Heidekreis ("Heath district") is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

(''Landkreis'') in

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 ...

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 the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Celle,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Nienburg, Verden and

Rotenburg Rotenburg may refer to: *Rotenburg (district), Lower Saxony, Germany *Rotenburg an der Wümme, capital of the district *Rotenburg an der Fulda, near Kassel in Hesse *Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the Franconia region of Bavaria *Hersfeld-Rotenburg, ...

History

Historically the region belonged to the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and its successor states. The district was established in 1977 by merging the former districts of Soltau and Fallingbostel as Soltau-Fallingbostel (). On 1 August 2011 it was renamed to Heidekreis.

Geography

The district includes the western half of the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of 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 ...

(''Lüneburger Heide''). Since this landscape is so characteristic for the district, it calls itself "the Heath District". The capital is

Bad Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...

, although it has only 11,800 inhabitants and is only the fifth largest town in the district.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * in the upper half the

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

lion of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg * in the lower half a

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

ic grave

Towns and municipalities

Culture and places of interest

Cultural matters are looked after by those charged with communal cultural support within the towns and municipalities, the parishes, the banks, the Lüneburg Regional Association and private cultural initiatives.

Museums and collections

* Dat ole Hus (heath and open-air museum in

Wilsede Bispingen is a municipality in the Heidekreis district of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a popular tourist destination with several holiday/theme parks. Its territory also includes the nature preserve of the Lüneburg Heath around the Wilseder ...

) * German Tank Museum in

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

(German military history of the 20th century) * Düshorn Village Museum (life and work around 100 years ago) * Hof der Heidmark in

(memorial to the Heidmark) * Klingendes Museum (mechanical musical instruments) in Schwarmstedt * Museum of the Archaeological Working Group in Bad Fallingbostel * Soltau Museum (local history and archaeological exhibition) in

Soltau Soltau () is a mid-sized town in the Lüneburg Heath in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has around 22,000 inhabitants. The city is centrally located in the Lüneburg Heath and is known nationwide especially for its tour ...

* Soltau Toy Museum (toys from four centuries) * Peetshof (Zeugen Wietzendorfs um 1900) in Wietzendorf * Prussian History (Pavillon im Landschaftspark Iserhatsche) in

Bispingen Bispingen is a municipality in the Heidekreis district of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a popular tourist destination with several holiday/theme parks. Its territory also includes the nature preserve of the Lüneburg Heath around the Wilseder ...

* Pult- und Federkielmuseum (Schulmuseum in Insel) in Schneverdingen *

Rischmannshof Heath Museum The Rischmannshof Heath Museum (German: ''Heidemuseum Rischmannshof'') is an open-air museum in Walsrode, Germany. History Rischmannshof was opened in 1912 as one of the first open-air museums in Germany. The museum consists of a rural farmya ...

(heath and open-air museum) in Walsrode * Schäferhof Neuenkirchen (Moorland sheep rearing to preserve the heath and moorlands between Neuenkirchen and Soltau) in Neuenkirchen * Heimathaus auf dem Schroershof (historic farmstead with many buildings) in Neuenkirchen * Art Society and Springhornhof Foundation in Neuenkirchen * Bothmer School Museum (schools in the times of the Emperor) in Schwarmstedt * Ehrhorn Woodland Museum (woods – heathland – people) in Schneverdingen

Cinemas

* Munster: Deutsches Haus * * Walsrode: Capitol-Theater

Lüneburg Regional Association

The district is a member of the Lüneburg Regional Association (''Lüneburgischer Landschaftsverband''), which looks after regional, cultural-political tasks.

Nature reserves

There are 29

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

s in the Heidekreis. The largest one ( Lüneburg Heath Nature Reserve) has an area of 13,222 ha in the territory of the Heidekreis, the smallest (Söhlbruch) has an area of 8 ha.

Jewish cemeteries

There are four

Jewish cemeteries A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...

in Soltau-Fallingbostel : in Ahlden, Rethem,

und Walsrode.LANDKREIS SOLTAU-FALLINGBOSTEL. In: Jüdische Friedhöfe nach der heutigen Verwaltungsgliederung – Niedersachsen. In: Übersicht über alle Projekte zur Dokumentation jüdischer Grabinschriften auf dem Gebiet der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
/ref> There are protected

cultural monuments Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management (CRM), although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, arch ...

– stone witnesses to former Jewish communities and a thriving Jewish parish live into the 1930s. The cemeteries are mainly on the edge of parishes.

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{Authority control Districts of Lower Saxony