Hodenhagen is a municipality in the district of

Heidekreis Heidekreis ("Heath district") is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Celle, Hanover, Nienburg, Verden and Rotenburg. History Hist ...

, in

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 ...

. The town was once the site of Hudemühlen Castle, which is now destroyed. The castle was famous as the home of the

kobold A kobold (occasionally cobold) is a mythical sprite. Having spread into Europe with various spellings including "goblin" and "hobgoblin", and later taking root and stemming from Germanic mythology, the concept survived into modern times in Ger ...

Hinzelmann Hinzelmann or Heinzelmann (sometimes called Luring) was a kobold in the mythology of northern Germany. He was described as a household spirit of ambivalent nature, similar to Puck (Robin Goodfellow). Like Puck, he would provide good luck and pe ...

.Keightley, Thomas (1850). ''The Fairy Mythology, Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries''. London: H. G. Bohn, p. 240. The site of another

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

castle,

Hodenhagen Castle Hodenhagen Castle (German: ''Burg Hodenhagen'') is the site ('' Burgstall'') of a former lowland castle (''Niederungsburg'') built in the 13th century in the vicinity of Hodenhagen in the German state of Lower Saxony. This medieval manor house only ...

on the River

Meiße Meiße is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany that flows through part of the Lüneburg Heath. It is a right-hand tributary of the Aller. Origin and course The Meiße rises south of Wietzendorf in the nature reserve of Großes Moor (near Beckl ...

, is also located nearby.

Serengeti Park The Serengeti-Park in Hodenhagen, Lower Saxony, is a zoo and leisure park in North Germany. History In 1972, the Duke of Bedford had the idea of building the largest safari park in Europe with partners from America. In 1974, this plan was real ...

, an amusement park with a safari theme, is located within the municipality.

References

Heidekreis {{SoltauFallingbostel-geo-stub