The Hessel is a , right tributary of the River Ems in the territory of the North Rhine-Westphalian districts of

Gütersloh Gütersloh () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe and the administrative region of Detmold (administrative region), Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a Gütersloh (distric ...

and

Warendorf Warendorf (, Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Warnduorp'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of Warendorf (district), Warendorf District. The town is best known today for its well-preserved medieval town centre, for eq ...

in northwest Germany. The river rises northwest of

Halle (Westf.) Halle (), officially Halle (Westf.) or Halle Westfalen (i.e. Westphalia) to distinguish it from the larger Halle (Saale), is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 15 km west of Bielefeld. It belongs to the district of Güters ...

on the

Große Egge Große or Grosse is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aristid von Grosse Aristid von Grosse (January 1905 – July 21, 1985) was a Germans, German nuclear chemist. During his work with Otto Hahn, he got access to w ...

, crosses the

Hermannsweg The Hermannsweg is a long hiking trail which follows the ridge of the Teutoburg Forest, running from Rheine to Velmerstot in Germany. It is marked by signposts showing a white H on a black background. The Hermannsweg is named for Arminius (Germ ...

, flows through the villages of Hesseln and Hörste in Halle borough, then through the borough of

Versmold Versmold (; ) is a town in Gütersloh (district), Gütersloh District in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located some 30 km west of Bielefeld. History In 1096 Versmold was first mentioned in a document, and is thus one o ...

through Oesterweg, continuing through the town of

Sassenberg Sassenberg() is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km north-east of Warendorf and 30 km east of Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent ...

and along the southern edge of Milte in the borough of

, before emptying into the Ems near Warendorf-Einen. Tributaries include the

Casumer Bach Casumer Bach is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its ...

, Bruchbach, Aabach, Poggenfahrtgraben, Sandfortbach, Teichwiese, Wöstenbach, Beckstroth, Arenbecke and the Speckengraben. The Snake's Head Meadows lie along the Hessel near Sassenberg, one of the few areas in Germany in which this strictly protected wildflower occurs.

References

Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Gütersloh (district) Warendorf (district) Rivers of Germany {{NorthRhineWestphalia-river-stub