The Harburg Hills (German: Harburger Berge) are a low ridge in the northeastern part of the 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 ...

and the southern part of the city state of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. They are up to high.

Geography and history

The Harburg Hills lie northwest of 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 Lower Saxon district of

Landkreis Harburg District Harburg is a district (''Landkreis'') in Hamburg and Lower Saxony, Germany. It takes its name from the town of Harburg upon Elbe, which used to be the capital of the district but is now part of Hamburg. It is bounded by (from the east a ...

and in the Hamburg quarters of Eißendorf, Hausbruch, Heimfeld, Marmstorf and

Neugraben-Fischbek [] is a Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg, quarter of Hamburg, Germany, belongs to the borough Harburg, Hamburg, Harburg. The quarter consists of the old settlements ''Neugraben'' and ''Fischbek'', and the more recently constructed area ''Neuwieden ...

within the Harburg borough. Thus they are located between the city of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

to the north,

Seevetal Seevetal (Northern Low Saxon: ''Seevdaal'') is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km south of Hamburg, and 15 km west of Winsen (Luhe). Its seat is in the village Hittfeld ...

to the east, the Lüneburg Heath to the southeast,

Handeloh Handeloh is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Location Handeloh lies between the rivers Seeve and Este, south of Buchholz in der Nordheide. The Harburg Hills lie to the northwest and the Lünebu ...

, Welle and

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

to the south,

Tostedt Tostedt (Low German ''Töst'') is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the central administration of the collective municipality (Samtgemeinde Tostedt) which consists of 9 joint communities. Geography Ge ...

and

Buchholz in der Nordheide Buchholz in der Nordheide (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bookholt'') is the largest town in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km southwest of Hamburg. Geography Buchholz is home to the Brunsberg, at ...

to the southwest,

Hollenstedt Hollenstedt is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km southwest of Hamburg, and 12 km south of Buxtehude. Hollenstedt is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collecti ...

and

Beckdorf Beckdorf is a municipality in the district of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. It belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union ...

to the west and

Neu Wulmstorf ( nds, Vosshusen) is a municipality ('Einheitsgemeinde') in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It changed its name on December 11, 1964 from ″Wulmstorf″ to ″Neu Wulmstorf″. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. ...

to the northwest. At the centre of this hill country is the municipal district of Rosengarten (which consists of ten separate villages and covers an area of some 64 km² (25 sq. miles)). The geographic centre of the Harburg Hills is the Buchholz motorway (''Autobahn'') interchange on the A 1. The hills are framed by the

Seeve Seeve is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany, a tributary of the Elbe. It is approximately long. The municipality of Seevetal is named after this river. Course The Seeve source located is near Wehlen, south-east of Undeloh in the northern pa ...

river in the east and the Este river in the west. The Harburg Hills are

end moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

s that were formed in the

Saalian glaciation The Saale glaciation or Saale Glaciation, sometimes referred to as the Saalian glaciation, Saale cold period (german: Saale-Kaltzeit), Saale complex (''Saale-Komplex'') or Saale glacial stage (''Saale-Glazial'', colloquially also the ''Saale-Eiszei ...

and

Weichselian Ice Age The Weichselian glaciation was the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) ...

. They are a popular recreation area.Harburger Berge / Hamburgs Alpen

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

2021

Terrain

The Harburg Hills form a landscape of hilly forests, heaths and farmland. They contain protected

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

: the (Fischbek Heath, 1958), the ''Schwarze Berge'' (Black Hills), and (1965), and Neugrabener Heide, as well as the .

Access

The area is crossed by the A 1 and A 261 ''

Autobahns The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

''; junctions Neu Wulmstorf-Rade, Buchholz-Dibbersen (both on the A 1) and Rosengarten-Tötensen (A 261) enabling easy access to the hills. The A 7 runs through the northeastern part of the region; leave at the Marmstorf exit.

Hills

* (155 m), Harburg district, Langenrehm village (with the Rosengarten radio and TV tower) * (155 m), Harburg district * Brunsberg (129 m), Harburg district *

Kiekeberg The Kiekeberg is, at 127.1 metres above sea level, one of the more prominent hills in the Harburg Hills in north Germany. It is located in the parish of Ehestorf in the municipality of Rosengarten in the district of Harburg in the southern footh ...

(127 m), Harburg district, Black Hills (''Schwarze Berge'') *

Hasselbrack The Hasselbrack, at ,Height of the hill according to the Geological State Office of Hamburg is the highest point in the state of Hamburg, Germany. It is located on the southern border of the city state with Lower Saxony in the "Black Hills" (''Sch ...

(116.2 m), highest elevation in Hamburg. * Fistelberge (107 m), Harburg district, Black Hills * Flidderberg (107 m), Harburg district, ''Lohberge''

References

External links

Auf Gipfeltour in den Harburger Bergen
(in German) NDR 16 July 2020
Wildpark Schwarze Berge
(in German) {{authority control Hills of Hamburg Hill ranges of Germany Nature parks in Lower Saxony Ridges of Lower Saxony