German Version

In hardly a landscape one is reminded as much of the origin of the life as in the uplandmoor. Up till today, the remains of human beings, more than thousands years old, are sometimes discovered embedded in the peat.

Taking into consideration the Wietingsmoor can be regarded as part of the whole, it makes sense to think over the origin of the earth. There are two fundamental explanations regarding to this subject.

One group of scientific authors are of the opinion that the excessive quantity of the Bible is to be taken seriously and even to a large extent literally (that the teaching of the Bible is serious and should be taken by word). Therefore the earth and the universe originated in young (came into existence), to about 8.000 to 20.000 years, by a creative force act of God (Jesus Christ, S. Johannes Kap.1, V.3+4). These authors go from only one ice age (duration: about 500 to 1000 years). Evolution is seen as micro evolution (adjustment of the kinds at changed environmental condition after the creation of complex, highly developed organisms).
An important event in geologic history is thereby also the Deluge (1. Mose, chapter 7).

	A realistical depiction of Noah`s arch in an old Luther Bible from 1720. Its size corresponds with the modern east sea ferries "Nils Holgerson" and "Peter Pan" (see Lit. 4). Picture enlargement (48 KB)

The other scientific opinion assumes that the earth evolved over periods of millions of years through several Ice Ages, in a process of a slow formation and further development of Life after the cosmic explosion ("Big bang") through evolutionary processes. The biblical creational account is to be understand symbolically or it expresses the wish of the biblical authors, postulating a religion and thereby giving a simple explanation of the situation.

Very favourable athmospheric conditions must have prevailed during the development of the moor for several thousand years in the North Germany: heavy precipitation and cool atmosphere. The water could hardly flow out in any place and it came about that lakes became processing land (north of Wieting moor) causing exuberant peat-bog-moss growth in a wide area that even parts of highly situated lands were overgrown (middle and south of Wieting moor). Through that, several meters of thick layers of peat were developed over thousands and thousands of years, that for the human being only a relative small dry area was possible for living, in a humid region.

First around 1900, the settlement and part of the cultivation of Wieting moor set in on the outskirts in a wide area (Villages: Butzendorf, Dörrieloh, Hotzfelde, Wietinghausen, Wuthenau, Strange and stray settlements). Human forms of utilization at the beginning of the rustical cutting of the peat (peat gained for fuel) and the change from sand heather to greenland and farm land later led to a high degree of industrial peat decomposition.

Literature:
1. BATTAN, HAM, SARFARTI, WIELAND (1999): THE ANSWERS BOOK (deutsche Auflage: FRAGEN AN DEN ANFANG – DIE LOGIK DER SCHÖPFUNG), CLV-Verlag, Bielefeld
2. VOM STEIN (2005): CREATIO, Daniel-Verlag, Lychen
3. GITT (1983): DAS BIBLISCHE ZEUGNIS DER SCHÖPFUNG; Hänssler-Verlag, Neuhausen Stuttgart
4. GITT (2001): DAS SONDERBARSTE SCHIFF DER WELTGESCHICHTE; Immanuel-Verlag, Basel

Sheathed Cottonsedge

Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)