Rodewald - History

History

Rodewald is first mentioned in historical records during the initial quarter of the 13th Century, after which the Bishop of Minden requested that the Earl of Wölpe establish a settlement. Through a systematic clearing of forests in the northern area, which is identified today as Untere Bauernschaft, the village was created and is ultimately where the name stems from; the direct English translation being clear + wood. Each settler received an equal size of land in the Hagenhufendorf format, a typical form of High Middle Ages land ownership.

These pitches of land, no greater than the width of the farmstead, although several hundred metres deep, were between 60-70 Morgen in size (a Morgen being approximately the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in the morning hours of a day). This method of land ownership, typical of the High Middle Ages, can still be observed as one passes along the Landesstrasse 192 (Dorfstrasse in the north and Hauptstrasse in the south).

In the course of the centuries the village lengthened considerably with both sides of the L192 becoming populated by the typical Fachhallenhäuse or timber framed farmhouses, found throughout the North German Plain.

Only after the Second World War and with the luxury of the motor car becoming available to the masses did the village begin to see buildings purely used as housing, although in order to ensure a balance between landscape and practicality two new areas in the more densely populated centre and an industrial park at the southern edge were developed. Its original charm has been retained with the open spaces along the street continuing to display the Hagenhufendorf format.