The changes of the area of Schaumburg

between 1956 - 2006

by Martin Kappmeier, corrected and edited by K. Lange

County of Schaumburg Lower Saxony
Emblem county of Schaumburg

Past 1956 : In the 50´s of the last century the business activities in Germany began to rise, which means that a lot of companies were founded or increased their production.One could notice this in our area too, there were many jobs for the workers e.g. in the industry, the trade or at the coal mining. And all the jobs were not far away from home, therefore most of the workers went to work by foot, bicycle or motorcycle.At that time no supermarkets existed, all the food you needed came from private greenhouses, the weekly market in the next town, or a little shop in the village.People used their time off for joining clubs or they became members of different activities e.g. the sportsclub, a traditional dancing club or the volunteer fire brigade. In that time the government began to set up a social network to support the deprived.

Present 2006 : Right now we have big problems with unemployment in our country.Due to high wages in Germany a lot of companies produce their products in other countries. The unemployment has a strong impact on our county,as one can´t find a job in the domestic industry or on the crafts market. One is forced to drive longer ways to nearer cities by bus, train or car, to get a good job. Mostly people with good qualifications are preferred.Today,we buy all our food in supermarkets, because it is easier and more convenient than getting it from one's greenhouse. People use their free time in another way than in the past, they try to relax or go for a little bit of sport. Many clubs have problems with new members,because only few people want do do something without being paid. Our social system is a huge problem, there is financial disaster,for the very reason that our country has too many people who are not employed. One can see that there were big changes in the last decades.

Natural environment
In the early years there were only farmhouses and everyone more or less bought products they really needed, not what they wanted.Therefore the industry didn´t have to produce as many things as today(e.g. one or more sorts of washing powders or something alike).The result of the lower production was that less waste existed. Today many families want to live in our area,because it´s more quiet and cleaner than in a dirty city. Therefore they build a lot of row houses which spoil the natural atmosphere in the villages of our county. This problem is becoming bigger and bigger. That´s how the natural environment has changed in my area.