Wildeshausen Geest
Geest is the name of a national park in western Lower Saxony, which lies mainly in the district of Oldenburg, but partly also in the districts of Cloppenburg, Vechta and Diepholz.
Term Geest
The term " Geest " is a nominalization of the Low German adjective guest, which means dry and barren. It is a Altmoränenlandschaft, dominated by the sandy deposits of the Ice Age. In the lowlands between there are wet meadows, in bad drainage Moore.
Location of the Geest
The area of the Geest is located in the North German Plain. It extends mostly across the Ems - Hunte- Geest, a natural Spatial unit of the third order, especially on the subunit Delmenhorster Geest, but in addition also on the eastern part of Cloppenburg Geest and over the northwestern part of the Syker Geest. In the northwestern part of the Geest the easternmost portion of the Hunte- Leda - Moorniederung is included, which is expected to Ostfriesisch - Oldenburgische Geest.
To the north bordering the natural park Geest the marshes of Hunte and Weser ( a portion of which still belongs to the very south of the nature park Geest ), south one to close to the Wiehengebirge reaching Moor Belt with Big Moor, Wietingsmoor and Sulinger Moor, the transects - Geest lowland be attributed. In the north- west, the landscape of the Natural Park Geest is also in large peat areas, namely the Ostfriesisch - Oldenburgische Geest about. The Geest plateaus in the nature park are mostly 50 to 60 m above sea level. NN, im not with the nature park belonging to the southeast near Nienburg even up to 80 m. The impressive eastern Geestrand rises between Hoya and Syke about 40 m above the Weser valley, west of Syke are there for another 20 to 30 m. On the southern edge there is here and there a height difference of 20 m, often none at all.
The larger waters of the Natural Park flowing from south to north. In addition to coming from the Wiehengebirge Hunte, these are mainly the springing in the Delmenhorster Geest Delme, Klosterbach and Hache. The valleys of this river give the landscape a characteristic structure and ripple. On the northern edge of the moraine between Ganderkesee and Barrien they bend to the east. Smaller streams of Syker Geest accumulate in northward flowing lowland waters such as the Süstedter Bach.
In the center of the park are Wildeshausen, the capital of the district of Oldenburg, and Harpstedt.
Land use
The current land use is a mosaic of forests, farmland and grassland, which in some cases is divided by hedgerows. The forest is mostly mixed forest, partly coniferous forest. The proportion of forest is highest in the triangle Wardenburg twist rings - Syke, which also includes Wilde Hausen and Harpstedt.
History of the Natural Park
The nature park Geest in 1984 reported and 1993 expanded so that it now almost completely covers the Delmenhorster Geest. Its area is about 1532 km ² with an east- west distance of around 50 km. He is one of the largest in Germany. 4 % of the area of the Natural Park are nature reserves and 50% of landscape protection areas. In 20 % of the area is forests are found.
Cultural monuments
Particularly impressive are the prehistoric evidence, numerous megalithic sites ( burial mounds ) and grave mounds, which mostly form stations of the street of the megalithic culture. The best known are the systems:
- Glaner Bride ( 2 plants)
- High stones
- Steinloger basement rocks ( Großenkneten ) (4 units)
- Ahlhorner basement rocks ( Holzhausen ) ( 2 plants)
- Kleinenknetener stones (3 units)
- Pestruper burial ground
- Visbeker groom (near A1 at the Hansa line)
In the early Middle Ages the two castles Arkeburg (municipality Goldenstedt ) and Hünenburg (municipality Twist rings ) were built. From the Arkeburg today is still the ring barrier obtained. The Hüneburg was partly reconstructed; have been reconstructed, the door system as well as a farm building of the former castle.
Among the most important historical buildings from the Middle Ages and early modern period include the collegiate church in Bassum, the ruined monastery in Hude, the Gothic Town Hall and the Alexander Church in Wildeshausen and Amtshof in Syke. In Neubruchhausen there is a small barn area other than the historic Forest District. Such is also located on the western outskirts of Harpstedt. What is striking is the large number of preserved sheep pen and working properly water mills in the Geest.
As cultural monuments are now those two museum railways to consider driving through the Geest: The narrow- gauge railway from Bruchhausen- Vilsen to Asendorf was the first museum railway in Germany (1966, German Railway Club ) and has a lot of annual operating days. The vollspurige museum train from Delmenhorst to Harpstedt is called January Harpstedt.
Megalithic grave Visbeker groom at Ahlhorn
Gateway to Hünenburg in Stöttinghausen
Pin Bassum
Hude Monastery Ruins
Alexander Church Wildeshausen
Barn in the barn area Neubruchhausen
Sheep pen on the northern edge of the burial ground Pestruper
Watermill Heine field ( Wildeshausen )
Museum railway Bruchhausen- Vilsen - Asendorf
Museum railway in January Harpstedt Dünsen
Watermill Kokenmühle in Endel ( Visbek )
Tourism
Support of the Natural Park and umbrella organization for tourism is on the Association Geest based in Wildeshausen, the except the counties Diepholz, Oldenburg and Vechta also belong to cities and towns. The Association is a public institution. In the tourist association's work on the Association is responsible for the external representation and marketing. He runs the website of the Natural Park, brochures publishes, displays ads and to exhibit at fairs. As the support of the Natural Park on the Association continues to try to bring tourism and nature conservation issues in line and is interviewed at greater interventions in the landscape, to create a balance between the interests of nature conservation representatives and the tourism stakeholders. The whole Geest is a popular Radwandergebiet, the average Hunte a paddle area. All cities in the area except Sulingen have a railway station with passengers.
In May 2009, the street of the megalithic culture was opened. It combines many of the megalithic Geest with each other and with the investments in the Emsland region and district of Osnabrück. Since 2008, a new section of the Lower Saxon Mill Road leads through the Geest, which begins in Harpstedt and leaves the natural park behind Goldenstedt.