Bispingen is a municipality in the Heidekreis district of

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 (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is a popular tourist destination with several holiday/theme parks. Its territory also includes the nature preserve 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 a ...

around the Wilseder Berg.

Geography

Location

Bispingen is located on the River Luhe and is approximately northeast of

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 touri ...

, or south of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. Bispingen lies near interchange 43 of the A 7 motorway.

Subdivisions

*Bispingen *Hützel *Steinbeck an der Luhe (Steinbeck/Luhe) *Behringen *Volkwardingen *Hörpel *Borstel *Haverbeck (Nieder- and Oberhaverbeck) *Wilsede, heath village at the foot of the Wilseder Berg; population: ~35

Neighbouring villages and towns

* Schneverdingen * Undeloh *

Egestorf Egestorf is a municipality in the district of Harburg Harburg may refer to: Places in Germany * Harburg (district), Lower Saxony * Harburg, Bavaria * Harburg, Hamburg, a borough of Hamburg ** Harburg (quarter), the former Hanoveran city of Har ...

* Soderstorf * Rehlingen *

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 th ...

Economy

Bispingen is popular with tourists as a local recreation area and

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 or ...

Places of interest

* '' Wilseder Berg'', the highest hill on the

* '' Dat ole Huus'', a

Low German house The Low German house or ''Fachhallenhaus'' is a type of timber-framed farmhouse found in northern Germany and the easternmost Netherlands, which combines living quarters, byre and barn under one roof. It is built as a large hall with bays on the ...

in Wilsede, one of the oldest

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

s in Germany; built c. 1540, renovated 1742, moved to Wilsede 1907 * ', a landscape garden with hunting lodge and Montagnetto model castle * Burial ground in Volkwardingen with

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones b ...

* ' ("Old Church") dating to 1353, made from boulders; used for baptisms, weddings and other services as well as concerts * '' Treppenspeicher'' in Volkwardingen, one of the oldest of this type of storage barn in the Lüneburg Heath, built in 1600 and 1702, restored in 2001 *

Kart Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

Centre, owned by racing driver

Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kar ...

* SnowDome Bispingen provides indoor

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

and snowboarding. It opened in autumn 2006 * ''Bispinger Heide'' holiday park, part of the Center Parcs chain

Notable people

* , founder of the firm, ''Grube KG Forstgerätestelle'', which makes forestry equipment.

Gallery

File:Wilsede-101.jpg, Farmstead in Wilsede File:Wilsede-102.jpg, Wilsede File:Wilseder Berg 006.jpg, The Wilseder Berg File:Bispingen verrücktes Haus auf dem Kopf.jpg, Mad House, the upside down house

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Heidmark Lüneburg Heath