Oste () is a river in northern

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 betwe ...

with a length of . It is a left tributary of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. The Oste flows through the districts of Harburg,

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, ...

Stade Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...

and

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

and empties into the

river near Otterndorf. Its drainage area is and the decline between the source and the estuary is . Tributaries are Ramme,

Aue Aue may refer to: * Aue (toponymy), a frequent element in German toponymy meaning "wetland; river island; river" Places * Aue, Saxony, a mining town in Saxony, Germany * Aue (Samtgemeinde), a collective municipality in Uelzen District, Lower Sax ...

, Twiste, Bade, Bever and

Mehe The Mehe is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It flows into the Oste near Kranenburg. See also *List of rivers of Lower Saxony All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into the North Sea. A–Z A B D E ...

. The Oste is part of the

Deutsche Fährstraße The Deutsche Fährstraße (''German Ferry Street''), established in May 2004, is a theme route similar to the American National Scenic Byways. It connects various places between Bremervörde and Kiel with relation to the history of ferries and cr ...

, an institution similar to the American

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

s. It connects various places between

Bremervörde Bremervörde () is a town in the north of the district (''Landkreis'') of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the Oste river near the centre of the "triangle" formed by the rivers Weser and Elbe, roughly equidistant from the cit ...

and

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

with relation to the history of ferries and crossing of rivers, like the historic transporter bridges in

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

and Osten. Also at the Oste there are two pram ferries in Gräpel and Brobergen. The ferry in Gräpel is actually manually operated. Although recognized as an official waterway the Oste does not have much shipping traffic. The river has its source near Tostedt at the border 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 ...

, flowing to the west passing Sittensen and Zeven, changing direction to north and passing

, where influence of the tides is starting,

Hemmoor Hemmoor () is a small town in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the river Oste, approx. 40 km northeast of Bremerhaven, and 25 km south of Brunsbüttel. History Hemmoor belonged to the Prince-Arch ...

and Neuhaus.

References

* August Heinrich von Brook (Hrsg.): ''Die Oste. Lebensader zwischen Elbe und Weser.'' Aufsatzsammlung. Heimatbund der , Bremerhaven 2003. * Willi Klenck: ''Heimatkunde des ehemaligen Kreises Neuhaus.'' Pockwitz, Stade 1957, Otterndorf 1986 (Faks.). * Gisela Tiedemann, Jochen Bölsche: ''Über die Oste - Geschichten aus 100 Jahren Schwebefähre Osten - Hemmoor.'' Drochtersen 2009,

External links

Osteticker
(in German)
Deutsche Fährstraße
(in German)
Erlebnis Schwebefähre
(in German) {{Authority control Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of Germany