The Lopau is a river in 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 North

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 a right tributary of the Luhe.

Course

The Lopau rises with two headstreams from the ponds known as the Süderteichen and the Westerteichen in the Westergrund in the

Munster North Training Area Munster Training Area (German: ''Truppenübungsplatz Munster'') is a military training area in Germany on the Lüneburg Heath. It comprises two separate areas with different purposes: Munster North (''Munster-Nord'') (size: ) and Munster South ( ...

, near the abandoned village of Lopau, that lies within the borough of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

. In its upper reaches the Lopau flows through uncultivated grassland, which is becoming increasingly afforested by alders and invaded by the wooded area of the Raubkammer. In

Bockum Bockum is a northeastern district of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With its large parks, its advantageous location and high housing comfort, it is one of the most favoured residential areas in the city. The center of Bockum is marked b ...

, a village in the municipality of

Rehlingen Rehlingen is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russi ...

Lüneburg District 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 ...

, it picks up the Ehlbeck, a left-hand tributary. East of Amelinghausen the river is impounded by a dam by the B 209 federal road to create the tourist lake of

Lopausee The Lopausee is a man-made lake east of the village of Amelinghausen in Lüneburg Heath in North Germany. The lake, which has an area of about 12 hectares, has been created by impounding the River Lopau with a dam. The dam lies parallel to the ro ...

. North of Amelinghausen the Lopau discharges into the Luhe near the gravesite of

Oldendorfer Totenstatt The Oldendorfer Totenstatt is a group of six burial mounds and megalith sites in Oldendorf north of Amelinghausen in the valley of the River Luhe in Lüneburg district in the German state of Lower Saxony. It consists of dolmens (sites 1, 3 and ...

Oldendorf (Luhe) Oldendorf (Luhe) is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Nearby is an important neolithic gravesite, the Oldendorfer Totenstatt The Oldendorfer Totenstatt is a group of six burial mounds and megalith sites in ...

. From source to mouth the river is 12.7 km.

References

Rivers of Lower Saxony Lüneburg Heath Amelinghausen Rivers of Germany {{LowerSaxony-river-stub