Bockhorn is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the borough of Walsrode in the Heidekreis district in the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

in the north German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. About 290 people live in this heath parish which has an area of 9.0 km².

History

Bockhorn was first mentioned officially in 1237. The name "Bockhorn" is derived from the location of the village. The syllable ''boke'' means

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

, the syllable ''horn'' means corner or height. On Bockhorn's farms there are still old beech and

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

trees today which characterise the appearance of the village. Since the administrative reform of 1974 the hitherto independent parish of Bockhorn has been one of 23 divisions in the borough of Walsrode.

Geography

Location

Bockhorn lies in the southeastern part of the borough of Walsrode, 7 km southeast of the town itself and 2.5 km east of Düshorn. To the east it borders on a large military training area.

Neighbouring parishes

Its neighbouring parishes are - clockwise from the north –

Bad Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...

, Fahrenholz, Krelingen and Düshorn.

Politics

The parish chairman is Heinrich Wischmann

Infrastructure

Transport

Roads

The B 7 motorway runs east of Bockhorn about 1 km away, and the 3-way Walsrode motorway interchange lies 4 km to the south. The B 209 federal road from

via Walsrode and

Rethem Rethem () is a town in the Heidekreis in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 25 km southwest of Bad Fallingbostel, and 18 km southeast of Verden. The town was the scene of heavy fighting over the period 10� ...

to Nienburg runs past to the north, 3.5 km away. In Bockhorn there are no road names, purely house numbers, to which inhabitants, postmen, delivery men and visitors have to orient themselves.

Places of interest

FloraFarm

The unique ginseng gardens of the FloraFarm on the edge of the village, covering an area of over 9 ha, are the only place in Europe, where the Korean ginseng has been grown and sold commercially for almost 30 years.

External links

Website of the town of Walsrode - Bockhorn

Street map - Walsrode parishes

Website of Bockhorn
{{Borough of Walsrode Walsrode Heidmark