The Deister () is a chain of

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

s in the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, about 15 mi (25 km) southwest of the city of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. It runs in a north-westerly direction from

Springe Springe () is a town in the Hanover (district), district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Deister hills, southwest of Hanover. Town structure * Springe (core settlement, seat of the mayor), population 13,184 * Ben ...

in the south to

Rodenberg Rodenberg () is a town in the Landkreis Schaumburg, district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Deister hills, approx. 10 km east of Stadthagen, and 27 km west of Hanover. Rodenberg ...

in the north. The next in the chain of hills to the south is the Kleiner Deister ("Little Deister") from which it is separated by the flat pass of the Deister Gate. It is surrounded by Springe, Wennigsen,

Barsinghausen Barsinghausen () is a town in the Hanover (district), district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the Deister chain of hills approx. 20 km west of Hanover. Barsinghausen belongs to the historic landscape Calenberg Land and ...

, Bad Nenndorf, Rodenberg and Bad Münder (counter-clockwise, starting in the south). It has a total length of 21 km (14 mi), and rises in the Hofeler to a height of 395 m (1,250 ft). The highest point is the Bröhn at 405 m (1,312 ft). The chain is well-wooded and abounds in game. From the 17th century on there were several coal mines; the last was abandoned in the 1950s. Sandstone from quarries in eastern Deister was used in several important buildings all over Europe, including the opera house in Hanover and the Reichstag in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Today the Deister is a popular target for people of the Hanover area for walking and cycling. The Deister is a border region since ancient times. Here one can find many places with memorial stones,

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

and ruins of castles.

Flora and fauna

The ridge is covered by a mixed forest of

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

and

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

and, in places, also beech and

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. On the Cecilienhöhe near Bad Nenndorf, at the picnic area of Lauenau-Feggendorf and southwest of the old forester's lodge at Köllnischfeld are several examples of the rare, native dwarf beech (''Süntelbuche''). Image:Deister_Kammweg.jpg, Spruce and beech wood along the Deister ridgeway Image:FeggendorfGrillplatz.jpg, Dwarf beeches at the Feggendorf picnic site Amongst the rarer plants on the Deister are species of

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, mezereon,

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

, sundews, globeflowers, hard shield fern, and great snowdrops. The Deister is home to the typical animals found in the German

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (N.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 ''-gebirge'' = "range").) ...

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, roe deer and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

are very common. Other wild animals occurring here are the

pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, and parts of Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red Lis ...

and beech marten,

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

, polecat, dwarf weasel and

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

. Birds of prey include the buzzard, goshawk and

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other Diurnality, diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harrier (bird), harriers. The species currently breeds only i ...

. Rarer small animals include the

mouse-eared bat The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (''Myotis'') of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "''myotis''" itself is a Neo-Latin construction, from the Greek language, Greek "''muós'' (meaning "mouse") an ...

and lesser horseshoe bat.

Hills

Most of the hills in the Deister have a tower at the top, used for various purposes. The one on the Großer Hals is for telecommunications, while the one on the Höfeler is used for

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

. The others are for sightseeing and restaurants. * Bröhn (405 m) and Anna Tower * Höfeler (395 m) and air traffic control tower * Reinekensiekskopf (382 m) and Nordmanns Tower * Hohe Warte (379 m) * Fahrenbrink (376 m) * Großer Hals (361 m) and telecommunications tower *

Ebersberg Ebersberg is the seat of the similarly named Ebersberg '' Landkreis'' (district) in the Oberbayern ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative region) in Bavaria, southern Germany. The ''Ebersberger Forst'' (forest) is one of Germany’s largest conti ...

(355 m) * Bielstein (344 m) and refuge hut * Egge (339 m) * Kniggenbrink (312 m) * Kalenberg (310 m) * Strutzberg (198 m) and Belvedere Tower

Notes

{{Authority control Hill ranges of Lower Saxony Forests and woodlands of Lower Saxony

Flora and fauna

Hills

See also

Notes