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The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's
Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...
which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in
North 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 ...
.


Geography


Location

The Ith is immediately northwest of the Hils ridge in the
Leine Uplands The Leine Uplands (german: Leinebergland, ) is a region in Germany's Central Uplands which forms a part of the Lower Saxon Hills and lies along the River Leine between Göttingen and Hanover. It borders on the Weser Uplands in the west, the Inner ...
. It runs in a northwest-southeast direction from
Coppenbrügge Coppenbrügge is a municipality in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximatively 15 km (10 miles) east of Hamelin. The Municipality covers the following villages: * Bäntorf * Behrensen * Bessingen * ...
in the north to Holzen in the south. The highest elevation on this forested knife-edge ridge is the ''Lauensteiner Kopf'' at which has an observation tower, the ''Ithturm'', and is located in the northern half of the Ith, the so-called ''Krüllbrink'', between the villages of Bisperode and Lauenstein. The streams on the Ith flow west via the Ilse, Remte and
Lenne The Lenne is a tributary of the river Ruhr in the Sauerland hills, western Germany. It has caused flooding in recent years. Having its source on top of the '' Kahler Asten'' near Winterberg in an intermittent spring at an elevation of , the ...
into 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 Br ...
or east via the Saale into the
Leine The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriv ...
. The Ith is crossed by two roads: in the north by the L 425 between Haus Harderode and Lauenstein over the ''Lauenstein Pass'', and in the south by the B 240 between Lüerdissen and Capellenhagen over the ''Holzener Pass''.


Hills

The highest hill on the densely forested Ith is the ''Lauensteiner Kopf'' at . It is located in the ''Krüllbrink'', the name of the northern part of the Ith and has an observation tower, the
Ith Tower The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...
. This hill, together with other summits, crags and foothills of the Ith are given below in order of their height in metres (m) above
Normalnull ("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN ) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN). History In 18 ...
 (NN unless stated otherwise): * Lauensteiner Kopf (ca. 439 m), between Bisperode and Lauenstein; with the
Ith Tower The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...
* Hunzener Klippen (ca. 412 m), near Hunzen * Oberberg (ca. 407 mKartendienste
des BfN
), between
Coppenbrügge Coppenbrügge is a municipality in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximatively 15 km (10 miles) east of Hamelin. The Municipality covers the following villages: * Bäntorf * Behrensen * Bessingen * ...
and Lauenstein; with the Falkenstein natural monument * Rothestein (ca. 395 m), near Holzen-Ith; with Ithwiesen Glider Airfield and near the Rothestein Cave * Eggerser Berg (ca. 380 m), between Bremke and Domäne Eggersen * Hohenstein (307.2 m), between Lauenstein and Marienau * Krähenberg (ca. 270 m), near Lauenstein * Dornbrink (ca. 233 m), near Lauenstein


Sport and tourism

The Ith is a popular destination especially for hikers, climbers and glider pilots. The ridgeway draws many walkers especially in the springtime, when trees and flowers are blossoming, due to the distinctive stands of
Wood Anemone The phrase wood anemone is used in common names for several closely related species of flowering plants in genus ''Anemonoides'', including: * ''Anemonoides nemorosa'', the ''wood anemone'' in Europe and Asia * '' Anemonoides quinquefolia'', the '' ...
and Bulbous Corydalis. There are several well-signed footpaths on the Ith heights. The section from Bisperode to Holzen of
European walking route E11 The E11 European long distance path or E11 path is one of the European long-distance paths, running 4700 km (about 2900 miles) west-east from The Hague in the Netherlands through Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia to Tallinn, Estonia. It st ...
runs along the crest of the Ith. There are a large number of striking rock formations (''Klippen'') along the Ith ridge, some of which may be used for climbing. These include the ''Lüerdissener Klippen'' that are up to 30 m high. As a result, the Ith is the busiest climbing area in the state of Lower Saxony. Almost all the rocks are named; examples include the ''Adam und Eva'', the ''Kamel'', the ''Teufelsküche'' ("Devil's Kitchen"), the ''Mönchstein'' ("Monk's Rock"), the ''Krötenkopf'' ("Frog's Head"), and the ''Garwindelstein''. At the southern end of the ridge, north of the parish of Holzen – reached over the Holzen Pass (B 240) – lies below the 395 m high Rothenstein the Ithwiesen Glider Airfield used by the aviation sports club of Ithwiesen.ithwiesen.de
> Unterseiten „Flugplatz“ und „Wir über uns“
There has been an airfield on the crest of the Ith since the early 1930s. In 1942 the Nazi leadership established the Ith Reichs Glider School in Holzen-Ith. Many pilots received their basic flying training there until the end of the war. After the war ended British occupation forces used the terrain as a "Rest Centre", a type of recreation centre.
In 1949 the AHQ Gliding Club, to which up to 30 active pilots in the RAF belonged, took over training on the site. In 1971 the first
community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...
school in Germany was established here, the ''Zivildienstschule I''. The present glider airfield is located somewhat south east of the original one and no longer uses the old buildings. On 8 June 1979 a Bundeswehr helicopter of the Alouette II type crashed on landing on the Ith airfield. The pilot from the 12th Army Aviation Squadron (''Heeresfliegerstaffel 12'') and two accompanying soldiers of the 352nd Panzergrenadier Battalion (''Panzergrenadierbataillon 352'') were killed. Since 8 June 1987 there has been a monument on the Ith in their memory. On the Ith, but not at the top, there are two other glider airfields: Hellenhagen Airfield in
Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hal ...
-Bremke and Ith-West Airfield in Bisperode.


Literature

* Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde und Raumforschung: ''Geographische Landesaufnahme 1:200000. Naturräumliche Gliederung Deutschlands. Die naturräumlichen Einheiten auf Blatt 86 Hannover''. Bad Godesberg 1960 * Hans-Jürgen Klink: ''Naturräumliche Gliederung des Ith-Hils-Berglandes.'' Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landeskunde und Raumforschung. 1966. ISBN B0000BS19H * Friedmut Lehmeier: ''Regionale Geomorphologie des nördlichen Ith-Hils-Berglandes auf der Basis einer grossmaßstäbigen geomorphologischen Kartierung''. Goltze Druck, Göttingen. 1981. * Michael Geschwinde: ''Höhlen im Ith. Urgeschichtliche Opferstätten im südniedersächsischen Bergland''. o.O. 1988. * Richard Goedeke: ''Weser-Leine-Bergland.'' Verlag J. Berg, München. 1991. (zum Ith: S. 76–217) * Ludger Feldmann, Hans Joachim Franzke, Rainer Müller:
Die geologische Entwicklung der Tiefebene und der Mittelgebirge in Niedersachsen.
' (pdf) In: ''Veröffentlichungen der Akademie für Geowissenschaften zu Hannover''. 20/2002. S. 8–19


References


External links


Ith Nature Reserve
{{Authority control Central Uplands Geography of Lower Saxony Climbing areas of Germany Nature reserves in Lower Saxony Natural regions of the Weser-Leine Uplands