Verden (district)
Verden () is a "Kreis" (district) in the centre of Lower Saxony, Germany. Adjoining it are (from the northwest clockwise) the districts of Osterholz, Rotenburg, Heidekreis, Nienburg and Diepholz, as well as the city of Bremen.
Verden an der Aller
On 12 March 1259 Prince-Bishop Gerhard of Verden granted the place town privileges following the Bremian version of German town law. In the 15th century Verden gained considerable independence as a Free Imperial City, immediately under the emperors (imperial immediacy), circumventing its former overlords the prince-bishops, who still held the cathedral and pertaining premises in town as an cathedral immunity district.