Praise the good Lord, who has blessed us so richly! It is the year 1124 after the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Peace has finally returned to the fraternal community of the Benedictine abbey in Rastede. I, Simon, humble servant of God and new abbot of the monastery, will do everything in my power to make our abbey a place of highest piety and knowledge. Of course, an important prerequisite for this is the monastery's income. That's why I'm very happy that the Holy Father in Rome, Pope Calixtus, has now confirmed to us in a letter the donations from Count Huno and his wife Willna, which they made a good 30 years ago on the occasion of the monastery's foundation. We own many farms and lands from Westphalia to the Elbe, which gives me much confidence for the future. However, the farms nearby are particularly important to us. There are quite a few right here in the Ammergau, but also some in the neighboring area of the Rüstring Frisians. For example, there is one on my mind, a hamlet just a few miles from here right to the north called “Curiae Varlae”…

The name Varel was first mentioned in a papal document from the year 1124. Due to the fact, that it confirms a donation from 1091, the small settlement itself is supposably a bit older. However, exactly how old cannot be clarified. But perhaps more interesting is that Varel gets quickly an increasing importance. A church was built here in the 12th century, and only a short time later it became the spiritual center for an entire quarter of the old Frisian district of Rüstringen. The geographical conditions back then were completely different than today, because Varel was surrounded by geest, marsh and moor. The North Sea was far away because the Jade Bay did not yet exist. It was only after a series of devastating flood disasters struck the coastal regions of the North Sea since the 12th century that large parts of old Rüstringen sank into the sea, with the Varel church ultimately losing its central position. Nevertheless, the place remained important. Accordingly, a Frisian chieftain's seat was built here with a stone house very close to the old fortified church.