Oldenburg

Commercial and university city in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the River Hunte, 132 km/82 mi northwest of Hannover; population (2005 est) 158,600. It is linked by river and canal to the Ems and Wieser rivers. There are electrical industries and food processing plants and it is the centre of an agricultural region. It was once the capital of the duchy of Oldenburg.

On the unification of of Germany in 1871 the duchy of Oldenberg became a province until 1946 when Lower Saxony was formed. The grand-ducal palace (17th-18th century) now houses the Landesmuseum of Art and Culture; there is also the Municipal Museum and the Museum of Natural History and Prehistory.