The Hainberg (known locally as the Hainberge as it has several summits. Also the old form Heinberg) is a hill range, up to 299 metres high, northwest of the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

in the eastern part 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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Geography

The heavily wooded Hainberg runs along the boundary of the counties of

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

and

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...

. It is located in the centre of the im Zentrum des

Innerste Uplands The Innerste Uplands (german: Innerstebergland) is a landscape region up to 359 m high and covering an area of over 900 km² in the northern part of the German Central Uplands. It lies within the eastern part of the Weser-Leine Uplands ...

, a northeastern section of the

Lower Saxon Hills The Lower Saxon Hills (german: Niedersächsisches Bergland) are one of the 73 natural regions in Germany defined by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Geographically it covers roughly the same area as the Weser Uplands (german: Weserb ...

, several kilometres southwest of the town of

Salzgitter Salzgitter (; Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven ''Oberzentren'' of Lower ...

and borders on the

Ambergau The Ambergau is a historic landscape and natural region unit in the Innerste Uplands in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a basin, about 10 x 10 kilometres across, with 18 settlements (there were 31 in the Middle Ages), the centre and capit ...

to the east. The ridge is west of the River

Innerste The Innerste is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Leine river and in length. Origin of the name The river name is not related to the German word ''innerste'' meaning innermost. ''Innerste'', in earlier times c ...

, northwest of the Neile and east of the

Nette Nette can refer to: Rivers * Nette (Innerste), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Innerste * Nette (Hase), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Hase * Nette (Middle Rhine), a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, tr ...

between the ridges of Vorholz to the north-northwest and the Salzgitter Ridge (including the Lichtenbergen) to the north, northeast and east. South of the Hainberg are the northwestern fringes of the

. The Hainberg runs from Holle in the north-northwest and Baddeckenstedt to the north Norden and east to

Lutter am Barenberge Lutter am Barenberge is a market town (''Flecken'') and a former municipality in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2021, it is part of the town Langelsheim, of which it is an ''Ortschaft''.

in the south. To the west of the Hainberg lies

Bockenem Bockenem (; Eastphalian: ''Bokeln'') is a town in the district of Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany that was founded in 1154. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Surrounding villages *Jerze *Königsdahlum *Bornum *Mahlum *Schlewecke ...

in the middle of the Ambergau. A section of the A 7 motorway runs in a north-south direction through the northwestern part of the Hainberg and part of the B 6 federal road runs past to the northeast. To the southeast the B 248 grazes the hills.

Description

The Hainberg is up to 299 metres high at the Kalter Buschkopf. Several tributary streams of the Innerste and Nette rise on its slopes and it is crossed by several

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

s and

forest track Forest tracks or forest roads are roads or tracks intended to carry motorised vehicles or horse-drawn wagons being used mainly or exclusively for forestry purposes, such as conservation or logging. Forest tracks may be open to ramblers or mountain ...

s. Among the sights of the Hainberg are the Bodensteiner Klippen (ca. 200 to ), which are made of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

and run for about 3 km through the southern part of the Hainberg. To the north of those crags is St. Hubert's Grotto. There is a viewing tower, the Jägerturm ("Hunter's Tower") on the ''Northern Jägertumskopf'' (244 m), from which there are views of the Harz to the south. Also worth visiting is

Wohldenberg Castle The Wohldenberg Castle is a ruin, located about one kilometer southwest of the small town Sillium. Sillium belongs to the municipality Holle in the district of Hildesheim (eastern Lower Saxony, Germany). Sillium’s emblem shows also the castle co ...

, which stands on the Wohldenberg (218 m) in the northwest of the hills. There are good views from the ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

''.

Hills

Amongst the hills in the Hainberg are the following: * Kalter Buschkopf () * Schlahköpfe (285 m) * Steinberg (283 m; part of the Bodensteiner Klippen) * Hohlenberg (263 m) * Bodensteiner Klippen (ca. 200 to 283 m) * Kliebenkopf (254 m) * Lauhberg (253 m) * Jägerturmsköpfe (251 m) * Northern (''Nördlicher'') Jägertumskopf (244 m) - with Jägerturm * Osterklippe (235 m; part of the Bodensteiner Klippen) * Eichenberg (226 m) * Papenberg (226 m) * Hillenberg (224 m) * Langenberg (224 m) * Spitzer Hai (222 m) * Wohldenberg (218 m) - with

* Kapitelhai (209 m) * Hützlah (206 m)

Settlements

Settlements in and near the Hainberg are: * Baddeckenstedt to the north-northeast *

to the west * Sehlde to the east * Holle to the north-northwest *

Wallmoden Wallmoden is a village and a former municipality in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2021, it is part of the town Langelsheim, of which it is an ''Ortschaft Ortschaft is a term in German speaking countries for a hu ...

to the south * Heere to the northeast

References

{{Reflist Forests and woodlands of Lower Saxony Hill ranges of Lower Saxony Natural regions of the Weser-Leine Uplands