generators from all regions of Germany were installed and operated in the following days and weeks. Dairy farmers were economically impacted as were other companies in the area. The collapse of the power poles, even today, is not completely understood. Some were 65 years old and rusted, but some were newer and constructed with special steel. Politicians in North Rhine-Westphalia blamed the power company, RWE for failure to replace older poles.

The pottery museum

The pottery museum of Ochtrup is in the house of an old pottery family which was called Eiling. The still original furniture shows the visitor how the people lived between the 19th and the 20th century. The oldest objects are from the 14th /15th century and it’s restored Blackwood ware. The “Ochtruper Nachtigall” and the “Siebenhenkeltopf” are nicer than the other sights. In the past, the “Siebenhenkeltopf” was a chamber pot and at the rand, there are seven identical handles.

Town twin

Ochtrup is twinned with:

• Valverde del Camino (Huelva, Spain) -- since 1991

References

1. ^ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. 31 December 2010. http://www.it.nrw.de/statistik/a/daten/amtlichebevoelkerungszahlen/index.html. 

External links

• Official site (German)