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 ...
. It is a right-hand tributary of the
Aller
Aller may refer to:
Places Rivers
* Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany
*Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain
*River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England
Inhabited places in the United Kingdom
*Aller, Devo ...
.
Origin and course
The Meiße rises south of
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 De ...
in the nature reserve of
Großes Moor (near Becklingen)
The Großes Moor near Becklingen (german: Großes Moor bei Becklingen) is a nature reserve in Germany with an area of , of which lie in Celle district and in Soltau-Fallingbostel district. Since 16 December 1985 the area has been protected unde ...
. Originally the upper course of the upper
Wietze (Örtze)
Wietze is a river in the South Lüneburg Heath, in Lower Saxony, Germany, long, a tributary of the Örtze.
The Wietze rises east of the Soltau suburb of and flows from there in a southerly direction to Wietzendorf. Here it is joined by its ...
was the headstream of the Meiße before the Großes Moor diverted the Wietze into the
River Örtze
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
at a point south of the sharp bend in the river near Wietzendorf as a result of headward erosion. The Meiße flows through the villages of
Bleckmar
Bleckmar is a village administered by the Lower Saxon town of Bergen in the northern part of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany. It lies about north of Bergen on the B 3 federal road and has 464 inhabitants (2019). It is adm ...
, Hasselhorst (in the unparished area of Lohheide on the Bergen-Hohne Training Area), Belsen, Hörsten, Gudehausen and Hartmannshausen (all three also belonging to Lohheide), as well as
Meißendorf
Meißendorf is a village and ''Ortschaft'' (municipal division) of the municipality of Winsen an der Aller in the Lower Saxon district of Celle in northern Germany.Hodenhagen after about .
Its left-hand tributary streams are the ''Berger Bach'', which flows through the town of Bergen and joins the Meiße near Belsen, and the small ''Geltteichsgraben'' and ''Bruchbach'', which originate in the
Hohne Station
Bergen-Hohne Garrison was a major British garrison in the post-Cold War period, with facilities located close to Bergen at ''Lager Hohne'', at ''Lager Oerbke'' near Fallingbostel and at Celle in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was home to 7th Armoured ...
. The building was used as an officers' mess and has been used as lodgings for the British Royal Family in the past.
The ''Meierbach'', which emerges in the Bergen-Hohne Training Area, flows through the Meiersee and discharges into the Meiße shortly before Hodenhagen. The ''Hohe Bach'' also starts in the military training area, flows past the '' Sieben Steinhäuser'' and also joins the Meiße shortly before Hodenhagen. Before the Meiße reaches the Aller it branches again into the ''Hudemühlener Meiße''.
Near the Autobahn services of ''Ostenholzer Moor'' (A7, E 45), a canal known as the ''Esseler Kanal'' crosses the Meiße. This is made up of the ''Nordkanal'' and ''Südkanal'', each of which drains the
Ostenholz Moor
Ostenholz Moor (German: ''Ostenholzer Moor'') is a raised bog on the Lüneburg Heath in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is named after the village of Ostenholz and is not far from Meißendorf. The bog is almost entirely within the Bergen- ...
. The Meiße mainly has water quality of Class II i.e. only moderately polluted.
History
As early as 1881 work began on the Sunder Estate (''Gut Sunder'') to deepen and impound the Meiße in order to create ponds for fish-farming. Over the course of time, fish ponds were established over an area of . Today these form part of the
Meißendorf Lakes and Bannetze Moor
The Meißendorf Lakes and Bannetze Moor (german: Meißendorfer Teiche mit dem Bannetzer Moor) are a nature reserve and bird reserve of national importance on the edge of the Lüneburg Heath in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany.
The sp ...
nature reserve. Until the 1970s there was also a watermill and sawmill here.History of fish-farming on the Sunder Estate /ref> In the surrounding area ponds were created covering a further 250 hectares. Near Gudehausen (in the unparished area of Lohheide) the ''Herrengraben'' ditch was dug which supplied many of the ponds with water.
In 1998 Celle district began to renaturalise parts of the Meiße again. To the northwest of Sunder Manor House the old course of the Meiße has been largely re-established.