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Oldenburg (Oldb) is situated at an altitude of 5 m at the river Hunte in the heart of the Oldenburger Land region of western Lower Saxony. The city of Oldenburg is administered as a district in its own right and was the administrative seat of the administrative region Weser-Ems until 31 December 2004, when the administrative regions of Lower Saxony were dissolved. Since the, Oldenburg is the seat of a government representation of Lower Saxony. The city has a population of about 161,400 (2005). According to the charter of the municipality, the official name of the city is "Oldenburg (Oldb)", the Federal Statistical Office of Germany lists the town as "Oldenburg (Oldenburg)". Glass no.2161 is labeled "Oldenburg i. Gr." ("Oldenburg im Großherzogtum"), a name used during the period of the grand duchy (german: Großherzogtum) of Oldenburg.

The history of Oldenburg began with the foundation of the castle Aldenburg, first mentioned in 1108. The castle protected a ford across the river. The settlement that began to develop next to the castle obtained the privileges of a town in 1345. In 1448, Count Christian of Oldenburg became king of Denmark (Christian I); he later also became king of Norway (1450), king of Sweden (1457), duke of Schleswig and count of Holstein (1460, 1474 Duke of Holstein). After the death in 1667 of Count Anton Günther, the last of the counts of Oldenburg, the country became part of Denmark. In 1773, the county was awarded to the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, and Oldenburg became the residence town of the new duchy of Oldenburg. During the reign of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig (1785–1829) the town was remodeled in Classicist style. The Congress of Vienna (1815) elevated the duchy to the rank of a grand duchy (see map). After World War I and the abdication of Grand Duke Friedrich August, Oldenburg became the capital of the Free State of Oldenburg (see map). Between 1933 and 1945 it was the seat of the district Weser-Ems of the Third Reich (map). Since 1946 Oldenburg is part of the German state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony). The administrative district Oldenburg was merged in 1978 with the administrative districts Aurich and Osnabrück and Oldenburg became the administrative seat of the new administrative region Weser-Ems, which existed until 2004.

Oldenburg Castle [left] is located where in the Middle Ages a moated castle protected a ford across the Hunte river. The castle was rebuilt in 1607–1615 as a Baroque residence. Further enlargements followed under Danish rule between 1737 and 1753. The northeast wing was added after 1774, the library wing followed in 1817–1821. The last addition to the structure was the west wing with the large ballroom, built in 1894–1897. With the end of the grand duchy in 1918 the castle ceased to function as a residence. Since 1923 it is home to the Oldenburg State Museum for Art and Cultural History.

The first railroad in the grand duchy was opened in 1867 and connected Oldenburg with Bremen via Delmenhorst (Oldenburgische Staatsbahn). Another line led from Oldenburg to Heppens, now Wilhelmshaven. The old central station [right] was built in 1879. Built in neo-Gothic style it was the largest of the 'romantic' station buildings in Germany. The building was replaced by the present station building in 1915.