The Middle Weser Valley (german: Mittlere Wesertal) is part of the

Weser Depression The Weser Depression (german: Weserniederung) or Weser Lowlands is the region north of Porta Westfalica in Germany, where the River Weser no longer flows through a valley, but a broad plain consisting of meadows and river terraces. The flat ...

around the River

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 o ...

on the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Balt ...

, extending from the gap of

Porta Westfalica Porta Westfalica () is a town in the district of Minden-Lübbecke, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name "''Porta Westfalica''" is Latin and means "gate to Westphalia". Coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of W ...

to the town of

Hoya Hoya may refer to: Places *Hoya, Germany, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany *County of Hoya, a former state in present Germany * Hoya, Tokyo, now incorporated within Nishi-tokyo, Tokyo, Japan * Hoya, Hpruso, a place in Hpruso Township, Kayah, Myanma ...

. It is not a true valley, because it is only bordered by low hills at two points. It lies in the German federal states 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 ...

and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

Course

The so-called Middle Weser Valley begins where the actual Weser Valley (in the

Weser Uplands The Weser Uplands (German: ''Weserbergland'', ) is a hill region in Germany, between Hannoversch Münden and Porta Westfalica, along the river Weser. The area reaches into three states, Lower Saxony, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Important ...

) ends at the Porta Westfalica gap between the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen Hills (german: Wiehengebirge, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long finger away from the main upland area of the Lower Saxon ...

on the west and the Weser Hills on the east. By its formal definition, the Middle Weser begins ten kilometres further north at the

Minden Aqueduct The Minden Aqueduct (german: Wasserstraßenkreuz Minden) is an aqueduct near Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It actually consists of two parallel water bridges, that lead the Mittelland Canal over the Weser. The older of the two bridges ...

, flowing across the

through Petershagen and Nienburg. Conceptually, the ''Middle Weser Valley'' ends near Hoya, where the Middle Weser reaches the Breslau-Magdeburg-Bremen

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

. As a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

the Middle Weser Valley, which consists of flood plains and river terraces, is a strip of land up to wide on both sides of the Middle Weser. It is counted as part of the

Dümmer Geest Depression The Dümmer () or officially Dümmer See is a large lake in southern Lower Saxony ( Germany). It has a surface of 13.5 km2 and an average depth of one metre. Its elevation is 37 metres. Dümmer is a popular resort for water sports, bu ...

and the

Middle Weser Region The Middle Weser Region (german: Mittelweserregion) includes, in its fullest sense, the land along the Middle Weser between Minden and Bremen. It lies within the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen. However, the term i ...

. Of particular note are the Weseraue and Staustufe Schlüsselburg nature reserves.

Political division

The towns of

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of ...

and Petershagen all lie in that part of the Middle Weser Valley that within North Rhine-Westphalia, in the district of

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz, Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford, Osnabrück. Geography This is the northernmost district of North ...

. On the Lower Saxon side of the border, in the district of Nienburg/Weser, the Middle Weser Valley is home to the municipalities of

Stolzenau Stolzenau is a municipality in the district of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Weser, approx. 20 km southwest of Nienburg, and 25 km northeast of Minden. During the second half of the 20th cen ...

, Landesbergen,

Steyerberg Steyerberg is a municipality in the district of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km southwest of Nienburg, and 30 km north of Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of No ...

Weser-Aue Weser-Aue is a ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Its seat is in the village Marklohe. It was established on 1 November 2021 by the merger of the former ''Samtgemeinden'' Marklohe and ...

, Nienburg/Weser,

Heemsen Heemsen is a municipality in the district of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km northeast of Nienburg, and 25 km south of Verden. Heemsen is part of the ''Samtgemeinde A ''Samtgemeinde'' (; plu ...

Eystrup Eystrup is a municipality in the district of Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Weser, approx. 15 km north of Nienburg, and 15 km south of Verden. Eystrup was the seat of the former ''Samtgemein ...

and

Sources

* Emil Meynen (Hrsg.): ''Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands'', Selbstverlag der Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen 1959-1962 (Teil 2, enthält Lieferung 6-9), ISBN B0000BJ19F

External links

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landscape fact file {{Coord">52.353586, N, 8.970337, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NW, display=title, format=dms Geography of North Rhine-Westphalia Geography of Lower Saxony Weser