The Upper Weser Valley (german: Oberes Wesertal) in central Germany has been formed by the Upper

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 ...

river cutting through 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 ...

for around between the towns of Hann. Münden and

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 ...

. It lies in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

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 Upper Weser Valley begins near Hann. Münden, where the rivers

Werra The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...

and

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

join to form the

and follows the course of the Upper Weser northwards through the Weser Uplands to

Bodenwerder The ''Münchhausenstadt'' Bodenwerder is a municipality in Holzminden district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It lies on the river Weser and is best known as the birthplace and residence of Baron von Münchhausen. Geography Bodenwerder is located i ...

, then continues in a northwestern direction, south of the Süntel hills and the

Weser Hills The Weser Hills (''Wesergebirge''), also known in German as the ''Weserkette'' ("Weser Chain"),"Ein anderes Bild als die Bergländer der oberen Weser bieten die ''Weserkette'', das ''Wiehengebirge'' und der ''Teutoburger Wald'', see Christian Deg ...

, and ends finally at the great 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 ...

, where the Weser breaks through the

Wiehen 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 ...

and Weser Hills out into 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 ...

. In the south the Upper Weser Valley crosses the Solling-Vogler Nature Park and, in the north, the

Weser Uplands Schaumburg-Hamelin Nature Park The Weser Uplands-Schaumburg-Hamelin Nature Park (german: Naturpark Weserbergland Schaumburg-Hameln) lies on the northern edge of the German Central Uplands where it transitions to the North German Plain, about southwest of Hanover. The sponsor of ...

. At its northern end, the Upper Weser Valley is followed by the

Middle Weser Valley The Middle Weser Valley (german: Mittlere Wesertal) is part of the Weser Depression around the River Weser on the North German Plain, extending from the gap of Porta Westfalica to the town of Hoya. It is not a true valley, because it is only borde ...

, part of 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 ...

Hills

The Upper Weser Valley is bordered by the following

upland Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

s (from south to north):

Towns

The towns of the Upper Weser Valley are Hann. Münden,

Bad Karlshafen Bad Karlshafen () is a baroque, thermal salt spa town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It has 2300 inhabitants in the main ward of Bad Karlshafen, and a further 1900 in the medieval village of Helmarshausen. It is situated at the co ...

Beverungen Beverungen () is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Beverungen lies in the Weser Uplands on the side of the Weser opposite Solling roughly 10 km south of Höxter. In parts of the easter ...

Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands. The main town's population is around 15,000, and with outlying centres, about 30,0 ...

, Holzminden,

Hameln Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Hi ...

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river above the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In re ...

Vlotho Vlotho () is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Vlotho is located along the Weser river, south of the Wiehengebirge, bordering on the Ravensberger Hügelland in the west, Lipperland in the south, a ...

Bad Oeynhausen Bad Oeynhausen () is a spa town on the southern edge of the Wiehengebirge in the district of Minden-Lübbecke in the East-Westphalia-Lippe region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The closest larger towns are Bielefeld (39 kilometres southwest ...

and

Culture and Infrastructure

The Upper Weser Valley has is agriculturally and culturally important. Several tourist routes accompany the Weser Valley: The

German Fairy Tale Route The German Fairy Tale RouteThis is the official name used on the website - se''Portrait'' However, many English sources also call it the "German Fairy Tale Road". (german: Deutsche Märchenstraße) is a tourist attraction in Germany originally esta ...

, the Weser Valley Road, the

German Timber-Frame Road The German Timber-Frame Road (German: ''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'') is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to the Black Forest and Lake Constance in the south. Numerous cities and towns each with examples of the vernac ...

and the

Road of Weser Renaissance The Road of Weser Renaissance (german: Straße der Weserrenaissance) is a well-known tourist route in North Germany. As a cultural route it links famous architectural monuments of the Weser Renaissance period in the 16th and early 17th centuries. ...

. The valley is crossed by several

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

s at places like Hann. Münden,

Wehrden (Weser) Beverungen () is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Beverungen lies in the Weser Uplands on the side of the Weser opposite Solling roughly 10 km south of Höxter. In parts of the eas ...

, Höxter and Holzminden. From Hamelin the railway lines run parallel to the Weser via Bad Oeynhausen (

Weser Railway 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 ...

) to Minden (

Hamm–Minden railway The Hamm–Minden Railway is an important and historically significant railway in Germany. It is completely quadruple track. It is a major axis for long distance passenger and freight trains between the Ruhr and the north and east of Germany. I ...

). A long section of the roughly 500 km long cycle path, the Weser Cycle Path runs mostly along the Weser through the Upper Weser Valley.

External links

BfN Weser Gorge fact file

BfN Holzminden Weser Valley fact file

BfN Rinteln-Hamelin Weser Valley
{{Coord, 51, 51, , N, 9, 28, , E, type:landmark_dim:100000_region:DE, display=title Weser Regions of Hesse Valleys of Lower Saxony Valleys of Hesse Valleys of North Rhine-Westphalia