Nordenham

Nordenham
Coat of arms
Nordenham
Location of Nordenham within Wesermarsch district
Coordinates: 53°30′N 8°28′E / 53.500°N 8.467°E / 53.500; 8.467Coordinates: 53°30′N 8°28′E / 53.500°N 8.467°E / 53.500; 8.467
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Wesermarsch
Government
• Mayor	Carsten Seyfarth (SPD)
Area
• Total	87.32 km2 (33.71 sq mi)
Elevation	2 m (7 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	26,325
• Density	300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	26954
Dialling codes	04731
Vehicle registration	BRA
Website	www.nordenham.de

Nordenham (German pronunciation: [nɔʁdənˈham]) is a town in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located at the mouth (on the west bank) of the Weser river on the Butjadingen peninsula on the coast of the North Sea. The seaport city of Bremerhaven is located on the other side (east bank) of the river. The Midgard-seaport in Nordenham is the largest private-owned harbor in Germany.

Nordenham is located on the West Bank of the Weser River across from Bremerhaven along the river's mouth at the North Sea, north of the cities of Bremen and Oldenburg. The local environment is mainly marshland, specifically .

Nordenham is composed of 35 districts, each with a long history as a separate community: Abbehausen, Abbehauser Groden, Abbehauser Hörne, Abbehauserwisch, Atens, Atenserfeld, Blexen, Blexersande, Blexerwurp, Bulterweg, Butterburg, Einswarden, Ellwürden, Enjebuhr, Esenshamm, Esenshammer Altendeich, Esenshammer Oberdeich, Esenshammergroden, Friedrich-August-Hütte, Grebswarden, Großensiel, Havendorf, Heering, Hoffe, Kloster, Moorseersand, Oberdeich, Phiesewarden, Rahden, Sarve, Schockumerdeich, Schweewarden, Schütting, Tettens, Treuenfeld, and Volkers. Two nearby islands are also part of the city: Langlütjen I und Langlütjen II.

Nordenham evolved from the town of Atens due to the efforts by merchant who traded cattle and sheep to England in the late 19th century. Some of the oldest parts of the modern town area are the old villages or Wurtendörfer (roughly translated as 'terp villages') Blexen, Einswarden and . Bishop Willehad, the Northumbrian-born missionary of the Frisians, died in Blexen in the year 789, which is also commonly accepted to be Blexen's year of foundation. In 1407, the Vredeborch or Friedeburg (to be translated as "peace castle") was erected by the Hanseatic city of Bremen, a castle (although it was probably more a kind of large fortified house) to protect interests against the rebellious inhabitants, the Rüstringer Frisians. The stronghold was destroyed in 1425 and it is possible that the site was later used by a monastery.