Heidekreis ("Heath district") is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

(''Landkreis'') 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 ...

. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Harburg,

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

Uelzen Uelzen (; officially the ''Hanseatic Town of Uelzen'', German: ''Hansestadt Uelzen'', , Low German ''Ülz’n'') is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a ...

, Celle,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Nienburg, Verden and

Rotenburg 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-Rotenburg, ...

History

Historically the region belonged to the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and its

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

s. The district was established in 1977 by merging the former districts of Soltau and Fallingbostel as Soltau-Fallingbostel (). On 1 August 2011 it was renamed to Heidekreis.

Geography

The district includes the western half of the Lüneburg Heath (''Lüneburger Heide''). Since this landscape is so characteristic for the district, it calls itself "the Heath District". The capital is

Bad Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...

, although it has only 11,800 inhabitants and is only the fifth largest town in the district.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * in the upper half the

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

lion of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg * in the lower half a

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 ...

ic grave

Towns and municipalities

Culture and places of interest

Cultural matters are looked after by those charged with communal cultural support within the towns and municipalities, the parishes, the banks, the

Lüneburg Regional Association The Lüneburg Regional Association (german: Lüneburgische Landschaftsverband) is a registered association in the German state of Lower Saxony and is one of a number of regional associations in the state. History The association was founded in ...

and private cultural initiatives.

Museums and collections

* Dat ole Hus (heath and open-air museum in

Wilsede Bispingen is a municipality in the Heidekreis district of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a popular tourist destination with several holiday/theme parks. Its territory also includes the nature preserve of the Lüneburg Heath around the Wilseder ...

) *

German Tank Museum The German Tank Museum (german: Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster (DPM))''Deutsches Pa ...

in Munster (German military history of the 20th century) * Düshorn Village Museum (life and work around 100 years ago) * Hof der Heidmark in

(memorial to the Heidmark) * Klingendes Museum (mechanical musical instruments) in

Schwarmstedt Schwarmstedt is a municipality in the Heidekreis in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the confluence of the rivers Aller and Leine, approx. 20 km south of Bad Fallingbostel, and 30 km east of Nienburg. Further districts of the ...

* Museum of the Archaeological Working Group in Bad Fallingbostel * Soltau Museum (local history and archaeological exhibition) in Soltau * Soltau Toy Museum (toys from four centuries) * Peetshof (Zeugen Wietzendorfs um 1900) in

Wietzendorf Wietzendorf ( Eastphalian: ''Witzendörp'') is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km southeast of Soltau, and 50 km southwest of Lüneburg. The population as of 31 Dec ...

* Prussian History (Pavillon im Landschaftspark Iserhatsche) in Bispingen * Pult- und Federkielmuseum (Schulmuseum in Insel) in Schneverdingen *

Rischmannshof Heath Museum The Rischmannshof Heath Museum (German: ''Heidemuseum Rischmannshof'') is an open-air museum in Walsrode, Germany. History Rischmannshof was opened in 1912 as one of the first open-air museums in Germany. The museum consists of a rural farmya ...

(heath and open-air museum) in

Walsrode Walsrode (; nds, Wasra) is a town in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former municipality Bomlitz was merged into Walsrode in January 2020. History Middle Ages 986 Foundation of Walsrode Abbey by Count Walo. The first ...

* Schäferhof Neuenkirchen (Moorland sheep rearing to preserve the heath and moorlands between Neuenkirchen and Soltau) in Neuenkirchen * Heimathaus auf dem Schroershof (historic farmstead with many buildings) in Neuenkirchen * Art Society and Springhornhof Foundation in Neuenkirchen * Bothmer School Museum (schools in the times of the Emperor) in Schwarmstedt * Ehrhorn Woodland Museum (woods – heathland – people) in Schneverdingen

Cinemas

* Munster: Deutsches Haus * * Walsrode: Capitol-Theater

Lüneburg Regional Association

The district is a member of the

(''Lüneburgischer Landschaftsverband''), which looks after regional, cultural-political tasks.

Nature reserves

There are 29

nature reserve 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 ...

s in the Heidekreis. The largest one ( Lüneburg Heath Nature Reserve) has an area of 13,222 ha in the territory of the Heidekreis, the smallest (Söhlbruch) has an area of 8 ha.

Jewish cemeteries

There are four Jewish cemeteries in Soltau-Fallingbostel : in

Ahlden Ahlden is a municipality in the Heidekreis district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 15 km southwest of Bad Fallingbostel, and 30 km southeast of Verden. Ahlden is located in the Samtgemeinde ("coll ...

Rethem Rethem () is a town in the Heidekreis in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 25 km southwest of Bad Fallingbostel, and 18 km southeast of Verden. The town was the scene of heavy fighting over the period 1 ...

, Soltau und

.LANDKREIS SOLTAU-FALLINGBOSTEL. In: Jüdische Friedhöfe nach der heutigen Verwaltungsgliederung – Niedersachsen. In: Übersicht über alle Projekte zur Dokumentation jüdischer Grabinschriften auf dem Gebiet der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
/ref> There are protected cultural monuments – stone witnesses to former

Jewish communities Jewish ethnic divisions refer to many distinctive communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population. Although considered a self-identifying ethnicity, there are distinct ethnic subdivisions among Jews, most of which are primarily the ...

and a thriving Jewish parish live into the 1930s. The cemeteries are mainly on the edge of parishes.

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{Authority control Districts of Lower Saxony