The Middle Weser Valley ( German : Mittlere Wesertal ) is part of the Weser Depression around the River Weser on the North German Plain , extending from the gap of Porta Westfalica to the town of Hoya . It is not a true valley, because it is only bordered by low hills at two points. It lies in the German federal states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia .
18-840: The so-called Middle Weser Valley begins where the actual Weser Valley (in the Weser Uplands ) ends at the Porta Westfalica gap between the Wiehen Hills on the west and the Weser Hills on the east. By its formal definition, the Middle Weser begins ten kilometres further north at the Minden Aqueduct , flowing across the North German Plain through Petershagen and Nienburg . Conceptually,
36-675: A peculiar regional style, the Weser Renaissance style. The region roughly coincides with the natural region of the Lower Saxon Hills defined by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). In addition to the whole of the Weser Valley between Hann. Münden und Porta Westfalica, several geologically associated, but clearly separate chains of uplands, ridges and individual hills are considered part of
54-616: A tower at Trendelburg Castle , or Sleeping Beauty , whose castle was based on the now ruined Sababurg near Hofgeismar . The picturesque landscape of the Weser Uplands has inspired many landscape painters and artists: Jacob Pins (1917–2005), Robert Batty , Christian Andreas Besemann, Carl Ferdinand Fabritius , Robert Geißler, Wolfgang Heinrich, Karl Arthur Held, Alfred Hesse, Rudolf Jahns, Herbert Mager, Anton Wilhelm Strack (1758–1829), Pascha Johann Friedrich Weitsch and August Wenderoth. The more significant tourist destinations in
72-567: Is a hill region in Germany , between Hannoversch Münden and Porta Westfalica , along the river Weser . The area reaches into three states , Lower Saxony , Hesse , and North Rhine-Westphalia . Important towns of this region include Bad Karlshafen , Holzminden , Höxter , Bodenwerder , Hameln , Rinteln , and Vlotho . The tales of the Brothers Grimm are set in the Weser Uplands, and it has many renaissance buildings, exhibiting
90-895: Is a popular motorcycle destination in northern Germany. In particular, the Köterberg , as the highest elevation from that point to the North Sea, is a popular motorcycle meeting point with a magnificent panoramic view up to 80 kilometres. Other notable attractions are the Schillat Cave , the Tonenburg in Höxter-Albaxen, the Neuhaus Wildlife Park , the Weserstein in Hann. Münden and several museums such as
108-593: Is a range of steep, wooded hills straddling the border between the states of Hesse and Lower Saxony in central Germany . It takes its name from the town Kaufungen . The hills lie in the fork of the Rivers Fulda and Werra , which meet at Hannoversch Münden just to the north. They are bounded to the west and north-west by the Fulda valley, and to the east and north-east by the Werra valley . The southern boundary
126-545: Is less clearly defined, as the range merges into the gentler hills of the Söhrewald to the south-west, and climbs towards the high plateau of the Hoher Meißner to the south-east. The highest natural point is 643 m (2,110 ft) Hirschberg; however the 641 m (2,103 ft) summit of Bilstein forms a much better natural viewpoint, and since 1869 has been crowned with an observation tower. The present tower
144-788: The Middle Weser Valley ends near Hoya, where the Middle Weser reaches the Breslau-Magdeburg-Bremen glacial valley . As a natural region the Middle Weser Valley, which consists of flood plains and river terraces , is a strip of land up to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide on both sides of the Middle Weser. It is counted as part of the Dümmer Geest Depression and the Middle Weser Region . Of particular note are
162-1041: The Agricultural Technology Museum in Börry , the hammer mill in Dassel, The German Huguenot Museum in Bad Karlshafen and the Motorcycle Museum in Wickensen . The region is heavily influenced by tourism. Large areas are also utilized by agriculture and forestry and firms involved in processing the products of these industries, such as sawmills . A porcelain factory in Fürstenberg has been working since 1747. 51°58′N 9°30′E / 51.967°N 9.500°E / 51.967; 9.500 Kaufungen Forest The Kaufungen Forest ( German : Kaufunger Wald )
180-668: The Weser Uplands. In its narrowest sense, the following would be included (running from north to south): The largest contiguous area of forest in the Weser Uplands lies on the Solling in the Solling-Vogler Nature Park . Its woods stretch southwards as far as the Reinardswald (on left bank of the Weser) and Bramwald (right bank), interrupted only by the island-like Uslar Basin and the narrow Weser valley. Even on
198-918: The Weseraue and Staustufe Schlüsselburg nature reserves. The towns of Porta Westfalica , Minden and Petershagen all lie in that part of the Middle Weser Valley that within North Rhine-Westphalia, in the district of Minden-Lübbecke . On the Lower Saxon side of the border, in the district of Nienburg/Weser , the Middle Weser Valley is home to the municipalities of Stolzenau , Landesbergen , Steyerberg , Weser-Aue , Nienburg/Weser , Heemsen , Eystrup and Hoya . 52°21′13″N 8°58′13″E / 52.353586°N 8.970337°E / 52.353586; 8.970337 Weser Uplands The Weser Uplands ( German : Weserbergland , German pronunciation: [ˈveːzɐˌbɛʁklant] )
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#1732772049456216-505: The far side of the rivers Fulda and Werra - and thus beyond the Weser Uplands - the dense forest continues further south without significant interruption to the Kaufungen Forest . In addition to the aforementioned core ridges, other ranges and ridges are also sometimes considered part of the Weser Uplands. These mainly include the following (with maximum elevations given in metres above sea level (NN) : The last major changes to
234-732: The hills in Hesse form part of the Meißner-Kaufungen Forest Nature Park , while those in Lower Saxony belong to the Münden Nature Park . However, the southern part of the range may be affected by the planned extension of the A 44 autobahn from its present end in Kassel to Eisenach . The controversial extension, which has been delayed and rerouted several times on environmental grounds, is part of
252-491: The landscape were made during the course of the ice ages by the glacial advances of the Scandinavian ice sheet which gave rise to much of Germany's present-day Northern Lowland . The Weser Uplands once developed its own style of architecture. Between 1520 and 1640 a great number of buildings were built in the so-called Weser Renaissance style. Characters from the area who have achieved international renown include
270-511: The legendary Pied Piper of Hamelin , the Lying Baron , Baron Munchausen , whose real-life inspiration came from Bodenwerder , and Doctor Eisenbarth who died in Hann. Münden . In addition, many fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm were set in the region, for example, Snow White , which is supposed to have taken place in Alfeld, Rapunzel , who let down her long hair for her prince from
288-684: The region, in addition to the historic towns mentioned above are the Weser Uplands Schaumburg-Hamelin Nature Park , the Solling-Vogler Nature Park , the roughly 500 kilometre long-distance cycle path, the Weser Cycleway along the River Weser. A botanic feature are the rare Dwarf Beech trees ( Süntelbuchen ). Of increasing importance is motorcycle tourism. The Weser Uplands, like the Harz ,
306-406: The same trails are used for cross-country skiing . The main tourist centre for the area is the small town of Großalmerode . Other settlements include Kaufungen (which lends its name to the range), Helsa and Nieste . The larger towns of Kassel , Witzenhausen and Hessisch Lichtenau lie on the western, eastern and southern fringes respectively. The entire of the area enjoys protected status;
324-752: Was erected in 1889 and extended to its present height of 20 m (66 ft) in 1960; it offers panoramic views across the region. Other peaks include Mühlenstein (607 m (1,991 ft)), Haferberg (581 m (1,906 ft)), Langenberg (565 m (1,854 ft)), Großer Steinberg (542 m (1,778 ft)) and Kleiner Steinberg (542 m (1,778 ft)). The area is popular for walking and especially for cycling ; an extensive network of waymarked forestry and agricultural tracks provide excellent traffic-free routes. The annual Bilstein Bike Marathon attracts hundreds of mountain bikers to compete in races of varying length and difficulty. In winter,
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