The TERRA.vita Nature Park (german: Naturpark TERRA.vita) is located in the German states of

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 ...

and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

and is divided into northern and southern areas. The park is also known as the ''Osnabrück Land Nature Park'' and sometimes by its old name of ''North Teutoburg Forest-Wiehen Hills Nature Park''. The woodlands of the Nature Park comprise about 70% of its total area.Se
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The Nature Park

Northern area

The northern part of the nature park begins in the

Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (district of Steinfur ...

near

Herzlake Herzlake is a municipality in the Emsland district, 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 Russia, and t ...

and extends from there over the southern fringes of the Oldenburger Münsterland and

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 ...

in a southeast direction over the

Ankum Heights The Ankum Heights (german: Ankumer Höhe), also called the Fürstenau Hills (''Fürstenauer Berge''), are a ridge of hills up to 140 m high in the western part of the state of Lower Saxony on the North German Plain. Geography The densel ...

Bramsche Bramsche is a town in the district of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is about north of Osnabrück, at . Population is 30,952 (2018). Subdivisions In 1971/72 12 previously independent municipalities were included into the town. *Achmer *B ...

. From there it widens out north of

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 ...

over 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 ...

eastwards and then over the

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

Porta Westfalica Porta Westfalica () is a town in the district of Minden-Lübbecke, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name "''Porta Westfalica''" is Latin and means "gate to Westphalia". Coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of West ...

, continuing further to the east as far as the

Bückeburg Bückeburg (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bückeborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It is located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge. Population: 21,0 ...

, which lies east of the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

and north of the

Wesergebirge The Weser Hills (''Wesergebirge''), also known in German as the ''Weserkette'' ("Weser Chain"),"Ein anderes Bild als die Bergländer der oberen Weser bieten die ''Weserkette'', das ''Wiehengebirge'' und der ''Teutoburger Wald'', see Christian Deg ...

; the park area thus extends into the northwestern part of the Wesergebirge.

Southern area

The southern part of the nature park lies in the northern

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 ...

. Er starts east of

Hörstel is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the junction of the Mittellandkanal and the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approx. 10 km east of Rheine. Parts of Hörstel are Riesenbeck, Dreierwalde ...

and runs through the

Tecklenburg Land Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor a ...

and

Bad Iburg Bad Iburg (; Westphalian: ''Bad Ibig'') is a spa town in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teutoburg Forest, 16 km south of Osnabrück. Bad Iburg is also the name of a municipality which includes ...

in a southeasterly direction to

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

Hill ranges

Neighbouring nature park

East of Bückeburg it meets the

Weser Uplands Schaumburg-Hamelin Nature Park The Weser Uplands-Schaumburg-Hamelin Nature Park (german: Naturpark Weserbergland Schaumburg-Hameln) lies on the northern edge of the German Central Uplands where it transitions to the North German Plain, about southwest of Hanover. The sponsor of ...

. Southeast of

it runs into the

Teutoburg Forest / Eggegebirge Nature Park Teutoburg may refer to: * The Teutoburg Forest, a range of low, forested mountains in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. * The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varia ...

References

External links

North Teutoburg Forest, Wiehen Hills and Osnabrück Land Nature Park
(TERRA.vita) {{Authority control Osnabrück (district) Minden Teutoburg Forest Nature parks in North Rhine-Westphalia Nature parks in Lower Saxony Lübbecke Wiehen Hills Bissendorf Preußisch Oldendorf