Neuenhaus was founded in 1317 on the trade road between Münster and Amsterdam by Bentheim’s Count Johannes II, who also had a castle built for its security. The quickly growing new town was granted town rights in 1369. The town had at its disposal an Amt court and other authorities that were moved to the district seat of Nordhorn after the Second World War. Today’s town of Neuenhaus was enlarged in 1970 through the amalgamation of the formerly autonomous communities of Grasdorf, Hilten and Veldhausen, the last of which had already existed as early as the 10th century. By building two weirs on the Vechte and another on the river Dinkel, the flooding that had so often beset Neuenhaus in earlier years was brought under control. The main street through Neuenhaus’s inner town has been dismantled since 2005 after a southwest bypass was built around the town. Many old Ackerbürgerhäuser have been or are being renovated. The town is especially interesting when explored by bicycle. The cycling paths are very well signposted and lead through meadows and woods as well as alongside the rivers Vechte and Dinkel. There are always more and more artistic projects along the paths to look at. Furthermore, the local gymnastic and sport club, linked below, is celebrating its 100-year jubilee.
Veldhausen
The outlying centre of Veldhausen is actually a more-than-1000-year-old parish village that has been amalgamated with the town of Neuenhaus since 1970. Nonetheless, Veldhausen has been able to keep some of its autonomy. There are roughly 2,200 villagers. Veldhausen arose when farmers from the nearby communities of Esche, Grasdorf and Osterwald expressed a wish to have a place for their own new church, as it was too far for many to go to the church in Uelsen, and indeed even impossible in bad weather. Thus, a centrally located plot of unproductive land was sought, of the kind once known locally by the Dutch word veld, meaning "field". The first church is believed to have been built mainly of wood. Around this church over time settled craftsmen and gentleman farmers. Today’s stone Evangelical-Reformed church, along with the windmill and neighbouring mill park, counts itself among Veldhausen’s landmarks. On the mill park grounds, the Brauchtum- und Mühlenverein – Tradition and Mill Club – have built an old miller’s house and a bakehouse. In the bakehouse, hobby bakers bake bread made out of the flour ground at the mill.
Politics
The current town council’s seats are apportioned thus:
CDU: 13 seats
SPD: 11 seats
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: 1 seat
The town’s mayor is Paul Mokry.
Coats of arms
Neuenhaus’s arms might heraldically be described thus, although the wavy bend parting is considered to be unheraldic: Party per bend wavy sinister, in gules a war tent argent surmounted by a crown argent, in the chief sinister four orbs Or, in Or a house gules with stepped gables and tower on the peak of the roof. The greater chargein the red part of the shield is a Dutch baron’s war tent, and the four orbs next to it stand for the Counts of Bentheim. The house with stepped gables is a charge taken from the town’s seal, borne since 1400.
Neuenhaus lies on Bundesstraße 403 running from Nordhorn into the Netherlands. There is further a railway link following roughly the same route; however, there had been no passenger service on the line since the mid-1970s, although the line still handled goods. The passenger service resumed on 7 July 2019 with the following train stations on the line RB56: Neuenhaus - Neuenhaus Süd - Nordhorn - Nordhorn Blanke - Quendorf - Bad Bentheim
Clubs
Astronomischer Verein der Grafschaft Bentheim e.V.
