Every design for Oldenburg

In the Schlossgarten, the old residence of Oldenburg's rulers is never far from view, and the paths lead straight back into a city that spent centuries as a capital. Oldenburg – officially Oldenburg (Oldb), to set it apart from its namesake in Holstein – was the seat of a county, a duchy, a grand duchy and a free state, and the House of Oldenburg takes its name from here.

There is a quiet pride in that past, the feeling of a small residence city that held its own in the shadow of powerful Bremen. You sense it in the neoclassical buildings put up after the plague and fire of the 17th century, in the Prinzenpalais and the Augusteum, and on the way past the Lappan into the centre. The Horst-Janssen-Museum adds art to the mix, and the university keeps the city young.

Look closely at the middle of the map and you will find the Haaren meeting the Hunte – a stream so close to sea level that the North Sea tides reach it, turning its current around up to four times a day.