No interest in the languages of Shakespeare or Cervantes? Have you set your sights on the language of Goethe? LEC is here to help and will send you on a teen language immersion program in Germany in some of the country’s most legendary cities: Leipzig, Wolfsburg, Düsseldorf, or Oldenburg. Today, our team has chosen to tell you about the latter. Let’s take a closer look!
A must-see city in the state of Lower Saxony
Oldenburg is located in Lower Saxony, a state you may have plenty of time to explore during an upcoming teen language study trip to Germany. Situated in the northwestern part of the country, the city lies between Bremen, another major city in Germany, and the Netherlands.
From Oldenbourg to Oldenburg
During a teen language study trip to Germany, be sure to drop the second “O” from Oldenbourg: our neighbors across the Rhine call it Oldenburg, which translates, in the language of Molière, to “old town.” Its population? In 2013, the city was home to 158, 658 people—almost as many, give or take a few hundred, as Grenoble, in the department of Isère.
A Brief History of Oldenburg
While Oldenburg is now the name of a major city, it also refers to a former state in northern Germany. Christian VIII, a descendant of the Counts of Oldenburg, was elected King of Denmark in the 15th century, and later King of Norway and Sweden. A Grand Duchy in 1815, Oldenburg became a state of the German Empire in 1871, before the last Grand Duke abdicated at the end of World War I.
Things to see in Oldenburg
Today, Oldenburg is a renowned university town that attracts some 20, 000 students each year. During your visit, be sure to explore the city’s national theater or spend a few hours at the Horst Janssen Museum, dedicated to the artist of the same name who grew up in the city.