The Geeste is a river in northwestern Germany, running through

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 ...

and

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. It is the most downstream tributary of the

River Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

and joins it near

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

. The Geeste rises in

Hipstedt Hipstedt is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Hipstedt belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was ...

( Geestequelle - literally "Geeste springs") in the district of

Rotenburg (Wümme) Rotenburg may refer to: *Rotenburg (district), Lower Saxony, Germany *Rotenburg an der Wümme, capital of the district * Rotenburg an der Fulda, near Kassel in Hesse * Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the Franconia region of Bavaria * Hersfeld-Rotenbur ...

ten kilometres west of

Bremervörde Bremervörde () is a town in the north of the district (''Landkreis'') of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the Oste river near the centre of the "triangle" formed by the rivers Weser and Elbe, roughly equidistant from the cit ...

and drains a large part of the old district of

Wesermünde Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Rive ...

(now

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

). Despite its name, only the upper reaches of the Geeste flow through

geest Geest is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outwash plai ...

, the rest flows through

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

land. The navigable length of the Geeste is 25 kilometres and is the westernmost section of the Elbe-Weser Shipping Channel. The Geeste forms wide

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

s in its lower reaches and, in the area of

there are still three river bends of the original five. Just before the mouth of the Geeste is a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

barrier beneath the Kennedy Bridge, which was completed in 1961 – just in time for the

North Sea flood of 1962 The North Sea flood of 1962 was a natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of West Germany and in particular the city of Hamburg in the night from 16 February to 17 February 1962. In total, the homes of about 60,000 people were ...

. Without the barrier part of Bremerhaven would have been flooded 'from behind' over the low dykes of the Geeste. An estimate of the flood damage which would have been caused if the Geeste barrier in Bremerhaven owned/built by EGA Essen had failed projected the number of inhabitants who would have been affected as 10,860 at a cost of about 1,837 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s and probable flood damage of about 247 million euros. This roughly 250 million euros would probably not have been covered by

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

because the flooding would have been a consequence of a

, which counts as an

act of God In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God is a natural hazard outside human control, such as an earthquake or tsunami, for which no person can be held responsible. An act of God may amount to an exception to liability in con ...

. Until the merger of the district of

in 1932, the Geeste formed the boundary between the districts of Lehe and

Geestemünde Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

. File:Geeste Heinschenwalde.jpg, The Geeste near its source File:Elbe-Weser-Schifffahrtsweg 2006 by RaBoe.png, The Geeste (1) as the westernmost part of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

Shipping Channel Geeste-Schleuse-Bremerhaven-2012-05-28-DSCF9376.jpg, Geeste sluice

2012-05-28 Fotoflug Cuxhaven Wilhelmshaven DSCF9380.jpg, Geeste bow in Bremerhaven

Notes

{{Authority control Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of Bremen (state) Rivers of Germany

See also

Notes