Göhl () is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It lies directly east of the town Oldenburg in Holstein and is a member of the Amt Oldenburg-Land.
Geography
Göhl lies around east of Oldenburg in Holstein on the Wagrian peninsular. The municipality is part of the collective municipality of Oldenburg-Land and the district of Ostholstein.
The southern border of Göhl runs along the Oldenburger Graben through the marshy lands of the former Gruber sea. Göhl borders the municipalities of Heringsdorf to the northeast, Gremersdorf to the northwest, Oldenburg in Holstein to the west, and across the Oldenburger Graben, Riepsdorf to the south.
Göhl is connected to Oldenburg in Holstein, the nearest town, via the road Göhler Chaussee, which allows connectivity of the municipality to the Bundesautobahn 1. The Lübeck–Puttgarden railway runs through the municipality but does not stop for passenger transport. However, a small decommissioned train station still exists in Göhl.
The municipality consists of the settlements Antoinettenhof, Christianstal, Gaarz, Gaarzerfelde, Gaarzermühle, Göhl, Giebelberg, Kremsdorf, Lütjendorf, Neuschwelbek, Plügge, Quals, and Schwelbek.
History
left|thumb|247x247px|Map of the Gruber sea in 1893, Göhl and its settlements are also shown in the north
thumb|271x271px|Old train station
The Oldenburger Graben, which now forms the southern border of Göhl, used to be part of a fjord before and during the times of Slavic settlement in the area, its connection to the Baltic Sea would later be severed through natural processes however, leaving behind several marshy inland seas, the biggest of which being the Gruber sea directly south of what is today the municipality of Göhl. Due to the marshy waters of the inland seas no longer being traversable and lacking any sea access, local farmers considered the draining of the seas to avoid future flood damage and expand their farmland in the early 20th century. The first pumps to drain the seas were commissioned in 1926, and state support was attained through first Weimar, and later Nazi agricultural policy.
Göhl was first mentioned under the name Gola, a Slavic word meaning heather, in 1317.
The areas which today make up Göhl have been part of the Gut Schwelbek zu Putlos since the start of the 15th century.
A commercial area of 2.5 ha was created in the north of the settlement of Göhl in 1995. The median age was 45.4 as of 2021.
Göhl had the highest percentage of under 18 years olds in Ostholstein at 24% (293) as of 2003. This population has since shrunken to 17.3% (193) in 2021 however.
Citizenship
In the 2022 census, 1,071 people (97.6%) in Göhl possessed only German citizenship, 1,046 of which (95.4% of the population) were born in Germany. Residents of other citizenship in the 2022 census were: 11 (1%) Polish, 5 (0.5%) Ukrainian, 4 (0.4%) Syrian, and 6 (0.5%) of other unspecified nationality.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" |Citizenship
! colspan="2" |2022
! colspan="2" |2011
|-
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
|-
|German
|1,071
|97.6
|1,156
|98.4
|-
|Polish
|11
|1
|7
|0.6
|-
|Ukrainian
|5
|0.5
|/
|/
|-
|Syrian
|4
|0.4
|/
|/
|-
|Dutch
|/
|/
|3
|0.3
|-
|Austrian
|/
|/
|3
|0.3
|-
|Russian
|/
|/
|3
|0.3
|-
|Unspecified
|6
|0.5
|3
|0.3
|}
Religion
thumb|271x271px|Marco-KapelleIn the 2022 census, 613 people (55.9%) were members of the Evangelical Church in Germany, with 58 (5.3%) belonging to the Catholic church, and 425 (38.8%) being either irreligious or belonging to another confession.
Elections
The most recent election in Göhl were the 2023 Schleswig-Holstein municipal elections, where the BGG was reelected as the strongest faction despite losing one seat. The SPD last participated in the 2013 election.
! colspan=2| Candidate
! Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
|-
| bgcolor=#63B8FF|
| align=left| Thomas Bauer
| align=left| Bürgergemeinschaft Gemeinde Göhl (BGG)
| 1,791
| 59.0
| 11
| 7
| 1
|-
| bgcolor=|
| align=left| Mechthild Friederichsen
| align=left| Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
| 1,170
| 38.5
| 8.5
| 4
| 1
|-
| bgcolor=#DCDCDC|
| align=left| Udo Tornow
| align=left| Independent
| 77
| 2.5
| New
| 0
| ±0
|-
! colspan=3| Valid votes
! 3,038
! 99.4
! 0.5
!
!
|-
! colspan=3| Invalid votes
! 18
! 0.6%
! 0.5
!
!
|-
! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout
! 597
! 62.3
! 6.1
!
!
|-
| colspan=8| Source: Statistical Office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein
|}
Historical seat distribution
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
| bgcolor=#63B8FF| <span style="color:White;">BGG</span>
| bgcolor=|<span style="color:White;">CDU</span>
| bgcolor=|<span style="color:White;">SPD</span>
| bgcolor=#DCDCDC| <abbr title="Independents">Ind.</abbr>
!Source
|-
|2023
|7
|4
| -
| -
|
|-
|2018
|8
|3
| -
| -
|
|-
|2013
|7
|3
|1
| -
|
|-
|2008
|8
|2
|1
| -
|
|-
|2003
|7
|2
|2
| -
|
|}
List of mayors
- since 2006: Thomas Bauer (BGG)
- 1990-2006: Johann Höper (BGG)
Coat of Arms and Flag
thumb|162x162px|Coat of arms of Göhl
The coat of arms and flag of Göhl were created by Henning Höppner, who had created multiple insignia in Wagria. It was registered with the state of Schleswig-Holstein in 2010.<blockquote>Blazon: "Shield Or a heather plant Vert with three branches and 22 blossoms Gules, in base two bars of Vert and Azure parted by a barrulet Argent, all three countersunk in centre."
The German Red Cross in Göhl acts as not only a medical service focusing on senior care, but also a cultural association; organizing, among other things, flea markets, game nights, and trips.
In the southernmost settlement of Göhl, Gut Gaarz, is a historic estate under family ownership that was built in 1690 and currently acts as a family resort as well as farm.
Education
thumb|228x228px|Elementary school Grundschule Göhl
Göhl is home to an elementary school called Grundschule Göhl and a kindergarten.
References
External links
- Web presence of the municipality on the website of the Oldenburg-Land collective municipality (in German)
- Grundschule Göhl (in German)
- Website of the SV Göhl (in German)