Jümme

Jümme is a collective municipality (Samtgemeinde) in the district of Leer in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is named after the River Jümme which flows through all three constituent communities. It has an area of 82.34 km² and a population of 6,421. It is situated in the region of East Frisia. Along with the Samtgemeinde of Hesel, it is one of two in the district. It was formed in the wake of local government reform in 1973. Filsum serves as the administrative centre.

The constituent municipalities are (area in km² / population):

1. Detern, Flecken (43.30 / 2,621)
2. Filsum (23.76 / 2,131)
3. Nortmoor (15.28 / 1,669)

Due to its location on the rivers Jümme and Leda, Jümme is also known as Zweistromland ("Two Rivers Land"). The East Frisian geographer, Dodo Wildvang, coined the term "East Frisian Zweistromland" in the 1920s. On the rivers are the Pünte at Wiltshausen, the oldest, operational, hand-worked ferry in Central Europe, and Germany's smallest road bridge in the district of Amdorf.

The Samtgemeinde has historical significance because of the Battle of Detern where, in 1426, the East Frisian chieftain, Focko Ukena, defeated his adversary, Ocko II tom Brok and his allies. For around 3 centuries, Stickhausen Castle in the eponymous village was also an important border fortification for the County of East Frisia. The cultural heritage of the Samtgemeinde includes the remains of the castle as well as historic churches, of which Filsum's 13th century church of St. Paul's is the oldest.

Even in comparison with the rest of inner East Frisia, the Samtgemeinde is only sparsely populated. It is dominated by dairy farming, especially on the grassy plains along the rivers. Tourism is of some importance, among the municipalities of the county, Leer is in third place for the number of overnight stays, behind Borkum and the county town. Jümme has hardly any industry; rather it is a commuter residential area, especially for its neighbouring county town.