The Osnabrück Uplands, Osnabrück Hills or, less commonly, Osnabrück Hill Country (german: Osnabrücker Hügelland or ''Osnabrücker Bergland''), are the low hills, or ''

Hügelland ''Hügelland'' is a type of landscape consisting of low rolling hills (geology), rolling hills whose topography or surface structure lies between that of a lowland region (plains or river terraces) and that of a more rugged hill range or low mount ...

'', rarely over , in the northwest of the

Lower Saxon Hills The Lower Saxon Hills (german: Niedersächsisches Bergland) are one of the 73 natural regions in Germany defined by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Geographically it covers roughly the same area as the Weser Uplands (german: Weserb ...

near

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

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 ...

. They are bounded by the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen Hills (german: Wiehengebirge, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long finger away from the main upland area of the Lower Saxon ...

to the north and the

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

to the south.Emil Meynen, Josef Schmithüsen: '' Handbook of the Natural Region Divisions of Germany.'' Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen/Bad Godesberg, 1953–1962 (9 issues in 8 books, updated map 1:1.000,000 scale with major units, 1960). Regionally, especially in tourism, they are often referred to locally as the ''Osnabrücker Bergland'', however this is usually not a precisely defined physical landscape, but refers to an area roughly comprising the municipal boundaries of Osnabrück and a narrow radius around the city. By contrast the

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...

major unit known as the ''Osnabrücker Hügelland'' extends from north-west of Ibbenbüren to the Melle Hills north of

Melle Melle may refer to: People * Basil Melle (1891–1966), South African cricketer * Gil Mellé (1931–2004), American artist, jazz musician and film composer * John van Melle (1887–1953), Dutch-born South African author * Melle Mel (born 19 ...

, behind which is their south-eastern continuation, the

Ravensberg Hills The Ravensberg Basin (german: Ravensberger Mulde) or Ravensberg Hills () is a natural region in the governorate of Detmold () in the northeastern part of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia; small elements also fall within the neighbourin ...

. The Osnabrück Uplands form the heart of the cultural region of

Osnabrück Land Osnabrück Land (german: Osnabrücker Land) is a region in southwest Lower Saxony in Germany, which extends into the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its centre is the city of Osnabrück. The region is dominated by the Teutoburg Forest and the Ri ...

. The unpopulated areas of the region, which covers 748.5 km², are a central part of the TERRA.vita Nature and Geopark.

Natural regions

The Osnabrück Uplands are divided from north (west to east) to south (west to east) as follows:Various authors: ''Geographische Landesaufnahme: The natural region units in individual 1:200,000 map sheets.'' Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Bad Godesberg, 1952–1994. →&nbs
Online maps
*Sheet 83/84: Osnabrück/Bentheim (Sofie Meisel 1961; 66 pp.) →&nbs
map
(pdf, 6.6 MB) *Sheet 85: Minden (Sofie Meisel 1959; 50 pp. – only 535.03) →&nbs
map
(pdf, 4.6 MB) *''(to

)'' ***535 Osnabrück Uplands (''Osnabrücker Hügelland'') ****535.2 Achmer Foreland (''Achmer Vorland'') (western north) *****535.20 Neuenkirchen Plateau (''Neuenkirchener Platte'') (western north) *****535.21 Gehn (eastern north) *****535.22 Vinter Lowlands (''Vinter Niederungen'') (central north) *****535.23 Wallenbrock Lowlands (''Wallenbrocker Niederungen'') (west) *****535.24 Seeste Plateau (''Seester Platte''( (centre) *****535.25 Halener Sande (east) ****535.0 Northern Osnabrück Uplands (''Nördliches Osnabrücker Hügelland'') (north) *****535.01 Barlager Sande (west) *****535.00 Wallenhorst Uplands (''Wallenhorster Bergland'') (north) *****535.02 Schledehausen Hills (''Schledehauser Hügelland'') (centre) *****535.03 Melle Heights (''Meller Höhen'') (with Melle Hills, southeast) ****535.3 Western Osnabrück Uplands ''Westliches Osnabrücker Hügelland'' (west) *****535.30 Westerkappelen Hill Country ''Westerkappelner Flachwellenland'' (north) *****535.31 Mettingen Foreland (''Mettinger Vorland'') (northwest) *****535.32 Schafberg Plateau (''Schafbergplatte'') (west) *****535.33 Ibbenbüren Basin (''Ibbenbürener Senke'') (western south) *****535.34 , Habichtswald (central south) *****535.35 Leeden Basin (''Leedener Senke'') (eastern south) ****535.1 ''Haseniederung'' *****535.10 Halen Depression (''Halener Niederung'') *****535.11 Osnabruck Depression (''Osnabrücker Niederung'') ****535.4 Southern Osnabrück Uplands (''Südliches Osnabrücker Hügelland'') (south) *****535.40 Holte Uplands (''Holter Hügel- und Bergland'') *****535.41 Ösede Basin (''Öseder Mulde'') ****''(to 534.0 Ohrbeck Heights =

Dörenberg The Dörenberg is a hill, , in the Teutoburg Forest in the district of Osnabrück, in the German state of Lower Saxony. Origin of the name Dören could be derived, especially in the area of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, from ''Dör'', the Low German wo ...

and its northwestern outliers)'' *****534.00 Hüggel,The Hüggel is a borderline case. The hill, which is a northwestern spur of the

, was still listed in the Handbook of the Natural Region Divisions of Germany (6th issue, 1959) as one of the highest points of the Osnabruck Uplands, but in the Osnabrück/Bentheim sheet (1961) is shown as part of the Osnabruck Osning (''Osnabrücker Osning''), i.e. the northwestern part of the Teutoburg Forest. berge

Hills

Among the most important high points in the Osnabruck Uplands are the following – sorted by height in

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

s (m) above sea level (NHN): * Hesterbrink (''Moselerberg''; ca. 232,5 m),Topographic map wit
''Hesterbrink (Moselerberg)''
(DTK 25; see enlargement of the map), at natur-erleben.niedersachsen.de highest point in Melle * Holzhauser Berg (ca. 227 m),The Holzhauser Berg has no officially surveyed summit point, but a not insignificant proportion of the summit lies above the 225 metre contour. source of the

River Hunte Hunte is a long river in north-western Germany (Lower Saxony), a left tributary of the Weser. The Hunte rises in the Wiehen Hills. In the North German Plain it flows through lake Dümmer. It flows generally northwards through the towns Bad Ess ...

near Melle-Oldendorf * Hüggel (226 m) * Melle Hills (just under 220 m), eastern end of the uplands * Moselerberg (207.5 m), * Oldendorfer Berg (203.2 m) with the Melle Observatory in Melle-Oberholsten * Westerhauser Berg (192.5 m) * Holter Berg (190.1 m) with

Holt Castle Holt Castle () was a medieval castle in the town of Holt, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Work began in the 13th century during the Welsh Wars, the castle was sited on the Welsh–English border by the banks of the River Dee. In the medieval ...

* Piesberg (188 m) with the Museum of Industrial Culture (focal point:

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

) * Schafbergplatte (176.1 m) in Ibbenbüren, western end of the uplands * Osterberg (173 m) * Große Egge (166 m) * Selberg (165.3 m) * Großer Zuschlag (154.9 m) * Im Kassel (153 m) * Werscher Berg (148 m) * Lechtenbrink (146 m) * Harderberg (145.2 m) * Hengelsberg (145.2 m) * Dingelrott (141.2 m) * Wellinger Berg (136 m) * Halterdaren (134.3 m) * Halter Berg (127.5 m) * Gattberg (127.1 m) with the ''Steinernes Meer'' Nature Reserve * Schölerberg (126) with

Osnabrück Zoo Zoo Osnabrück is located in south Osnabrück at the hillside of Schölerberg in Osnabrück, Germany. It was founded under the name "Heimattiergarten", and opened during the summer of 1936. Almost 3000 animals from roughly 300 species can be seen ...

* Alt-Schlederhauser Berg (124.8 m) * Schinkelberg (123.1 m) with the Schinkel Tower * Haster Berg (121 m) * Kleeberg (119.7 m) * Hanfelder Hügel (115.5) with the Wittekindsburg''Die Ruinen der Wittekindsburg''
at rulle.de. Retrieved 29 September 2022.

References

Literature

* Roman-Germanic Central Museum, Mainz (publ.): ''Führer zu vor- und frühgeschichtlichen Denkmälern – Das Osnabrücker Land I'', Vol. 42, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz, 1979,

External links

Landscape fact file
by the

BfN The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (german: Bundesamt für Naturschutz, ''BfN'') is the German government's scientific authority with responsibility for national and international nature conservation. BfN is one of the government' ...

(here the area of the conurbation of Osnabrück is not included) {{DEFAULTSORT:Osnabruck Uplands Central Uplands Hill ranges of Lower Saxony Osnabrück (district) !