The Steinhuder Meer or Lake Steinhude is a lake in Lower Saxony located 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Hanover. It is named after the nearby village of Steinhude. It has an area of about 30 square kilometres (12 sq mi), making it the largest lake of northwestern Germany, but it is very shallow, with an average depth of only 1.35 metres (4.4 ft) and a maximum depth of less than 3 metres (9.8 ft). It lies within a region known as the Hanoverian Moor Geest. read more…
Verden an der Aller is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the administrative centre of the district of Verden. Verden is famous for the massacre of Saxons in 782, committed on the orders of Charlemagne (the Massacre of Verden), for its cathedral, and for its horse breeding. Verden is further renowned for horse racing and sport horse auctions and is thus also called the (horse) riding town (German: Reiterstadt). read more…
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lüneburg Heath, has a castle (Schloss Celle) built in the renaissance and baroque style and a picturesque old town centre (the Altstadt) with over 400 timber-framed houses, making Celle one of the most remarkable members of the German Timber-Frame Road. From 1378 to 1705, Celle was the official residence of the Lüneburg branch of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (House of Welf) who had been banished from their original ducal seat by its townsfolk. read more…
Bergen is a town located between Soltau and Celle on the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony. Administratively it acts as a municipal borough divided into 12 subordinate parishes based on the town and its surrounding villages. The town has 13,100 inhabitants. Members of the British military and their families, who were not included in the census, bring the actual population to about 17,000. These soldiers occupy a NATO base and exercise on the Bergen-Hohne Training Area just outside the town. The Sieben Steinhäuser, a cluster of dolmens dating from the Stone Age, are located within the training area. read more…
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. Its population is at 165,000, making it the third-largest city in Lower Saxony, after Hanover and Brunswick. read more…
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about 45 km (28 mi) southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg’s inner suburbs. Lüneburg has a population of around 72 000. The district of Lüneburg, which includes the surrounding communities like Adendorf, Bardowick, and Reppenstedt, has a population of around 103 000. Lüneburg has been allowed to use the title “Hansestadt” (Hanseatic Town) in its name since 2007, in recognition of its membership in the former Hanseatic League; it is also a university town. As of December 2007, the town was the 120th largest in Germany. read more…