Saterland

Saterland (Saterland Frisian: Seelterlound) is a municipality in the German federal state of Lower Saxony. In 2003, it had 12,790 inhabitants. It occupies an area of 123.5 km² and lies between the cities of Leer, Cloppenburg, and Oldenburg.

In medieval times, Saterland was a sandy region occupying an area of about 15 km long by 1-4 km wide surrounded by marshes. It was settled between the 10th and 13th centuries by Frisians from East Frisia. Being relatively isolated, the inhabitants developed their own form of the Frisian language, Saterland Frisian, which survives to this day. The "Saterfriesen," as the speakers of this language are called in German, are the smallest minority recognized by the federal government.

The municipality was formed in 1974, when the smaller municipalities Strücklingen (Strukelje in Saterland Frisian), Ramsloh (Roomelse), Sedelsberg (Seeidelsbierich) and Scharrel (Schäddel) were merged.

On the area of the municipality of Saterland is the VLF transmitter DHO38, a large VLF transmitter of the German Navy for sending commands to submarines.