The Steinhuder Meer Nature Park (german: Naturpark Steinhuder Meer), with northwest Germany's largest inland lake, the

Steinhuder Meer Lake Steinhude, german: Steinhuder Meer, , is a lake in Lower Saxony, Germany located northwest of Hanover. Named after the nearby village of Steinhude, it has an area of about , making it the largest lake of northwestern Germany. At the same t ...

, at its heart, covers an area of within the districts of Nienburg and

Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbe ...

and the region of

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 ...

. The sponsor of the

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

, founded in 1974, is

Hanover Region Hanover Region (german: Region Hannover) is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Heidekreis, Celle, Gifhorn, Peine, Hildesheim, Hamelin-Pyrmont, Schaumburg and Nienburg. The H ...

Location

The Steinhuder Meer Nature Park lies south of

Nienburg/Weser Nienburg (, official name: ''Nienburg/Weser'') (Low German: ''Nienborg'', ''Neenborg'' or ''Negenborg'') is a town and capital of the district Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Situated on the scenic German Timber-Frame Road, Nienbur ...

, west of

Neustadt am Rübenberge Neustadt am Rübenberge ( nds, Niestadt) is a town in the district of Hannover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. At , it is the 9th largest settlement in Germany by area (following Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne), though only about 45,000 inhabitants live ...

, northwest of

Wunstorf Wunstorf () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen ...

, north of

Hagenburg Hagenburg is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, 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 ...

and Sachsenhagen and east of

Rehburg-Loccum Rehburg-Loccum () is a town 50 km north west of Hanover in the district of Nienburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Geographical location Rehburg-Loccum borders the Steinhude Lake. The closest cities are Wunstorf and Neustadt in the d ...

, parts of these parishes lying within the nature park itself. In the centre of the nature park is northwest Germany's biggest inland waterbody,

Lake Steinhude Lake Steinhude, german: Steinhuder Meer, , is a lake in Lower Saxony, Germany located northwest of Hanover. Named after the nearby village of Steinhude, it has an area of about , making it the largest lake of northwestern Germany. At the same t ...

(''Steinhuder Meer''). In the north of the nature park is the hillocky forest of Grinderwald, in the east is the bog of Totes Moor, its southwestern fringes are bordered by the

Rehburg Hills The Rehburg Hills (german: Rehburger Berge) are a hill range, up to , in the districts of Nienburg and Schaumburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Origin of the name The Rehburg Hills and their foothills give the impression of being several small n ...

and, in the northwest is the Schneerener Moor.

Description

Over 10% of the nature park is under nature protection and over 65% under landscape protection. The Steinhuder Meer ("Lake Steinhude"), which is just under in area and only deep, is a wetland of international importance and is a breeding and

overwintering Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...

area and

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

stop for many

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s and

water fowl The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...

. The

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hydrologically ...

s in the vicinity of the lake also play an important part here. In the

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s, some still intact and other recultivated, a large number of rare animal and plant species thrive. The nature park sees up to 50,000 day visitors at weekends during the summer as a result of the variety of leisure pursuits available in this picturesque landscape. These pursuits include cycling, walking, swimming, sailing and surfing. The villages of

Steinhude Steinhude is a village in the borough of Wunstorf in Hanover Region in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is a tourist resort on the southern shore of Lake Steinhude. Once a small, quiet fishing village, today Steinhude is well known as a recrea ...

and Mardorf benefit significantly more from this than

Rehburg Rehburg-Loccum () is a town 50 km north west of Hanover in the district of Nienburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Geographical location Rehburg-Loccum borders the Steinhude Lake. The closest cities are Wunstorf and Neustadt in the d ...

, Winzlar,

or Großenheidorn. Villages bordering the lake have restrictions placed upon them for nature conservation reasons. The height of the water level, the desilting and removal of vegetation from the lake, building near the shores and the management of the stream of tourists have a significant potential for conflict. Just as conflicting are the restrictions on surfing, sailing and walking in order to support a bird reserve of international standing. The nature park has been commended several times for its providing a model solution to these conflicts of interest between nature conservation and tourism.

External links

Naturpark Steinhuder Meer
{{Coord, 52, 28, 13, N, 9, 19, 30, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NI_dim:10000, display=title Steinhuder Meer Hanover (region) Protected areas established in 1974 Nature parks in Lower Saxony 1974 establishments in West Germany

Location

Description

See also

External links