Werdener Heberigister, the town's name is recorded in 890 as Norhthornon (note the silent "r") and in 1050 as Northornon. In 1184 it is Northorne. On town seals between 1400 and 1715 also appears the form Northorne, and only from 1827 forth does it become Nordhorn. (Lit.: Specht, 1941/1979). Geography Location The town lies in southwesternmost Lower Saxony, near the border with the Netherlands and the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia, on the river Vechte. The nearest major city is Hengelo in the Netherlands, some southwest of Nordhorn. The nearest German cities are Münster, about to the southeast, and Osnabrück, about to the east. The landscape in and around Nordhorn is marked by the Vechte, the Vechtesee (lake), through which the Vechte flows, and three canals: the Süd-Nord-Kanal, the Nordhorn-Almelo-Kanal and the Ems-Vechte-Kanal. Climate Nordhorn lies in the Mid-European Temperate Zone. The average yearly temperature is , the mean air pressure is 761.5 hPa and the mean yearly precipitation amounts to between . The climate is Subatlantic with rather mild winters and fairly warm summers. Extent of the municipal area Through various amalgamations the town's area has grown to 14 959 ha, only slightly smaller than the Principality of Liechtenstein. Neighbouring communities North of Nordhorn lie the town and joint community (Samtgemeinde) both called Neuenhaus, while the communities of Engden and Isterberg lie to the south. The town's western limit is also part of Germany's border with the Netherlands. Constituent communities Nordhorn is subdivided into 17 quarters ("Stadtteile"), grouped here under "older" and "newer". Older quarters Altendorf The settlement of Nordhorn originally had its centre here, but on strategic grounds it was later moved to the island in the river Vechte. Town rights were granted in 1379, and this older centre was given the name Oude Dorp – "Old Village". Bakelde The name comes from Bak (ridge) and Lo (grove). (according to H.Specht - Nordhorn - Geschichte einer Grenzstadt) ?Bach Alte? Bimolten Called Bimolt in 1252 and Bimolte in 1213, opinions are rather divided over the name's origin. Specht says it refers to heaps of earth, Reurik says it refers to a grove by the woods (bi'm holte, which in more modern German might be rendered bei dem Holze or beim Holz), and Abels holds that it refers to a settlement on the field. (according to Dr. Ernst Kühle - Bimolten - Jahrbuch des Heimatvereins 1973). Bookholt The name refers to