The Hümmling (''Homelinghen'', from ''hömil'' = small stone) is a

ground moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

landscape, up to , in the Emsland region on the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Balt ...

in the western 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 ...

Location

The wooded Hümmling, which is about 28 km long and only a few kilometres wide, is situated in the northern part of the region of Emsland and the district of the same name, and the drainage area of Ems river. It is limited by the Ems valley in the west and the

Saterland Saterland (; Saterland Frisian: , ) is a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Leer, Cloppenburg, and Oldenburg. It is home to Saterland Frisians, who speak Frisian in addit ...

in the east. It is located around the town of Werlte which is about 22 km northeast of

Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from the word ''M ...

. Various streams rise in the Hümmling which discharge into the

Hase The Hase is a long river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ems, but part of its flow goes to the Else, that is part of the Weser basin. Its source is in the Teutoburg Forest, south-east of Osnabrück, on the north slope ...

to the south, the Ems to the southeast and the Leda to the north.

History

There are over 100 more or less well-preserved dolmens of the

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

culture in the Hümmling hills. In times of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, Hümmling region was the northern part of the

Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (german: Fürstbistum Münster; Bistum Münster, Hochstift Münster) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lo ...

, called the '' Niederstift Münster'' (i. e. analogously "Lower Prince-Bishopric of Münster"), whereas in ecclesiastical respect the area was part of the Diocese of Osnabrück. In those days, Emsland was a part of the region of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. Clemens August, prince-bishop of Münster ordered to build Clemenswerth Castle to be built as a summer residence for his hunting holidays. It became a main example of Westphalian Baroque. When ge tried to use their soccage in order to build that castle, the peasants of the "Free Hümmling" fought a log successful trial at the

Imperial Chamber Court The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...

in Wetzlar that they were not enfeoffed to anyone. After short periods under the rule of the Duchy of Arenberg (1803 to 1810) and then the French Empire (1810 to 1814), Hümmling hills as a part of northern Emsland region became the west of the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

(1814 to 1866). After the annexion of that state by the kingdom of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

it belonged to the

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position ...

Culture

A typical Hümmling speciality is the ''Baukweiten Janhinnerk'', a pancake made of

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as ''Fagopy ...

flour with syrup, apple sauce,

cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

, egg, cheese, bread or

rye bread Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from whea ...

. The 'national anthem' of the Hümmlings is the ''Hümmelske Bur'', a song, which typecasts the characteristics of the local population. There is still a local

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

, the ''Hümmlinger Platt'', which belongs to the

Northern Low Saxon Northern Low Saxon (in High German: ', in Standard Dutch: ') is a subgroup of Low Saxon dialects of Low German. As such, it covers a great part of the West Low German-speaking areas of northern Germany, with the exception of the border regio ...

group of

West Low German Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of t ...

dialects. Not until about 1975 were generations born that grew up speaking

High German The High German dialects (german: hochdeutsche Mundarten), or simply High German (); not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called ''High German'', comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and ...

. The Hüven Mill is a technological attraction in the Hümmling. It is the last fully preserved combined wind- and

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

in Europe.

Religion

The Hümmling is 93%

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

there was a large number of refugees from the old eastern provinces of Germany and, since 1990 there have also been ethnic German immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the Hümmling who, in addition to the Catholic faith, also belong to the New Apostolic Church and other Protestant faiths ( Pentecostalists, Baptists).

Elevations

The elevations and land cells in the Hümmling hill country and its near vicinity include (heights in metres above sea level (NN)):

Rivers and streams

The rivers and streams that rise in and near the hill country of the Hümmling, include the: * Loruper Beeke, rises in the Hümmling, southeast tributary of the Ohe * Marka, rises in the Hümmling, east of Werlte, right headstream of the Sagter Ems, which discharges into the Leda * Mittelradde, rises on the eastern edge of the Hümmling and passes it to the southeast, northern tributary of the Hase *

Nordradde Nordradde (in its upper course ''Wehmer Graben'') is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It flows into the Ems near Meppen. See also *List of rivers of Lower Saxony All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into ...

, rises in the middle of the Hümmling, near the ''Theikenmeer'', northeastern tributary of the Ems *

Ohe The Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen AG (OHE) is a Celle based transportation company with railway network in North-eastern Lower Saxony around the Lüneburg Heath area of over 250 km. The OHE's main business is the transportation of freight t ...

, rises in the centre of the Hümmling, leaves it in a northern direction, left headstream of the Sagter Ems *

Sagter Ems Sagter Ems is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Ohe and Marka west of Friesoythe. At its confluence with the Dreyschloot (a branch of the Soeste), the river Leda is formed. The Sagter Ems is known ...

, results from the confluence of Marka and Ohe north of Friesoythe-Neuscharrel *

Südradde Südradde is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It flows into the Hase near Herzlake. See also *List of rivers of Lower Saxony All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into the North Sea. A–Z A B D E ...

, rises east of the Hümmling, northern tributary of the Hase

Settlements

The settlements in and around the Hümmling include:

Sources

* Matthias Bähr, Widerstand vor dem Reichskammergericht: Als die "freien Hümmlinger" nach Wetzlar zogen (1739–1768), in: Emsländische Geschichte Bd. 15. Hrsg. von der Studiengesellschaft für Emsländische Regionalgeschichte, Haselünne 2008, , S. 468-577 * Wilhelm Ludwig Heermann: ''Unser Hümmling, unsere Heimat. Gedichte und Erzählungen aus alten Zeiten''. Goldschmidt, Werlte 2002, * Werner Franke et al.: ''Der Hümmling mit Sögel, Werlte und Nordhümmling''. Reihe ''Landschaften im Emsland''. Emsländischer Heimatbund, Sögel 1995, * Autorenkollektiv: ''Der Hümmling. Ein Heimatbuch''. Herausgegeben vom Katholischen Kreislehrerverein des Kreises Hümmling. (Fotomechanischer Nachdruck der Ausgabe von 1929.) Goldschmidt, Werlte 1979 * Holger Lemmermann: ''Auf dem freien Hümmling. Ländliches Leben in vier Jahrhunderten (1530-1870)''. 2. Auflage. Emsländischer Heimatbund, Sögel 1995, * Lothar Riedel: ''Die Hümmlinger Kreisbahn. Die Verkehrsgeschichte der schmalspurigen Kleinbahn Lathen-Sögel-Werlte''. Röhr, Krefeld 1983, {{DEFAULTSORT:Hummling Forests and woodlands of Lower Saxony Emsland (region) Geest Regions of Lower Saxony