The Elm-Lappwald Nature Park ( German : Naturpark Elm-Lappwald ) is a nature park in southwest Lower Saxony , east of Brunswick in central Germany . It is dominated by the forested hill ranges of the Elm , Lappwald and Dorm as well as the region known as the Helmstedt Bowl ( Helmstedter Mulde ).
15-403: The nature park has an area of about 470 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and lies within the districts of Helmstedt and Wolfenbüttel . It is bordered to the west by the city of Brunswick and to the north by Wolfsburg . The A 2 motorway from Hanover to Berlin cuts through the northern part of the park. Within the nature park are the following hill ranges, landscapes and forests: From
30-673: A landscape point of view the nature park belongs to the Eastphalian Uplands. It is located between the highlands of the Harz to the south and the Lüneburg Heath on the North German Plain to the north. Climatically the park lies in the transition zone between the maritime and continental zones. The nature park was founded in 1977 thanks to cooperation between the districts of Helmstedt and Wolfenbüttel and
45-499: The Stone Age . The dense woods were cleared very early on. The greatest loss of woodland occurred during the time of the great clearances (900 to 1200 AD), when the natural landscape was "brought under cultivation". Today place names ending in -rode , -hörst and -feld go back to this time of settlement. The Cistercian monks of Mariental in particular established numerous 'clearance villages'. Abbenrode, Hemkenrode and Erkerode on
60-801: The City of Wolfsburg and the State of Saxony-Anhalt (districts of Börde and Harz ). The district is bounded by the Elm (a hill chain) in the west and the Lappwald (a riparian forest) in the east. Large parts of the district are part of the Elm-Lappwald Nature Park . In the Elm, limestone was mined in medieval times; limestone from the region was used for the tomb of Henry the Lion as well as for
75-580: The Elm and the Brunnen valley in the Lappwald have been described as "idyllic". 52°13′34″N 10°51′22″E / 52.226°N 10.856°E / 52.226; 10.856 Landkreis Helmstedt Helmstedt is a district in Lower Saxony , Germany . It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the district of Wolfenbüttel , the City of Braunschweig , the District of Gifhorn ,
90-460: The area continues to be used for arable farming. Since the Middle Ages the towns of Königslutter , Schöningen , Schöppenstedt and Helmstedt , all within the nature park, have been steeped in history. A key factor in the early development of Helmstedt (already established by 952) was its location on the trade route from Brunswick to Magdeburg, the present B 1 federal highway . The Elm is
105-610: The city of Brunswick. The Elm-Lappwald Nature Park has since become part of the UNESCO and European Geopark of Harz–Brunswick Land–Eastphalia. The last ice age ( the Weichselian glaciation ) around 12,000 years ago deposited a layer of loess up to 3 metres thick in the southern part of the Helmstedt Bowl and in the entire Schöppenstedt Basin, on which fertile black and brown earths were formed. During periods of thaw,
120-438: The ice sheets created the detailed shape of the land. A thick deciduous vegetation developed in the time after the ice age and covered the whole area of the present-day park. Their species matched the soil conditions. For example, in the northern part of the park oak and hornbeam woods alternated with beech and oak woods and with carrs on the wet, peaty areas ( fens ). In the southern part, beech forests predominated. The area of
135-543: The imperial cathedral of Königslutter . In the Middle Ages, Königslutter was among the wealthiest cities of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1576, the University of Helmstedt was founded, which was the largest university of protestant Germany. The Duchy of Brunswick (deriving from Brunswick-Lüneburg ) created administrative districts ( Kreise ) in 1833; the District of Helmstedt was one of those districts. It
150-480: The largest and most attractive beech forest in North Germany. Amongst the varied landscapes of the natur park are large areas of forest, moors, springs, lakes, heathland, salt meadows and chalk downs, rich in plant species. The park is home to over 800 species of plant, of which more than 10% are endangered. Birds, mammals and amphibians also occur in abundance in the nature parks habitats. The Reitling valley in
165-478: The newly built village of Neu Büddenstedt , later on renamed Büddenstedt . In the upper part the heraldic horse of Lower Saxony is displayed. In the bottom there are symbols for mining and agriculture . Free municipalities [REDACTED] Media related to Landkreis Helmstedt at Wikimedia Commons 52°15′N 10°55′E / 52.25°N 10.92°E / 52.25; 10.92 Lappwald Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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#1732772043578180-624: The northwest slope of the Elm and Rotenkamp on the Rieseberg date back to that time. In the Middle Ages there were clearly more settlements in the region. Almost half of them were given up again by their owners and fell into ruin, becoming abandoned villages. There is a particularly large number of these in the Lappwald, on the Dorm and on the southwest slope of the Elm . With its good soils,
195-453: The present-day nature park was already permanently settled in the 6th century BC, as evinced by the megalith graves. The settlement of this region by man changed the natural, vegetative cover, albeit the first settlers in the middle Stone Age , who were hunters, fishermen and gatherers, did not made any significant contribution to these changes. The hollows in the area with their deposits of loess soils encouraged early arable farming during
210-529: The west from the District of Gifhorn and the District of Brunswick (see List of territorial changes to the District of Helmstedt ). During the 20th century, the area between Helmstedt and Schöningen was used for lignite mining by the Braunschweigische Kohlenbergwerke AG. Several villages ( Alversdorf , Büddenstedt and Runstedt ) were destroyed by surface mining ; their inhabitants moved to Helmstedt, Schöningen and to
225-459: Was subdivided into the Ämter of Calvörde , Königslutter , Helmstedt , Schöningen , and Vorsfelde . In 1944, the Amt of Calvörde, which formed an exclave , was moved to the District of Haldensleben , Province of Saxony . During the administrative reforms of the 1970s, northern areas of the district were moved to the District of Gifhorn and to the City of Wolfsburg ; the district gained areas in
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