{{Infobox German place | Name = Bedekaspel | Art = Village | image_photo = Bedekaspeler Kirche-msu-2021-209-4422.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Bedekaspel Church | Wappen = | image_flag = | coordinates = {{coord|53.43749|N|7.31156|E|region:DE|display=inline,title}} | Lageplan = Ortsteilesbl.png | Lageplanbeschreibung = ''Ortsteile'' of Südbrookmerland | Bundesland = Lower Saxony | Regierungsbezirk = | Landkreis = Aurich | Kreis = | Amt = | Municipality = Südbrookmerland | Gemeindeverwaltungsverband = | Samtgemeinde = | Verbandsgemeinde = | Verwaltungsgemeinschaft = | Verwaltungsverband = | Höhe = 0 | pop_metro = 354<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.suedbrookmerland.de/gemeinde/ueber-die-gemeinde |title=Über die Gemeinde |trans-title=About the municipality |website=Südbrookmerland |access-date=22 October 2024 |language=de}}</ref> | area_metro = | Vorwahl = 04942 | Kfz = 26624 | website = }}
'''Bedekaspel''' is an East Frisian village in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is an ''Ortsteil'' of the municipality of Südbrookmerland. It is located near the Großes Meer. A ''Haufendorf'', the village of Bedekaspel includes Wochenendsiedlung ("Weekend Settlement"), a recreational area on the northern shore of the Großes Meer, and Bedekaspeler Marsch.
Bedekaspel was an independent municipality until it was incorporated into the municipality of Südbrookmerland on 1 July 1972.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.grossesmeer.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/grosses-meer-entstehungsgeschichte-und-besonderheiten/geschichte-des-suedbrookmerlands |title=Die Geschichte des Südbrookmerlandes |trans-title=The history of Südbrookmerland |website=Südbrookmerland |access-date=22 October 2024 |language=de}}</ref>
==History== The settlement was first officially mentioned in 1475 as ''Betekerke'' and recorded around 1500 as ''Bedekerspell''. ''Lopessumwalde'' may have been an earlier name for the village. The current name has been documented since 1595. The name ''Beede-Kirchspiel'' also appeared in the Emden city archives in 1645. The name was probably derived from Old Frisian ''bēte'', "penitence", and ''kerke'', "church", which can be assumed due to the growth of the settlement to parish (Middle Low German: ''kaspel'', ''karkspel'', ''kerk-spel''). The original meaning is therefore "penitence church". The element ''–spiel'' or ''-spel'' goes back to a Germanic noun ''*spella'', which means "report", "message", or "speech". The parish or kaspel is therefore the district in which a pastor preaches.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bibliothek.ostfriesischelandschaft.de/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/dateiarchiv/3258/Bedekaspel.pdf |title=Bedekaspel |website=Ostfriesische Landschaft |access-date=22 October 2024 |language=de}}</ref>
During the Christmas flood of 1717, the Bedekaspel church, which dates back to the 13th century, was so badly damaged that it had to be demolished and rebuilt – except for the tower.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ostfriesland.travel/sehenswuerdigkeiten/sehenswuerdigkeit/kirche-in-bedekaspel-suedbrookmerland |title=Ev.-ref. Kirche Bedekaspel |website=Ostfriesland |access-date=22 October 2024 |language=de}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> 2013-05-03 Fotoflug Nordholz Papenburg HP 2771.JPG|Aerial view of Wochenendsiedlung 2013-05-03 Fotoflug Nordholz Papenburg HP 2764.JPG|Aerial view of Bedekaspeler Marsch Agnes-msu-2021-0717-4452.jpg|Windmill ''Agnes'' Kirche Bedekaspel innen42.jpg|Interior of the church </gallery>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category-inline}}
{{Municipality of Südbrookmerland}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Südbrookmerland Category:Villages in Lower Saxony Category:Towns and villages in East Frisia