The Wesermünde Geest (german: Wesermünder Geest; Northern Low Saxon: ''Wersermünner Geest'') is the collective name for several geest ridges in the west of
Cuxhaven district
Cuxhaven is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Stade, Rotenburg, Osterholz and Wesermarsch, the city of Bremerhaven and the North Sea.
History
The district was ...
and
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
's in
northern Germany
Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
. The ridges are separated from one another by wetlands. These terminal moraines were formed during the Saale glaciation, are up to between above sea level (NN), and are covered by scattered woods and farmland. The wetland areas, between above sea level, are predominantly used for grazing.
Location
The Wesermünde is bounded to the south by the River
Lesum
The Lesum is a river in northern Germany, right tributary of the Weser, navigable for Class III ships.marshes of (on the
Lower 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 B ...
south of Bremerhaven) and Land Wursten (on the Outer Weser north of Bremerhaven). To the north, the Wesermünde Geest is bordered by the Land Hadeln, part of the Elbe marshes, and the Elbe estuary near Cuxhaven. Its eastern boundary is formed by the rivers Oste, as far as the town of Bremervörde, and
Hamme
Hamme () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Hamme proper, Kastel Moerzeke, and . In 2018, Hamme had a total population of 24,827. The total area is 40.21 km². The cur ...
with the great bog of the
Teufelsmoor
The Teufelsmoor is a region of bog and moorland north of Bremen, Germany. It forms a large part of the district of Osterholz, and extends into the neighbouring districts of Rotenburg (Gnarrenburg municipality).
Geography
The depression is dr ...
Zeven Geest The Zeven Geest (german: Zevener Geest), which is part of the Stade Geest, is an area of sandy terrain in the northeast of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is named after the town of Zeven.
Geography
The Zeven Geest lies in the Elbe-Weser ...
that, like the Wesermünde Geest, is part of the natural region of the
Stade Geest The Stade Geest (German: ''Stader Geest''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Stoder Geest'') is a natural region of low, sandy heath (geest) in the North German Plain.
It includes a large part of the Elbe-Weser Triangle between the cities of Hamburg, Bremen a ...
. Phänologische Naturraumkarte beim Deutschen Wetterdienst mit Erklärung de Stader Geest /ref>
About south of the city boundary of Bremerhaven the Weser tributary, the Lune and its valley, cuts through the Wesermünde Geest. The part lying south of the Lune is called the
Osterholz Geest
The Osterholz Geest (Northern Low Saxon: ''Oosterholter Geest'') is an undulating, sandy area of ground moraine between the city of Bremen and the towns of Bremerhaven and Bremervörde.
Geography
The Osterholz Geest forms the southern part of ...
and lies mostly in the district of Osterholz. The higher areas of this part of the geest, which are over above sea level ('' Normalnull'') in places, form the region of
Bremen Switzerland
Bremen Switzerland (german: Bremer Schweiz; Northern Low Saxon: ''Bremer Swiez'') is an undulating geest landscape in the north of Bremen (Bremen Nord) and the adjacent district of Osterholz, and forms the western portion of the Osterholz Geest.
I ...
, the
Lange Heide
Lange may refer to:
People
*Lange (surname), a German surname
*Lange (musician) (born 1974), British DJ
*Lange (Brazilian footballer) (born 1966), Brazilian footballer
Companies
* Lange (ski boots), a producer of ski boots used in alpine (downhi ...
heath and the Eulenberg between
Brillit
Gnarrenburg is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km southwest of Bremervörde, and 40 km northeast of Bremen.
Gnarrenburg belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Breme ...
and Basdahl. Numerous geest perimeter streams rise here, including the
Giehler Bach
The Hamme (in its upper reaches Giehler Bach) is a long river in Germany, Lower Saxony, north-east of Bremen. Its source is north of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. It flows through the moors north-east of Bremen called Teufelsmoor, and meets the river W� ...
which forms the headstream of the Hamme, and the Drepte.
The northern part of the Wesermünde Geest lies for the most part within the district of Cuxhaven. In the west part near Lamstedt the land rises to over in the Westerberg area, and in the Wingst near
Cadenberge
Cadenberge (in High German, in Low Saxon: Cumbarg) is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2016, the former municipality Geversdorf is part of the municipality Cadenberge.
Cadenberge belonged to ...
even up to above sea level. The part of the Wesermünde Geest north of the River Geeste is characterised by numerous shallow valleys and bogs and only reaches heights of over in the area south of
Bederkesa
Bad Bederkesa ( Northern Low Saxon: ''Beers'') is a village and a former municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the town of Geestland. It is situated approximately 20 km no ...
and in the . The northwestern part of the geest from to Cuxhaven-Altenwalde forms the and Wurster Heide.
Landscape and vegetation
In addition to intensive grazing, the geest is also used for arable farming. In addition, its numerous pine woods are used for forestry. The raised bogs in the northern part of the geest have had their peat deposits almost completely removed. On the higher elevations, there are also near-natural deciduous forests and many areas of heathland. The countless rivers and streams that cut through the ridges of the geest, form shallow valleys in which blanket bogs are found. The state of Bremen has established a nature reserve (the ''Hammersbecker Wiesen'') in such a depression to preserve the .NS Hammersbecker Wiesen /ref>
Name
The name ''Wesermünde Geest'' goes back to the former independent Prussian town of Wesermünde, that between 1924 and 1947 made up the largest part of the present city of Bremerhaven. It was the headquarters of the ', in whose territory the largest part of the Wesermünde Geest lay. On 1 August 1977 the district of Wesermünde was disbanded and replaced by the newly created district of Cuxhaven. The name ''Wesermünde Geest'', occasionally used in the 1920s and 1930s, is very uncommon.