Vechta (German pronunciation: [ˈfɛçta]; Northern Low Saxon: Vechte) is the capital and largest city of the Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta. It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every summer and has a history dating back to 1298. With an attendance of 800,000 visitors it is one of the biggest annual fairs in north-western Germany. The town was in the recent past known as a centre of far northern German Catholicism.