Meiße is a river of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

that flows through part of the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), 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 and is ...

. It is a right-hand tributary of the Aller.

Origin and course

The Meiße rises south of Wietzendorf in the nature reserve of

Großes Moor (near Becklingen) The Großes Moor near 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 under conservation law. An area of is ...

. Originally the upper course of the upper Wietze (Örtze) was the headstream of the Meiße before the Großes Moor diverted the Wietze into the River Örtze at a point south of the sharp bend in the river near Wietzendorf as a result of

headward erosion Headward erosion is erosion at the origin of a stream channel, which causes the origin to move back away from the direction of the stream flow, lengthening the stream channel.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak It can also refer t ...

. 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

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of Lohheide on the

Bergen-Hohne Training Area The Bergen-Hohne Training Area (German: ''NATO-Truppenübungsplatz Bergen'' or ''Schießplatz Bergen-Hohne'') is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It c ...

), 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 Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

and joins the Meiße near Belsen, and the small ''Geltteichsgraben'' and ''Bruchbach'', which originate in the

Meißendorf Lakes 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. The right-hand feeder streams of the Meiße are: the little ''Mühlenbach'' near Bleckmar and the ''Liethbach'', which arises near Bredebeck (in Lohheide) from the confluence of the ''Forellenbach'' and ''Schwemmbeck''. On the ''Liethbach'' is '' Schloss Bredebeck'', a former manor house, once part of the British base of Hohne Station. The building was used as an officers' mess and has been used as lodgings for the

British Royal Family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

in the past. The ''Meierbach'', which emerges in the

, 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 The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

services of ''Ostenholzer Moor'' (A7, E 45), a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

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-H ...

. 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 () 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 special importance of this nature reserve is underli ...

nature reserve. Until the 1970s there was also a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

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 unincorporated 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisse Rivers of Lower Saxony Lüneburg Heath Rivers of Germany

Origin and course

History

See also

References