Süntel

Süntel

Highest point
Peak	Hohe Egge
Elevation	440 m
Coordinates	52°12′N 9°21′E / 52.200°N 9.350°E / 52.200; 9.350Coordinates: 52°12′N 9°21′E / 52.200°N 9.350°E / 52.200; 9.350
Dimensions
Length	10 km
Geography
Map of the Low Saxon Hills
Location	Lower Saxony, Germany

Langenfeld Waterfall (at 15 m the highest natural waterfall in Lower Saxony)

The Süntel is a massif in the German Central Uplands that is up to 437.5 m above sea level (NN).^[1] It forms part of the Weser Uplands in Lower Saxony southwest of Hanover and north of Hamelin.

Geographical location

The Süntel is the eastern extension of the Wesergebirge and runs for about 12 km from northwest to southeast. It is surrounded by the valleys of the Aue, Deister-Süntel and Weser. It is also part of the Weser Uplands Schaumburg-Hamelin Nature Park and the Calenberg Uplands. The Hohenstein hill and its immediate vicinity are a nature reserve.

Geology

General

The southeastern part of the Süntel, including the Hohe Egge, consists mainly of Wealden sandstone from the Lower Cretaceous period as well as small anthracite deposits. Its northwestern part, including the Hohenstein with its 350 m long and 50 to 60 m high crags, comprises limestone of the Upper Jurassic period, the Corallian oolith.

Features

The main geological features of the Süntel are:

The giant hill caves near Langenfeld, the largest dripstone cave in Lower Saxony,
The Schillat Caves, open to visitors to look around,
The two highest, natural, waterfalls in Lower Saxony at the Höllenmühle near Langenfeld at the head of the valley of the rocky Höllengrund and
The Hohenstein plateau north of Hessisch Oldendorf with rock faces and deep clefts.

History

Historically interesting is the Dachtelfeld, a plateau over 100 hectares (250 acres) in area and up to 350 m above NN. In 782 Saxon rebels annihilated part of the Frankish occupation troops, a defeat which was avenged in the same year by Charlemagne at the Massacre of Verden.
The Hohenstein is an old Germanic cult site dedicated to the god, Donar. Many ancient legends surround this hill and its rock outcrops: the Hirschsprung, Grüner Altar and Teufelskanzel.
On the Amelungsberg there are still the ruins of a medieval fort and a stone age megalith.
From more recent times there are traces of the coal mine in the southeastern part of the Süntel near Bad Münder.
Between 1933 and 1938 the town of Hamelin erected the Horst-Wessel Monument, subsequently blown up
There is a US radar station on the Hohe Egge in the Süntel and a NATO depot near Hülsede

Flora and fauna

Dwarf beech (Süntel-Buche) on the Dachtelfeld

The Süntel is covered by mixed woods which are dominated by beech, but also has other species such as oak, spruce, hornbeam and coast Douglas-fir and rarer types like the yew and wild service tree. A botanic rarity is the dwarf beech (known in German as the Süntel-Buche or "Süntel beech") of which there are about a dozen old examples still in the Süntel (at Dachtelfeld and Bleeksgrund). The last great dwarf beech wood on the Westeregge was almost completely cleared in 1843. In addition there are numerous, rare species of flower such as varieties of Primula, spring snowflake, horseshoe vetch, hart's-tongue fern, spleenwort, lady's slipper, heath spotted orchid, etc.

In addition to roe deer and wild boar there are also mouflon wild sheep in the Süntel. Rarer sights are the barn owl, kestrel, black woodpecker and pine marten. The black stork is occasionally seen on the southern slopes.

Economy and tourism

In addition to forestry and tourism quarrying plays an important role in the Süntel. Süntel sandstone was used for many notable buildings in the area such as the Rat Catcher's House in Hamelin, Barntrup Castle, Schwöbber Castle and Hämelschenburg Castle. Limestone from the quarries near Pötzen, Segelhorst, Langenfeld and Hamelspringe is used in road construction. The town of Münder had a coal mine in the Süntel that operated for about half a century from 1809.

In the Süntel, as well as hiking trails with views over the valleys, there are also long, straight, rather monotonous forest tracks without any signs. The Hohenstein crags provide a training ground for rock climbers and mountaineers.

The Hohenstein in the Süntel

Süntel Tower on the Hohe Egge

Hills and valleys

Hills

The main hills and elevations of the Süntel are – with heights in metres above Normalnull (NN):^[1]

Hohe Egge (437.5 m) with its Süntel Tower (south) and transmission mast (north; 435.2 m); in the centre of the Süntel
Bakeder Berg (c. 375 m); southwest of Bakede
Hoher Nacken (or: Hohenacken; c. 375 m); northeast of Pötzen
Dachtelfeld (356.0 m); in the centre of the Süntel
Katzennase (352.7 m); northeast of Hessisch Oldendorf-Haddessen
Südwehe (c. 350 m)
Hohenstein (340.5 m); including the Grünem Altar, Teufelskanzel, Hirschsprung and nearby Kreuzstein; between Langenfeld and Zersen
Amelungsberg (c. 325 m); northeast of Segelhorst
Borberg (c. 320 m), including the Roter Stein crag; north-northeast of Hessisch Oldendorf-Bensen
Ramsnacken (c. 320 m), including the Moosköpfe crags; southwest of Langenfeld
Riesenberg (c. 310 m), with its quarry; south of Langenfeld
Schrabstein (Schrabst; 300.2 m); between Rohdental and Langenfeld
Iberg (c. 300 m); between Auetal-Rannenberg and Hessisch Oldendorf-Langenfeld
Moosköpfe (c. 300 m); southeast of Langenfeld
Mittelberg (297.0 m); north of Hessisch-Oldendorf-Barksen
Mattenberg (288.6 m); west of Hamelspringe
Hasseln (286.5 m)
Osterberg (260.1 m); northeast of Hessisch Oldendorf-Bensen
Hünenburg (251.7 m); between Rohdental and Rannenberg
Westerberg (249.2 m); north of Hessisch Oldendorf-Bensen
Baumgartenberg (232.1 m); north of Hessisch Oldendorf-Segelhorst
Hülsebrink (227.2 m); north of Klein Süntel
Wendgeberg (or: Wenchenberg; c. 223 m), north-northeast of Hessisch Oldendorf-Zersen

Valleys

The valleys of the Süntel include the:

Bleeksgrund
Höllengrund
Langes Föhrtal
Schneegrund
Totental
Wellergrund

Towns and villages

The towns and villages of the Süntel include:

Inns

Waldgasthaus Eulenflucht

The forest restaurants in and around the Süntel include the:

Krackes Ruh, near Hülsede
Eulenflucht, between Hohe Egge and Hamelspringe (Bad Münder am Deister)
Bergschmiede, near Bad Münder am Deister
Süntelturm on the Hohe Egge, near Bad Münder am Deister
Pappmühle, near Zersen
Baxmann-Baude, near Zersen
Weinschänke, in Rohdental

Literature

Helga Knoke: Wald and Besiedlung im Süntel. Schaumburger Studien Heft 22, Verlag C. Bösendahl Rinteln 1968
Friedrich Kölling: Die Süntelwaldgenossenschaft. Ein Beitrag zur Rechts- and Wirtschaftsgeschichte einer Schaumburger Markgenossenschaft; Fritz Holstein: Das Statut der Süntelwaldgenossenschaft Bensen. Die forstliche Bewirtschaftung des Süntelwaldes; Scheide: Die Jagd im Süntel. Schaumburger Heimathefte, Heft 10. Bösendahl, Rinteln (Weser) 1962

References

1 2 Lower Saxony navigator

External links

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